Peter Amnell Hendrickson, 67, a resident of St. Anthony Park for 25 years, died on June 14, 2022.
Peter was born in Cloquet, on June 15, 1954, and spent the bulk of his childhood in Clarkfield, Minn. He was the youngest of five children of the Rev. Albert and Merle Hendrickson. From a very early age, Peter showed remarkable musical talent, and was also a precocious student and outstanding athlete.
Peter received a bachelor’s degree from Augsburg University in 1976, followed by a masters in art from Macalester College, a master’s in musicology from Columbia University, and a doctorate of musical arts in conducting and harpsichord from the Manhattan School of Music in 1991.
Peter was a member of the Augsburg University faculty from 1994 until his retirement in 2017, serving as a professor in the music department, and the conductor of the Augsburg choir and the Masterworks Chorale. He also served as artistic director of the annual Advent Vespers, a combination of music and liturgy, presented by the Augsburg community each year.
Besides his musical accomplishments, Peter was fluent in German and remained a lifelong learner of languages, studying Finnish and Russian while in his 60s, having earlier studied Swedish, Italian, French and Spanish. He was an accomplished skier, mountain climber, marathon runner, harpsichord builder and carpenter. For the last 20 years of his life he enjoyed spending time at his cabin in Aitkin, along the Mississippi River. Most importantly, he was devoted to his two children, Jacqueline and Rex.
In addition to his children, he is survived by his three sisters, Sharon Gronberg (Karl) of Austin, Texas, Rachel Julian (Bruce) of Birmingham, Ala., and Rosanne Swanson (Mark) of Chicago, Ill.; and sister-in-law, Susan Hendrickson of Bloomington. He was preceded in death by his brother David and parents. A memorial service will take place at Augsburg in the fall.
Memorials may be made to Augsburg University Music Department or to the National Association of Mental Illness.
