NDSU Professor Emeritus of music, passes away at 85

March 12, 2018

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 17th at 2:00 P.M. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 121 9th St. S., Fargo. Arrangements are made by Washburn – McReavy Funeral Chapel in Minneapolis, MN.

Olson was hired in 1967 to be the new principal voice teacher and to direct the department’s new Opera Workshop. Olson was a noted vocal pedagogue and specialist in vocal literature and vocal health for singers. He performed faculty recitals each year until his retirement in 1994.

Olson earned his Bachelors of Arts and Masters of Art at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and was awarded a fellowship to the University of Illinois where he earned his Doctorate in Music in 1974. He trained at the Conservatory of Music in Vienna, Austria and also Studied with Oren Brown of Julliard.

He loved to perform and sang with the Duluth Symphony, the Omaha Civic Opera, Milwaukie Skylight Opera, the FM Civic Opera, and was guest soloist with the Vienna Boys Choir, to name a few. Teaching became his true passion and he taught voice for 40 plus years at: the Bergen Teaching College in Bergen, Norway, NDSU (where he served as department head in his last two years), MSU, UND, MIU and did extensive work in vocal therapy at the Voice Institute in Fargo (of which he was a founding member). He loved his work, he loved his students and they loved him in return.

“I always regarded Bob as a mentor who had built and maintained a successful voice department at NDSU,” said Robert Jones, voice professor. “I have always respected his work as a voice professional, and when I came to NDSU in 1995, I aspired to carry on his legacy. His teaching excellence lives on through the careers of many of his students. Bob was an inspiration to all in the vocal/choral profession who knew him. He will indeed be missed.”