OUR CONDUCTORS
DR. STEVE DANIELSON
Ensign Symphony & Chorus Conductor
Dr. Steve Danielson has been conducting the Ensign Symphony & Chorus since 2018. He spent 11 years directing choirs and musical theater at Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee, and currently conducts choirs at Jefferson Middle School in Olympia. Steve earned a B.A. in Voice from Brigham Young University, a M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Memphis, and, in 2019, he completed a Doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington under the mentorship of Dr. Geoffrey Boers and Dr. Giselle Wyers. His research areas include Slovak choral music, improvisation in the choral classroom, and choral folk music. His dissertation is entitled A Heritage of Songs: The Folk Songs Collection of Carrie Grover.
In addition to directing choirs, Steve also works as a musical director for high school, community, and children’s theaters and has won an award for Outstanding Musical Direction in 2010. He is an active vocalist, conductor, and composer and holds membership in ASCAP, ACDA, and NAfME. His compositions have been performed by church, high school, middle school, and college choirs around the country and abroad. For more information about his conducting pursuits as well as his compositions, visit his website at SDCompose.com.
To hear Moveable Do, the podcast where Steve interviews composers about their lives and works, visit SDCompose.com/moveabledo. Steve and his wife, Angi, host a new podcast called Knowing Hymn about the hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Steve and Angi have seven children and currently reside in Lacey.
NATHAN RØDHAL
Ensign Symphony Associate Conductor, Concert Master
Nathan Rødahl is a rising star in orchestral pedagogy and education. He is presently director of orchestras at Port Angeles High School, one of the largest and most prestigious programs in the state, and serves as president of the North Olympic Music Educators. Nathan’s conducting credits include: the Olympia Chamber Orchestra, the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia, and the Plateau Community Orchestra (a position he earned at the age of 17). Nathan has several competitive titles, most notably through the University of Oregon International Conducting Competition where he was selected for extended study and performance under the tutelage of Neil Varon (of the Eastman School of Music).
Nathan earned degrees in orchestral and choral pedagogy at Pacific Lutheran University and counts among his primary mentors: Drs. Jeffrey Bell-Hanson, Edwin Powell, Richard Nance, Nikolas Caoile, David Jacobs, and Neil Varon. He has been Concertmaster for Ensign Symphony & Chorus for the past five years. Nathan lives in Port Angeles with his wife Samantha, and maintains an active performing career as a violinist, in addition to his numerous educational and conducting obligations.