Two years after graduating from Gustavus, and still considering what might be next for him as a young Gustie alum, he returned to the Hill for Christmas in Christ Chapel.
He sat right behind the conductor’s podium. As music from the choirs, bells, and orchestra filled Chapel, he was swept back into the world that shaped him. Through Gustavus music, he had found lifelong friends, his future wife, Elizabeth (Anderson) ’15, and a lifelong calling as a choir director. As he watched his former professors lead more than 300 musicians, something new stirred. For the first time, he imagined himself up there—guiding that extraordinary sound and community.
Kendall thought teaching at Gustavus was a long shot. But he set his sights on teaching and conducting at the college level, wherever that dream might take him. It led to a master’s in choral conducting from Louisiana State University and a DMA in choral conducting from the University of Iowa. One morning, while still a doctoral student, he was driving through the backroads of Iowa when his phone lit up. It was Brandon Dean, the Jon and Anita Thomsen Young Distinguished Endowed Chair of Music and Director of the Gustavus Choir. Dean was also Kendall’s first-year choir director.
“He told me he was going on sabbatical and asked if I wanted to take the Gustavus Choir while he was gone,” Andrew remembers. “I almost fell over. That’s my dream! That’s why I did all of this.” Could he finish classes early? Move his family back to Minnesota? After talking with his wife and his advisor, he said yes. His doctoral recital was the Gustavus Choir’s spring concert.
Now, Andrew is an assistant professor of music in the same building and department where his own mentors changed his life. He directs Chapel Choir and Lucia Singers, teaches music education methods, and trains the next generation of conductors. It feels especially meaningful that his Gustavus story began in Chapel Choir, Dean’s first choir at Gustavus. His first year as a Gustie student, his choirmates jokingly gave him the “I’m Coming for Your Job” award. That friendly prophecy has come true, and he’s proud to extend the musical traditions that inspired him. “Every part of the country has its own musical culture,” he says, “but there’s something extraordinary about Gustavus. Our students sing because they love it, and that changes our sound.”
