Steven Amundson, MSO Music Director
Award-winning conductor and composer Steven Amundson serves as the Music Director of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Amundson is the fifth Music Director of the MSO, and also its first and founding Music Director from 1982-1987. The orchestra was then known as the Central Chamber Orchestra.
Amundson spent 41 years building the St. Olaf Orchestra at St. Olaf College into one of the premiere college/university orchestras in the United States. Known for his inspiring and passionate presence on the podium and ability to generate compelling performances, Amundson is a highly sought-after conductor, educator, and clinician.
Under Amundson’s direction, the St. Olaf Orchestra won the American Prize in Orchestral Performance among colleges and universities in both 2013 and 2019. The St. Olaf Orchestra has often been featured on PBS Television and National Public Radio, including the popular Prairie Home Companion and Performance Today programs.
In addition to his tenure at St. Olaf College, Amundson held conducting posts at the University of Virginia and as Music Director of the Tacoma Youth Symphony. He is the founding conductor of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (originally called the Central Chamber Orchestra) and returns as their Music Director in the fall of 2024. He served as Music Director and Conductor of the Bloomington Symphony (MN) for 13 years and has led All-State Orchestras in 26 states. Amundson has guest conducted professional ensembles in Minnesota, including the Duluth-Superior Symphony, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Minnesota Dance Theater Orchestra, Rochester Symphony, and the renowned Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
A commissioned composer and arranger, Amundson is published by the Lauren Keiser Music Company, Neil A. Kjos Music Company and Boosey and Hawkes. Tempo Music Resource distributes his self-published works. Amundson was a finalist for the 2014 American Prize in Orchestral Compositions for his Handprints, which was commissioned by the Bloomington Symphony in 2012 for their 50th anniversary celebration.
At the age of 24, Amundson competed in the 1980 International Conducting Competition hosted by the Mozarteum and Austrian National Radio in Salzburg and placed first, earning the Hans Häring Prize. In 1992, the Minnesota Music Education Association named him “Minnesota Orchestra Educator of the Year.” In the fall of 1995, Amundson received the Carlo A. Sperati Award from Luther College in recognition of meritorious achievement in the field of music.
Amundson is married to Jane Amundson, a math educator and cellist. They have two children: Their daughter Beret is a doctor in Boston and son Karl is a musical theater performer, voice teacher and composer in New York.