Press Kit

Short Biography (about 100 words)

Since the splash of his Fantasia in G 40 years ago, Timothy Mahr's compositions have been performed worldwide, recorded, and broadcast. The first recipient of a commission from the American Bandmasters Association Commissioning Project, Mahr has composed works for the Music Educators National Conference, the United States Air Force Band, the American School Band Directors Association, and the Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma National Intercollegiate Band.  He received the 1991 ABA/Ostwald Award for his work The Soaring Hawk.   A professor emeritus of music at St. Olaf College, Dr. Mahr conducted the St. Olaf Band, and taught courses in composition, music education, and conducting. He just celebrated his 25th year conducting the Minnesota Symphonic Winds.  More info at www.timothymahr.com.

Medium Biography (about 250 words)

Since the premiere of Fantasia in G in 1983, Timothy Mahr's compositions have been performed worldwide, recorded, and broadcast. The first recipient within the American Bandmasters Association Commissioning Project, Mahr has composed works for the Music Educators National Conference, the United States Air Force Band, the American School Band Directors Association, and the Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma National Intercollegiate Band.  He received the 1991 ABA/Ostwald Award for his work The Soaring Hawk.   A professor of music at St. Olaf College, Dr. Timothy Mahr conducts the St. Olaf Band, and has taught courses in composition, music education, and conducting.

A well-known composer, Mahr has written over 100 works, many of which are published for band and orchestra­­. Beyond The Soaring Hawk, five other works have been finalists in national composition contests. He has received more than 70 commissions over the years.

Mahr is a past president of the North Central Division of the College Band Directors National Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the National Band Association and the Minnesota Band Directors Association.  He has led the St. Olaf Band in performance at the national conventions of the American Bandmasters Association (1997), Music Educators National Conference (2005) and College Band Directors National Association (2013).

Mahr has appeared in 38 states as a guest conductor and clinician, including leading over twenty all-state bands, and he has also been engaged professionally in Norway, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.  For more information, visit his website at www.timothymahr.com.

Long Biography (about 550 words)

Since the premiere of Fantasia in G in 1983, Timothy Mahr's compositions have been performed worldwide, recorded, and broadcast. The first recipient within the American Bandmasters Association Commissioning Project, Mahr has composed works for the Music Educators National Conference, the United States Air Force Band, the American School Band Directors Association, and the Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma National Intercollegiate Band.  He received the 1991 ABA/Ostwald Award for his work The Soaring Hawk.   A professor of music at St. Olaf College, Dr. Timothy Mahr conducts the St. Olaf Band, and has taught courses in composition, music education, and conducting.

A well-known composer, Mahr has written over 100 works, many of which are published for band and orchestra­­. Beyond The Soaring Hawk, five other works have been finalists in national composition contests. He has received over 70 commissions over the years.  Recordings dedicated to his music include The Music of Timothy Mahr, recorded by the University of New Hampshire Wind Symphony, and Imagine, if you will…, a double-CD set by the St. Olaf Band.  He was the subject of interview articles in Clarino: Internationale Zeitschrift für Bläsermusik, The Instrumentalist, and BDGuide, and has authored articles for major music journals.  Mahr is a contributor to the text, Composers on Composing for Band (2002), and his scholarly and compositional work is cited in Hansen’s The American Wind Band: A Cultural History, Battisti’s The Winds of Change, Rehrig’s The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music

Mahr is a past president of the North Central Division of the College Band Directors National Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the National Band Association and the Minnesota Band Directors Association.  He has led the St. Olaf Band in performance at the national conventions of the American Bandmasters Association (1997), Music Educators National Conference (2005) and College Band Directors National Association (2013).  International tours with the St. Olaf Band have taken them throughout Europe, Mexico, Japan, and most recently Australia and New Zealand in 2018.  Mahr has appeared in 38 states as a guest conductor and clinician, including leading over twenty all-state bands, and he has also been engaged professionally in Norway, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.  

Active in the community band movement, he is the principal conductor of the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, an ensemble featured at the 2008 Midwest Clinic in Chicago and a 2009 recipient of the Sudler Silver Scroll Award from the John Philip Sousa Foundation.

He is a recipient of the National Band Association's "Citation of Excellence" and was elected to membership in the American Bandmasters Association in 1993.  Mahr was inducted into his alma mater’s Hall of Excellence at La Crosse Central High School in 2001 and was asked to present the commencement address to the 2016 graduating class at St. Olaf.  Mahr has nominated and presented two scholars for honorary degrees from St. Olaf College:  Frederick Fennell (2003) and David Maslanka (2016).

Mahr graduated with two degrees summa cum laude from St. Olaf in 1977 and 1978 (B.M. Theory/Composition and B.A. Music Education).  In 1983 he received the Master of Arts degree in Trombone Performance from The University of Iowa, where in 1995 he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting.

Mahr is married to Jill Mahr, musician and educator, and they have two daughters. For more information, visit his website at www.timothymahr.com.

Reviews

“From its original concept to its brilliant execution, Mourning Dances is a mature and coherent piece, full of drive and the usual degree of introspection we have come to enjoy in his works.” Winds: Journal of the British Association of Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles

 “Mahr effectively captured a variety of moods in this work.  The wide dynamic range, careful use of dissonance, and sudden contrasts evoked the peaceful and reflective as well as the awesomeness of the inevitable.  The ending was especially appropriate; the final notes slowly died away, followed by a long silence.  Passages proved to be the highlight of the evening.” The Daily Iowan

 “I simply wanted to thank you for your tremendous contribution to our WASBE performance.  Into the Air! was one of the highlights of the entire concert and we are grateful for having the opportunity to perform it.  Judging from the audience response, it’s obvious all were equally enthusiastic.”  Col. Lowell Graham, USAF Band, after the premiere of “Into the Air!”

“Mahr’s exciting ability to move 100 instruments from the loudest fortissimo to virtual silence was breathtaking, and it astonished the audience… A standing ovation offered thanks for a performance up to the best musical standards.“  Lincoln Journal Star

 “The St. Olaf Band has splendid forces, including all the special instruments and sonority hardly any Norwegian bands approach” and he commended Mahr’s Soaring Hawk for its “good touches of originality.” Critic Espen Selvik of Bergen Norway’s Tidende

[The St. Olaf Band is] “… one of America’s preeminent bands”  The New Yorker