Musical Migration

Exploring the lives and works of Norwegian-American composers on the 200th anniversary of Norwegian immigration to the United States.

On July 4, 1825, the sailing ship Restauration left Stavanger, Norway, carrying 52 Norwegians looking for a better life in the United States. Arriving on October 9, 1825, these immigrants were soon followed by hundreds of thousands of other Norwegians in the following decades.

To mark the 200th anniversary of this voyage, pianist/composer/researcher Steven Luksan and soprano/Nordic art song expert Laura Loge presented concerts, lecture-recitals, and workshops throughout the United States and Norway featuring music by Norwegian immigrant composers. Much of the music they presented has been found through archival research and had not been heard in decades.

In conjuction with Crossings200 and various local celebrations of this bicentennial, Steven and Laura presented this forgotten music at 42 engagements between December 2024 and November 2025. On this webpage you will find more information about this project, forgotten Norwegian-American composers, and about the scope and reach of the Musical Migration project.

Concert Programs & Song Texts/Translations

🇺🇸 Click HERE for texts & translations from our concert program in the USA.

🇳🇴 Klikk HER for konsertprogram & sangtekster fra våre konserter i Norge.

Click HERE for our concert program & and song texts from our concert at the International Edvard Grieg Society Conference in Bergen.

Information about Norwegian-American Composers

Norwegian-American immigrant composers have long been overlooked. Click HERE for a brief survey of Norwegian-American Composers featured on our program.

About the Musicians

Laura Loge is a soprano, Nordic song and chamber music specialist, mom, urban chicken farmer, and native of Montana. Between earning degrees from St. Olaf College and the New England Conservatory of Music, she spent several years in Norway and Italy where she learned to love and embrace their cultures, languages, and foods. She has self-managed her career as a soprano soloist for nearly two decades, was the Artistic Director of the Mostly Nordic Chamber Music series when it was hosted by the National Nordic Museum, is founder and president of the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society, and continues the Nordic Chamber Music series, forging a new chapter for it in multiple venues.

Steven Luksan is a composer, pianist, and educator making music in Seattle, WA, USA. He is an active performer in the Puget Sound region, doing freelance work in addition to being a collaborative pianist at Seattle Opera and the accompanist for the Seattle Mannskor (The Norwegian Male Chorus of Seattle). He currently serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society and is the founder and artistic director of the Saltwater Music Series (Des Moines, WA), a concert series dedicated to performances of local and off-the-beaten-path chamber music.

Musical Samples

Click HERE to hear musical examples from Musical Migration, including a Livestream of the full program (performed at Luther College in Decorah, IA, on September 11, 2025).