Established on 01.19.2024 by Deb, Ben, and Charlie Saetveit
Nathan was born on October 3, 1979, in Willmar, Minnesota, and was the youngest son of Margaret and Gerald (Jerry) Saetveit of New London, Minnesota. At the age of three, Nathan claimed the role of Page IV in his family’s musical group, Allen-a-Dale and the Singing Pages. His father and brothers performed together for years–an experience that delighted audiences at both the Minnesota and Colorado Renaissance festivals and also ignited Nathan’s lifelong passion for vocal music and performance. Nathan developed a love of the outdoors by exploring the woods and water near his childhood home in New London, Minnesota. This love led to his avid participation in Boy Scouts, where he attained Eagle Scout rank and earned the silver Eagle Palm.
Nathan was baptized and confirmed at Faith Lutheran Church in Spicer, Minnesota. He cherished his time as a youth counselor at Shores of Saint Andrew bible camp. In 1998, Nathan graduated as co-valedictorian from New London-Spicer High School.
While in high school, Nathan attended an enchanting performance of The Concordia Choir under the direction of Dr. René Clausen. Recalling this experience, Nathan chose to attend Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota and was proud to perform and tour with the choir he so admired. He graduated from Concordia in 2002 with a double major in chemistry and Spanish and a double minor in math and music. As an undergraduate, Nathan spent a summer abroad in Peru, where he immersed himself in the study of Spanish and developed a sustaining interest in South American culture.
While completing his graduate degree in Ames, Iowa, Nathan met Deb Sondall, the alto seated in front of him during weekly rehearsals of the Ames Chamber Artists. After a brief courtship, Nathan and Deb were married on May 5, 2006, in Dallas Center, Iowa.
Nathan earned his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Iowa State University in 2008. Upon graduation, Nathan began his career at Elemental Scientific, Inc. in Omaha, Nebraska. During his fourteen years as a senior scientist at ESI, Nathan designed and performed installations of advanced ICP-MS and ICP-AES sample introduction systems in a wide variety of public, private, and government labs throughout the world. He worked and traveled across six continents. Nathan was also an inventor, earning seventeen US patents for his uniquely designed valve assemblies and systems for sample introduction. Nathan’s fluency in Spanish led him to form connections throughout South America, and in 2021, he guided the creation of ESI Latam, a division of Elemental Scientific, Inc., in Santiago, Chile.
Nathan’s love of choral music continued throughout his life; he enjoyed performing with the Omaha Chamber Singers, Resonance, and Capitol Avenue Baroque in Omaha whenever his work and family schedules allowed.
On March 8, 2014, Nathan and Deb’s twin sons Benjamin and Charles were born. Nathan loved his job as Daddy best of all and enjoyed sharing his varied interests–outdoor activities, math and science, skiing, travel, music, Star Trek, home renovation and repair, swimming, chess and board games, and Star Wars–with his beloved boys.
The Nathan J. Saetveit ’02 Memorial Endowed Scholarship is awarded by the Office of Financial Aid to one or more students of any class majoring in the sciences with preference for those also involved in any music academic or cocurricular program.