Bruce Olson, M.M.

Bruce Olson serves as an adjunct faculty member, teaching the Brass Methods course for Music Education majors. He
has a Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College, Moorhead MN and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet
Performance from California State University, Northridge CA.

Mr. Olson recently retired as Director of Bands at Blaine High School for 22 years, and band director at Anoka High School and Burnsville High School, as well as middle schools in California for a total of 39 years. He has directed concert bands, jazz bands, and marching bands, as well as teaching private lessons throughout his teaching career. In addition,he has served as President of the Central Minnesota Band Director’s Association (CMBDA).

Mr. Olson has continued to perform as a trumpet player and is currently principal trumpet in Northern Symphony Orchestra based in Anoka, MN. Previously, he performed in the Tulare County Symphony Orchestra in California, and in the “Dickens Brass” at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. For ten years, including eleven tours, Mr. Olson performed and ministered with a Christian music ministry called “Continental Singers and Orchestra,” where he traveled throughout the US and to 25 different countries. Currently, he can still be found playing at local churches around the Twin Cities.