Soli Deo Gloria

Advisory Board

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Anton E. Armstrong, D.M.A.

Anton Armstrong is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, a position he assumed in 1990. Armstrong came to his position at St. Olaf College after a decade in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he served on the faculty of Calvin College and conducted the Campus Choir, the Calvin College Alumni Choir and the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus. Dr. Armstrong is also widely recognized for his work with youth and children's choral music. He is a member of the board of trustees of the American Boychoir School and past president of the national board of directors of the Choristers Guild. In recent years he has guest conducted such noted ensembles as the Utah Symphony and Symphony Chorus, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. For complete biographical information, visit St. Olaf Choir's website.

Jeremy Begbie

Jeremy Begbie is the inaugural holder of the Thomas A. Langford Research Professorship in Theology at Duke Divinity School, North Carolina, and founding Director of Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts. He teaches systematic theology, and he specializes in the interface between theology and the arts. His particular research interest is the interplay between music and theology. He is also Senior Member at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculties of Divinity and Music at the University of Cambridge. He is author of a number of books, including Voicing Creation’s Praise: Towards a Theology of the Arts (T & T Clark); Theology, Music and Time (CUP), and, most recently, Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music (Baker/SPCK). He is a professionally trained and active musician, and has taught widely in the UK, North America and South Africa, specializing in multimedia performance-lectures. For complete biographical information, visit Duke Divinity School's website.

Herbert Blomstedt

Maestro Herbert Blomstedt is the Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony. He was Music Director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig for seven seasons, and he is Honorary Conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and the Bamberg Symphony. Mr. Blomstedt has guest conducted the world's major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Munich Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. His extensive discography includes over 130 works with the Dresden Staatskapelle, including the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Schubert. He has also recorded the complete symphonies of Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen, as well as Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Mr. Blomstedt received several Honorary Doctorates and is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy.For complete biographical information, visit Columbia Artists Management Inc.

Stephanie Blythe

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is considered to be one of the most highly respected artists of her generation. She has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the U.S. and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Ms. Blythe has appeared with many of the world's finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Ensemble Orchestre de Paris. She has also appeared at the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals, and at the BBC Proms. Her recordings are available on the Virgin Classics label. Ms. Blythe was named Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year for 2009. For complete biographical information, visit Opus 3 Artists.

Stephen Clapp

Stephen Clapp, Dean Emeritus of The Juilliard School, has held several posts at institutions of higher education in the performing arts and enjoys an extensive performing career as a violinist. In addition to serving as the Dean of Juilliard, he has served as Dean of the Aspen Music Festival and School, and Acting Dean of the Oberlin Conservatory. Mr. Clapp has also been Concertmaster of the Aspen Festival Chamber Symphony and the Nashville and Austin Symphonies, and has performed in collaboration with such artists as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, Brooks Smith, and the late Jacqueline DuPré, among others. Winner of the first Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award as a member of the Beaux Arts String Quartet, Mr. Clapp also was a member of the Blair Quartet and a founding member of the Oberlin Trio. A deeply committed teacher of talented young performing artists, Dean Clapp continues teaching violin at Juilliard.

Stephen C. Gieser, M.D.

Stephen Gieser is an ophthalmologist at the Wheaton Eye Clinic (Wheaton, IL), specializing in the diagnosis and management of glaucoma. He received his undergraduate degree from Wheaton College and his M.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. He went on to complete a residency in ophthalmology at Yale University and then, because of his interest in blindness prevention in developing countries, obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, with an additional four years of fellowship training in glaucoma specialization. Dr. Gieser has lectured at numerous national and international ophthalmology meetings and published many scientific articles, including eight textbook chapters. In l991 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to investigate a vascular eye disease in South India. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of Ophthalmology and the DuPage County Medical Society.

Ben Heppner

Ben Heppner is acclaimed in music capitals around the world for his beautiful voice, intelligent musicianship and sparkling dramatic sense. He excels in the most challenging roles, from Wagner's Tristan and Lohengrin to Verdi's Otello and Berlioz' Aeneas. His performances on the opera stage, in concert with the world's leading orchestras, in the most prestigious recital venues, and in recordings have set new standards in his demanding repertoire. Mr. Heppner studied music at the University of British Columbia. He first gained national attention in 1979 as the winner of the Canadian Broadcasting Company Talent Festival, and CBC television's “Something Special” featured him in an hour-long portrait of the artist. Mr. Heppner is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera auditions and is both a Grammy Award winner and a Juno Award recipient. In 2002, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. For complete biographical information, visit Ben Heppner's website.

