Timothy Olsen teaches a joint studio of high school, undergraduate and graduate organ majors as Associate Professor of Organ at Salem College, and as Kenan Professor of Organ at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Olsen also serves as Cantor at Augsburg Lutheran Church in Winston-Salem, where he oversees the music program directing the adult choirs, serving as organist, and leading a music staff of an assistant musician and a music intern.
Dr. Olsen frequently presents masterclasses and workshops for universities, churches, and chapters of the American Guild of Organists. He was a featured recitalist and presenter at both the 2011 Region IV AGO Convention in Greensboro, NC, and the 2011 Region VII AGO Convention in Oklahoma City, OK, as well as at the 2009 Region VII AGO Convention in Albuquerque, NM.
Dr. Olsen has performed solo organ recitals at venues in 28 states including Slee Hall (University of Buffalo, NY), Lagerquist Hall (Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA), Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Portland, OR), Christ Church Cathedral (Lexington, KY), Broadway Baptist Church (Fort Worth, TX), and St. Thomas Church (New York, NY) among many others. Dr. Olsen has been featured as soloist with orchestras, and performs collaboratively in organ/trumpet recitals with UNCSA artist-faculty colleague, Judith Saxton; organ duo recitals with Nicole Keller; and as organist for major choral works including Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and Messe “Cum Jubilo,” Théodore Dubois’s The Seven Last Words of Christ, and Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem.
Dr. Olsen is the first-prize winner of the 2002 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance sponsored by the American Guild of Organists. He has recorded a compact disc on the NAXOS label, and has been featured multiple times on Minnesota Public Radio’s Pipedreams.
A native of Frost, Minnesota, Dr. Olsen began his study of the organ at the age of 13. He went on to further study with Peter Nygaard at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1997. Dr. Olsen continued his study as a student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music Degrees in Organ Performance and Literature as well as a Master of Arts Degree in Music Theory Pedagogy. During his tenure at the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Olsen served as Professor Higgs’ teaching assistant, a teaching assistant in the theory department, and as a faculty member of the Eastman Community Education Division. He was for four years the Wanda L. Bass Chair of Organ at Oklahoma City University, and also has served on the faculty of Ithaca College, and as sabbatical replacement at Binghamton University and Cornell University.
For more information about Timothy Olsen and UNCSA/Salem College, please visit www.timothyolsenorganist.com.