Curtis Hansen, a longtime choral director, editor, music publisher and World War II veteran who helped to put Minnesota on the map as a leader in choral music and performance, died Jan. 29 at age 90.
Hansen, of Edina, was the last remaining founder of the American Choral Directors Association, which has grown to more than 18,000 members since its beginning in 1959.
"He was one of the very special choral music treasures in the state of Minnesota," said Diana Leland, longtime friend and past president of the state, regional and national choral directors association.
Muriel, his wife of 66 years, said that she met Curtis when he arrived in Luck, Wis., to teach high school band and choir. She sang in the church choir that he also directed. He had graduated from St. Olaf College and earned a master's degree at the Minneapolis College of Music.
"He had a very upbeat attitude about things," Muriel said, and he loved humor, especially Ole and Lena jokes.
Curtis Hansen served in the Navy and was part of the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach in France and Okinawa in the Pacific a year later.
"He was preparing for the invasion of Japan with 70 people under his command," Muriel said. "They were told that very few of them would survive." Then the atomic bombs were dropped, bringing an end to the conflict.
The Hansens settled in Brainerd for 13 years, where Curtis developed an award-winning high school choral department that performed at state and national music conventions.
Hansen became an editor of choral music at Schmitt Music Co. in Minneapolis, and in 1977 founded Curtis Music Press, which provided new music for school and church choirs. His career involved editing, publishing, composing and arranging choral music, and teaching other choral music directors in clinics. He also played the clarinet and was a great fan of jazz; he played in the Bloomington Medalist Band and several small groups.
Dale Warland, music director for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Chorale, said Hansen was "terribly important in choral music education, not only in Minnesota but throughout the country." His publications and leadership were valuable not only to musicians, said Warland, but also to untold numbers of people in audiences. "Good choral music and great singing experiences really change people," he said.
Hansen is survived by two daughters: Mary Farrell of Vienna, Austria, and Jeanne Rosauer of Girdwood, Alaska. He also is survived by a sister, Helen Fuhs of Anchorage, Alaska, and two grandsons.
Farrell said her father never talked about World War II until after he attended the 45th anniversary of D-Day in France in 1989. Hansen was soon going to high schools and speaking to civic groups so that younger generations would not forget about the war.
Murrae Freng, a lifetime friend who was choir director in Alexandria's high school, said he considered Hansen a mentor, even though they were nearly the same age. They arranged joint concerts in Brainerd and Alexandria in the 1950s and early 1960s, he said.
Freng said Hansen had a knack for challenging kids. "He was able to do things with high school choirs that many college choirs would have been envious of," he said. "He just refused to accept anything but the very best."
Services have been held, and Hansen was buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
