{"id":953,"date":"2026-10-06T09:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/?p=953"},"modified":"2026-10-06T09:04:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:04:01","slug":"a-new-institution-at-olaf-ole-tiny-dorm-platforms-student-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/2026\/10\/06\/a-new-institution-at-olaf-ole-tiny-dorm-platforms-student-musicians\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A new institution at Olaf\u2019: Ole Tiny Dorm platforms student musicians"},"content":{"rendered":"<header>\n<div class=\"sno-header-wrap sno-header-wrap-desktop sno-header-desktop-standard\">\n<div class=\"sno-designer-area-row sno-designer-area-row-desktop-1\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-row-wrap\">\n<div class=\"sno-designer-area-container sno-hac-desktop-1\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-inner sno-hac-inner-desktop-1 icon-monochromatic-desktop-1 icon-monochromatic-inverse-hover-desktop-1\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-iconwrap\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-designer-area-container sno-hac-desktop-2\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-inner sno-hac-inner-desktop-2\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-textwrap sno-search-center-v\">\n<form action=\"https:\/\/olafmessenger.com\/\" method=\"get\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-search-inner-wrap\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-designer-area-row sno-designer-area-row-desktop-2\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-row-wrap\">\n<div class=\"sno-designer-area-container sno-hac-desktop-3\">\n<div class=\"sno-hac-inner sno-hac-inner-desktop-3\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sno-hac-headerimage\" src=\"https:\/\/olafmessenger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/THE-OLAF-MESSENGER-3-e1773285935656.jpg\" alt=\"The Student Newspaper of St. Olaf College\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"sno-main-content\" class=\"sno-story-page sno-story-sidebar-mode-none sno-story-36289 sno-story-template-full\">\n<div class=\"sno-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"sno-story-container\">\n<div class=\"sno-story-cat-blocks\">\n<p><span class=\"sr-only\" role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\">Categories:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"sno-story-cat-block-list\">\n<li class=\"sno-cat-block-arts-and-entertainment\">Arts &amp; Entertainment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"sno-story-headline\">\u2018A new institution at Olaf\u2019: Ole Tiny Dorm platforms student musicians<\/h1>\n<div class=\"sno-story-byline byline-post-36289\">\n<div class=\"byline-inner-container\"><span class=\"byline-name\">Kenzie Nguyen<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"byline-job\">Executive Editor<\/span>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0<span class=\"time-wrapper\">February 18, 2026<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-story-photo-area\">\n<div class=\"photowrap\">\n<div class=\"sno-story-photo-image-area\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"catboxphoto feature-image\" src=\"https:\/\/olafmessenger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tiny-Dorm-Ernesto-Silva-Gaitan-%E2%80%9828-1200x717.jpg\" alt=\"Team behind Ole Tiny Dorm \u2014 Herman Hjorthaug, Isaac Kitange, Moritz Dunbar, Moises Duarte (left to right)\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"modal-photo photo-enlarge\" data-story-id=\"36289\" data-photo-id=\"36324\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-story-photo-caption-area\">\n<div class=\"sno-story-photo-credit\">Ernesto Silva Gaitan<\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-story-photo-caption\">Team behind Ole Tiny Dorm \u2014 Herman Hjorthaug, Isaac Kitange, Moritz Dunbar, Moises Duarte (left to right)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"snopostid-36289\" class=\"sno-story-body snopostid snopostid-36289\" data-post-id=\"36289\">\n<div id=\"sno-story-body-content\" class=\"sno-story-body-content sno-no-cap\">\n<p>When it comes to music and innovation, most think of prominent performance universities like Juilliard or New York University, not a dorm room at St. Olaf College. However, a group of students in Mellby Hall is proving otherwise. Each week starting in January, around twenty St. Olaf students cram into every crevice of a dorm room resembling a summer camp cabin, fitted with wooden bunk beds and desks, photos and art posters covering the walls. Professional stage lights and four cameramen surround a sofa, creating a makeshift staging area where a keyboardist sits, and a couple of musicians warm up. On the outside of the door hangs a whiteboard with the words \u201cOle Tiny Dorm recording in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite being known for its prestigious music programs and ensembles, St. Olaf College lacks spaces and opportunities for non-music majors to perform and hone their art without being part of a college-affiliated ensemble. Seeing this gap, Isaac Kitange \u201927, Herman Hjorthaug \u201927, Moritz Dunbar \u201927, and Moises Duarte V \u201927 got together to create Ole Tiny Dorm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of talented musicians on campus that just don\u2019t have a place to perform,\u201d Kitange said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. \u201cWe really wanted to create an intimate space where people could come and perform their own music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ole Tiny Dorm started in January as a platform for smaller and newer campus musicians. The quartet drew inspiration from NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk with the intention of creating a low-stakes environment for campus musicians to gain performance experience and professional recordings to add to their portfolios.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe aspire to offer professional recordings in a casual way,\u201d Hjorthaug said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.<\/p>\n<p>Ole Tiny Dorm piloted with immediate friends as the project\u2019s first performers. Ole Tiny Dorm takes place in Hjorthaug and Duarte\u2019s dorm \u2014 a small, intimate space for a large operation. Utilizing staging and camera equipment rented from the St. Olaf Libraries, the group produces weekly long and short-form content as well as photos for each recording session.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, it felt as produced as Irish State Television or TPT [Twin Cities Public Television],\u201d Owen Larsen \u201928, an on-campus folk musician, said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. Larsen is an example of the type of artist Ole Tiny Dorm aims to reach \u2014 a non-music major in an under-performed genre on campus.<\/p>\n<p>While the project is still in its beginning stages, a lot has been accomplished. Several recording sessions with student musicians such as Larsen and the barbershop quartet The Bonafide Four took place in January. The project\u2019s first video, a performance by student performers Meredith Ivory \u201927 and Leif Olsen \u201927, was published on Feb. 12.<\/p>\n<p>The project continues with an audition-based application that opened on Feb. 17 to get more artists involved with their recording sessions, as they are looking to expand to different performance spaces. Most importantly, however, the group is focused on creating a long-term structure for the project to continue beyond their time here on the Hill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re definitely thinking about longevity and making this cross-generational or cross-class,\u201d Dunbar said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. \u201cA new institution at Olaf.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-story-social-icons\">\n<div class=\"sno-row-icons sno-row-icons-side full-color\" data-hover-style=\"Full Color Inverse\" data-display-class=\"full-color\">\n<div class=\"sno-row-icon-ring\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-story-donations\">\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sno-donate-story-prompt\">\n<div class=\"sd-header\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Categories: Arts &amp; Entertainment \u2018A new institution at Olaf\u2019: Ole Tiny Dorm platforms student musicians Kenzie Nguyen,\u00a0Executive Editor\u00a0\u2022\u00a0February 18, 2026 Ernesto Silva Gaitan Team behind Ole Tiny Dorm \u2014 Herman Hjorthaug, Isaac Kitange, Moritz Dunbar, Moises Duarte (left to <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/2026\/10\/06\/a-new-institution-at-olaf-ole-tiny-dorm-platforms-student-musicians\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  \u2018A new institution at Olaf\u2019: Ole Tiny Dorm platforms student musicians<\/span><span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latinidades-in-the-northfield-area"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":955,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions\/955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/medinavi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}