Peter Olson

Dr. Peter Olson is an Instructor of Music at McLennan Community College, where he teaches Music Appreciation and directs the McLennan Community Orchestra, a hybrid student-community orchestra which he founded in 2020. Dr. Olson has led the orchestra in many successful and well-received concerts in its first four years, including performances of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Dvořák’s New World Symphony, Duruflé’s Requiem (with the Central Texas Choral Society), and many other smaller works.

Dr. Olson studied conducting with Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Music Director Laureate of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting and a Master of Arts in musicology from Claremont Graduate University. His academic interests include the history of music in the context of the broader humanities, historical performance practice, and the theoretical analysis of orchestral works. In 2023, he prepared the first performance edition of Agathe Backer Grøndahl’s Andante quasi allegretto for piano and orchestra, composed in 1869, and conducted the American premiere of the work. He has presented at the Society for American Music annual conference and served as the Assistant Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Performance Practice Review.

Prior to coming to MCC, Dr. Olson taught at Brigham Young University–Idaho (online) and Pitt Community College (North Carolina). He received his Bachelor of Arts in music and liberal arts (with a minor in chemistry) from Southern Virginia University.

Office: BPAC 103 * Phone: (254) 299-8221 * Email: polson@mclennan.edu