Such is a sampling of reviews garnered by Maestro
Robert Olson, Artistic Director and Conductor of
the Colorado MahlerFest since its inception in
1988. He brings an amazingly active and varied
career to the podium, encompassing the entire
spectrum of the concert stage, including symphony,
opera, and ballet.
Currently a resident of Kansas City, Robert Olson holds posts with two other orchestras. He is Director of Orchestras/Opera at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where his two orchestras and, in particular, the opera productions consistently receive critical acclaim. With a repertoire of over 60 operas, productions include Turandot, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Manon, and Ariadne auf Naxos. He is also Music Director and Conductor of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra in Colorado, an orchestra that has consistently received rave reviews from Colorado critics. During his 24-year tenure, the orchestra has flourished, presenting an eleven-concert season to enthusiastic audiences, and Colorado residents hear the orchestra regularly on classical music radio station KVOD.
Prior to his move to Kansas City he was on the faculty of the University of Colorado/Boulder College of Music for sixteen years, where he was music director of the opera program and Associate Conductor of Orchestras. Local audiences also remember his years of conducting the immensely popular Colorado Gilbert & Sullivan Festival.
Currently a resident of Kansas City, Robert Olson holds posts with two other orchestras. He is Director of Orchestras/Opera at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where his two orchestras and, in particular, the opera productions consistently receive critical acclaim. With a repertoire of over 60 operas, productions include Turandot, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Manon, and Ariadne auf Naxos. He is also Music Director and Conductor of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra in Colorado, an orchestra that has consistently received rave reviews from Colorado critics. During his 24-year tenure, the orchestra has flourished, presenting an eleven-concert season to enthusiastic audiences, and Colorado residents hear the orchestra regularly on classical music radio station KVOD.
Prior to his move to Kansas City he was on the faculty of the University of Colorado/Boulder College of Music for sixteen years, where he was music director of the opera program and Associate Conductor of Orchestras. Local audiences also remember his years of conducting the immensely popular Colorado Gilbert & Sullivan Festival.
Robert Olson, Artistic Director
"Exquisite!
Breathtaking! Spiritual! Noble!"
The American Record Guide
"One of the major American conductors."
Musique in Belgium
"Electrifying! The most exciting musical experience I've had in eight years here. Period."
Kansas City Star
"This great performance is the equal of any Eighth I've ever heard."
Fanfare magazine
"A world class performance."
On the Air Magazine
"The orchestra loved you, the public loved you."
Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Czech Republic
"Magnificent! A fine orchestra and an outstanding conductor."
Longmont Times-Call
The American Record Guide
"One of the major American conductors."
Musique in Belgium
"Electrifying! The most exciting musical experience I've had in eight years here. Period."
Kansas City Star
"This great performance is the equal of any Eighth I've ever heard."
Fanfare magazine
"A world class performance."
On the Air Magazine
"The orchestra loved you, the public loved you."
Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Czech Republic
"Magnificent! A fine orchestra and an outstanding conductor."
Longmont Times-Call
During his fourteen year tenure as conductor for
the Kansas City Ballet, he conducted over 600
performances with the St. Louis and Kansas City
Symphonies. He has held conducting posts with the
Omaha Symphony, Boulder Baroque Chamber Orchestra,
Boulder Civic Opera, Arapahoe Chamber Orchestra,
Arvada Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Lyric Theater,
and the Rocky Ridge Music Festival.
As an active guest conductor, he has led many
orchestras in the United States. In 1990, he made
his European debut in Belgium, resulting in return
invitations to Belgium, and engagements in
Venezuela, Bergamo and Milan, Italy, the Czech
Republic, the Ljubljana Music Festival, Oporto,
Portugal, and the National Symphony of China in
Beijing. In February of 2001 he conducted four
major Stravinsky works in a Stravinsky Festival
sponsored by the Kansas City Symphony as well as
five performances for the Miami City Ballet. In
April, 2004, he took first place in a
ten-contestant orchestra competition, conducting
the Korean National Symphony in a concert that was
televised live over much of Asia.
Following the success of his recording of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, critiqued as "legendary" by several national publications, Dr. Olson and a small international team of Mahler scholars spent over a year editing and preparing the Joe Wheeler realization of Mahler's Tenth Symphony. He then recorded the world premiere of the Wheeler version, both with the MahlerFest Orchestra in 1997 and for Naxos records with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2002, to reviews such as "second only to Rattle and Berlin." His recordings of all the Mahler symphonies with the MahlerFest Orchestra are known throughout the world.
He is married to Victoria Hagood-Olson and has two daughters, Tori and Chelsea, both budding musicians.
Following the success of his recording of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, critiqued as "legendary" by several national publications, Dr. Olson and a small international team of Mahler scholars spent over a year editing and preparing the Joe Wheeler realization of Mahler's Tenth Symphony. He then recorded the world premiere of the Wheeler version, both with the MahlerFest Orchestra in 1997 and for Naxos records with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2002, to reviews such as "second only to Rattle and Berlin." His recordings of all the Mahler symphonies with the MahlerFest Orchestra are known throughout the world.
He is married to Victoria Hagood-Olson and has two daughters, Tori and Chelsea, both budding musicians.
The Colorado MahlerFest, initiated in 1988 by Olson
on a dream and $400, has become not only "one of
Boulder's most valuable cultural assets," but a
world class festival, confirmed in September, 2005
when the Vienna International Gustav Mahler Society
awarded the festival its infrequently bestowed
Mahler Gold Medal, an honor
shared that year with the New York
Philharmonic.
Mahler was given a laurel wreath by his orchestra,
an honor in his time, for the Sixth Symphony.
In the same spirit, Dr. Olson was awarded a laurel
wreath by the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra at the
conclusion of MFXVI in which Mahler's Sixth
Symphony was the featured work.
