Concert Choir - Our Director

Ken Hodgson has been a member of the University of Minnesota, Morris faculty since 1978. He came to UMM with a bachelor of arts degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, a master's degree from Central Washington State College, Ellensberg, WA and doctorate from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana. Hodgson has studied conducting under Olaf Christiansen, Wayne Hertz, Harold Decker, and Paul Christiansen. Prior to joining the UMM faculty, Hodgson was a choral director and voice instructor at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. He is called upon to serve as adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for choirs throughout Minnesota. Choral singers and educators who worked with Ken at UMM and Concordia College can be found in nearly every state in the Union and many foreign countries. Ken serves on the Board of Directors for the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota as Vice-President.

Hodgson is a native of Vancouver, Washington and taught public school in the Tacoma and Seattle area during the 60's. His teaching career spans 37 years, and he has taught on every grade level from Elementary through Community College to University, thus bringing a wealth of experience to his work in music education and choral singing.

The UMM Concert Choir was founded by Hodgson in 1978, and since that time a national and international reputation has been established. Under Ken Hodgson's direction, the choir has toured the East and West Coasts numerous times, and has traveled throughout the Midwest. Two concert tours have been made through central Canada and the choir made a concert tour to Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany in 1983 and 1987. The choir toured the UK in 2003 and the Scandinavian countries again in 2007.

In the Spring of 1997, the UMM Concert choir was invited to perform along with the Minnesota chorale, St. John's Men's choir and Concordia, St. Paul, Men's choir, Shoenberg's "Gurre-Lieder" with the Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oui conducting. This concert was repeated in 2001. A return to the stage at Orchestra Hall in December of 1997 found the choir working again with the Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oui conducting and the Minnesota Oratorio Society, in a very successful series of performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The University of Minnesota, Morris Chamber Choir performed in the fall of 1998 with the Minnesota Orchestra providing the choral parts for Ravel's mini-opera, L'Enfant et les Sortileges.

Under Hodgson's leadership, the UMM Concert Choir has come to exemplify in its choral performances excellence in choral artistry, professionalism and enthusiasm, and brings to its audiences the finest in the Minnesota Choral Tradition.