Manfred Honeck

Manfred Honeck is the Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, as well as Music Director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, Manfred Honeck has worked with such major European orchestras as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Czech Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic, and in the U.S. with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also appears regularly at Switzerland’s Verbier Festival and has been Artistic Director of the "International Concerts Wolfegg" summer music series in Germany for more than fifteen years. An accomplished violinist and violist, Mr. Honeck spent more than ten years as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. It is his experience as an orchestra musician that has heavily influenced his conducting and has helped give it a distinctive stamp. For complete biographical information, visit Pittsburgh Symphony's website.

Jahja Ling

Jahja Ling’s distinguished career as an internationally renowned conductor has earned him an exceptional reputation for musical integrity, intensity and expressivity. Mr. Ling holds one of the longest continuous relationships with one of the world greatest orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra. He served as Associate Conductor for a year, then as Resident Conductor for 17 years. He continues to appear as guest conductor of the Orchestra in every season. Since 2004, Mr. Ling has been the Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. He has also been the guest conductor for all of the major symphony orchestras in North America, including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, among others. His engagements abroad include orchestras in the world’s largest cities, such as Beijing, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo. Mr. Ling is acclaimed not only for his interpretation of the standard repertoire, but also for the breadth of contemporary music included in his programs. For complete biographical information, visit Jahja Ling's website.  

James MacMillan

James MacMillan is one of today’s most successful living composers and is also internationally active as a conductor. His musical language is flooded with influences from his Scottish heritage, Catholic faith, social conscience and close connection with Celtic folk music, blended with influences from Far Eastern, Scandinavian and Eastern European music. His prolific output has been performed and broadcast around the world, placing him in the front rank of today’s composers. His major works include percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, which has received more than 400 performances, a cello concerto for Mstislav Rostropovich, large scale choral-orchestral work Quickening, and three symphonies. Recent major works include his St John Passion and a new oboe concerto. In the 2010/11 season MacMillan began his term as Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Kamer Filharmonie, following nine years as Composer/Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic. For complete biographical information, visit Intermusica.

C. William Pollard

Bill Pollard served twice as ServiceMaster’s Chief Executive Officer, as Chairman of the Board, and currently, as an advisor to the company. During his leadership of the Company, ServiceMaster was recognized by Fortune magazine as the #1 service company among the Fortune 500. In addition to his work at ServiceMaster, Pollard has served as a director of several other public companies and a number of charitable, religious and educational organizations. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Aurora University. A graduate of Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) with a Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law, he practiced law, specializing in corporate finance and tax matters, and served on the faculty and as a Vice President of Wheaton College. He is also the author of two books, The Soul of the Firm and Serving Two Masters? Reflections on God and Profit. For complete biographical information on Bill Pollard, visit Harper Collins Publishers.

Helmuth Rilling

Helmuth Rilling is one of the world’s preeminent interpreters of Bach and conductors of the choral-orchestral repertoire. He has been Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival since its inception in 1970, and his teaching has always been a central focus. His work at the Oregon Bach Festival has led to invitations to work at Indiana, Temple, Iowa, St. Olaf, Baldwin-Wallace, Westminster Choir College, Yale, and USC. He has appeared as guest conductor with most of the world’s major orchestras, including the Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Seattle and Toronto Symphonies, the New York Philharmonic and prominent orchestras in Los Angeles, Vienna, Madrid, Caracas, Berlin and Dresden. Among his many volumes of recordings are the complete works of Bach, totaling 172 compact discs, issued in 2000 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death—a proud legacy of a life-long devotion to the celebration of Bach’s genius. For complete biographical information, visit Oregon Bach Festival's website.

Philip Yancey

Philip Yancey has explored the most basic questions and deepest mysteries of the Christian faith in his books read by millions of readers. Early on he crafted best-selling books such as Disappointment with God and Where is God When it Hurts? while also editing The Student Bible. He coauthored three books with the renowned surgeon Dr. Paul Brand. More recently, he has explored central issues of the Christian faith, penning award-winning titles such as The Jesus I Never Knew, What’s So Amazing About Grace? and Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? His books have garnered 13 Gold Medallion Awards from Christian publishers and booksellers. He currently has more than 15 million books in print, published in 35 languages worldwide. Mr. Yancey is also editor at large of Christianity Today and cochair of the editorial board for Books and Culture. For complete biographical information, visit Philip Yancey's website.