Magnum Chorum is a chamber choir

Chamber choir

A chamber choir or group of chamber singers is the choral equivalent of a chamber ensemble, using voices instead of instruments. This prestigious choir will usually consist of 20-40 elite and dedicated singers. Several chamber choir formats exist, ranging from barbershop groups to exclusively...

 based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. Magnum Chorum performs a cappella choral music in cathedrals, sanctuaries, and concert halls throughout the Midwest. The 48-voice auditioned choir presents concerts, commissions new sacred works, and provides music for worship. Founded in 1991 in the choral tradition of St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...

, membership was originally limited to St. Olaf graduates, but auditions were opened in 2005 to singers devoted to excellence in choral music.

Magnum Chorum has collaborated with numerous composers including Stephen Paulus

Stephen Paulus

Stephen Paulus is an American composer, best known for his operas and choral music. His best-known piece is his 1982 opera The Postman Always Rings Twice, one of several operas he has written for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which prompted The New York Times to call him "a young man on the road...

, Frank Ferko

Frank Ferko

Frank Ferko is an American composer.Ferko played piano from childhood, and worked as an organist and conductor in his teens. His first compositions were primarily liturgical in nature, with Lutheran composer Richard Wienhorst being an early influence...

, Libby Larsen, Ralph Johnson, J. Aaron McDermid, Eric Barnum

Eric Barnum

Eric William Barnum is an American composer of choral, instrumental, and vocal works. He is currently a doctoral student in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington, Seattle.-Background:...

 and Eric Sayre, and performed with conductors such as Osmo Vänskä

Osmo Vänskä

Osmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist and composer.He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic . He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982...

, Anton Armstrong

Anton Armstrong

Dr. Anton Armstrong is the conductor of the St. Olaf Choir as well as the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College of Northfield, Minnesota in the USA. Armstrong became only the fourth director of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990, continuing the tradition begun by the choir's...

, René Clausen

René Clausen

René Clausen is an American composer, conductor of The Concordia Choir, and associate professor of music at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota...

, Kenneth Jennings

Kenneth Jennings

Kenneth Jennings is the Harry R. and Thora Helseth Tosdal Professor Emeritus of Music and Director Emeritus of the St. Olaf Choir. He is a published arranger, composer, and choral music educator.-Biography:...

, Weston Noble

Weston Noble

Weston Noble is a highly accomplished and honored American music educator and conductor.Currently guest conductor of the Augustana Choir at Augustana College in...

 and Dale Warland. The ensemble has been featured at conferences of the American Choral Director’s Association, American Guild of Organists, and American Hymn Society. Broadcasts of the choir’s six recordings have been heard nationally and locally on public radio and classical music stations. Magnum Chorum’s name is intended to convey the importance of the choir in expressing the divine and infinite through voice, music, and text.

Magnum Chorum also serves as choir in residence at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park, MN.

Magnum Chorum was founded in 1991 by three St. Olaf College graduates, including Jin Kim, the choir's first music director. David Dickau conducted the choir from 1994-2007, during which time the ensemble released four recordings and appeared at national choral conferences. For the 2007-2008 season, Ralph M. Johnson was named interim Music Director, and Christopher Aspaas was named guest conductor. In August 2008, Christopher Aspaas was appointed Magnum Chorum's Music Director. The ensemble's most recent recording, "Love Divine," was released in November 2009 under the direction of Christopher Aspaas.