Anton Armstrong

About Anton

Anton Armstrong is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Chair in Music, Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. A graduate of St. Olaf College, Armstrong earned a Master of Music degree at the University of Illinois and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. He holds membership in several professional societies including the American Choral Directors Association, Choristers Guild, Chorus America, and the International Federation for Choral Music.

Dr. Armstrong is widely recognized for his work in the area of youth and children’s choral music. He served for over twenty years on the summer faculty of the American Boychoir School, Princeton, New Jersey and held the position of Conductor of the St. Cecilia Youth Chorale, a 75 voice treble chorus based in Grand Rapids, from 1981-1990. He currently serves as a member of the the Board of Chorus America.  

In January 2006, Baylor University selected Anton Armstrong from a field of 118 distinguished nominees to receive the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. He spent February-June 2007 in residency at Baylor University as a visiting professor. In March 2007 Anton Armstrong was the first recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the American Boychoir School and in October 2009 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University. In June 2013 Dr. Armstrong received the Saltzman Award from the Oregon Bach Festival.  The festival’s highest honor, the Saltzman Award, is bestowed upon individuals who have provided exceptional levels of leadership to the organization. In the fall of 2014, the St. Olaf Choir and Dr. Armstrong received a Regional Emmy for the PBS television program "Christmas in Norway" with the St. Olaf Choir.