Carleton’s music department is accustomed to hearing songs of praise, from faculty member Gao Hong having the City of St. Paul officially name a day after her to department chair Justin London earning a lifetime achievement award from the Society for Music Perception and Cognition. So when four musical Carls were honored recently, it was a familiar refrain.
Chamber Music America named Tom Rosenberg, senior lecturer in cello, its 2025 Arts Advocate of the Year, while Carleton’s choir director, Matthew Olson, was recognized by the Minnesota Music Educators Association as the 2024 Music Educator of the Year (Collegiate). Mark Kreitzer, a folk guitar instructor who retired last year, was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, alongside past inductees like John Denver, Judy Garland, and the Minnesota Orchestra. And composer Mark Applebaum ’89, a Stanford professor and Carleton trustee, was recognized with a 2025 Music Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
“This is an embarrassment of riches for the music department and for Carleton,” says Justin London, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Music, Cognitive Science, and the Humanities. “It is also a reflection of the quality of our music faculty, and the diverse range of musical opportunities we are able to provide for our students.”
