Artistic Director and Conductor
Allison Olsson

Photo by Harry Olsson

The Children's Choir of Golden is excited to retain Allison Olsson as our Music Director and Conductor.

Allison Olsson is a noted pianist, singer, choral director, and educator who is passionate about bringing excellent music to as many people as possible. Since childhood she has pursued her love for playing the piano and singing. She currently performs as a piano soloist and a collaborative pianist with Ellie Seligmann, a soprano who sings classical and opera repertoire, the Harry Olsson Jr. Jazz Quartet, and numerous area singers in classical and popular repertoire. She has been the accompanist for the Golden Concert Choir for the past two seasons. She sings as a soloist in the metro area as well. She sang " I know That My Redeemer LIves" at The Winter Performance of Handels's Messiah in Golden. She and her husband, Harry, have sung as a duo and with another couple as a quartet for twenty years in the metro area. Their repertoire includes early American music, folk and jazz standards as well as material arranged by Allison. She teaches piano and voice in her private studio and sponsors talented performers and clinicians to the area whenever possible.

After majoring in Piano Performance and minoring in Organ, at Houston Baptist University, she discovered her love for teaching and for directing choral music. She went on to build a large and thriving music program at Calvary Episcopal Church in the 80's and 90's. During this time she developed the skills to direct amateur and experienced musicians in the same choir together with excellent results. Her belief that music, especially singing, is innate to all people grew stronger as her un-auditioned singers were led to make some terrific music together. She continues to be very excited about doing excellent music with any singers who can match pitch. Her abilities have won her many followers who still sing with her after 25 years. She has been characterized as having high expectations without high pressure.

In the 1980's Allison built a piano studio which continues to the present. Many of her students have won regional awards. An injury to her right arm in 1996 necessitated relearning how to play the piano. She was blessed to be able to study with Edna Golandsky, John Bloomfield, Nancy Reese, Susan Nowicki, and Teresa Dybvig of the Taubman Institute. She is forever grateful to Dorothy Taubman who pioneered the amazing work of coordinate and balanced playing. The freedom she experienced in her playing caused her to want the same experience while singing. In studies with Ellie Seligman and vocologist Nancy Harris, she found the same principles of alignment and balance free the voice. Allison learned, from this difficult process, that playing an instrument and singing are effortless when one learns to use one's body in a coordinate and aligned way. She has since become a specialist, working to help pianists and vocalists recover from fatigue, over-use and injury. The same techniques which free the injured singer or player also enable increased fluency, expression, ease, and overall musical ability. Allison realized, at this time, that anyone who is patient and persistent can become better at music by solving the physical problems of imbalance or overwork.

Allison's passion for choral music extends to learning about it as well. She has been fortunate to study with some of the great choral directors of our time such as: Sir David Willcocks, John Bertalot, Jim Litton, Ray Glover, and Peter Hallock. She has been profoundly influenced by the willingness she met in all these great conductors to make excellent music with singers of any ability. They are all well-known for their superbly trained audition groups; however, a shared mark of excellence seems to be a delight in empowering regular folks to sing well, too. They became, for Allison, the example of how it is possible to have high standards of excellence and still welcome community members into one's choirs.

Allison formed her first children's choir in 1989. She has never lost her delight in making music accessible to children. All children can sing and it is her wish to get children singing while it is still easy for them; before they begin to judge themselves. She is saddened that so many in our culture judge themselves as unable to sing. Singing is energizing and empowering. Singing in a choir is even more fun because a person becomes part of a collective voice much larger than him or herself. Allison enjoys the opportunity to work with all ages as Director of the Golden Community Choirs.

Allison loves every kind of music (well, not elevator music) and has performed and directed styles as diverse as bluegrass, plainsong, classical and Broadway. She believes that music speaks to the hearts of people and is important to do as well as to hear. Hallmarks of all her choirs and lessons are: having a good time, challenging oneself appropriately, trying new things and learning new skills, gaining autonomy, remaining present to the task at hand, and feeling a sense of gratitude for stepping into the continuum of great music through all the ages.