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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 are presenting concerts, lecture-recitals, and workshops throughout the United States and Norway featuring music by Norwegian immigrant composers. Much of the music they will present has been found through archival research and has not been heard in decades.
About the musicians:
Laura Loge, Soprano
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, Composer & Pianist
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.
What you will hear on our program:
Kan du glemme gamle Norge?
(Could you forget old Norway?)
Norwegian-American Folk Song, arranged for Musical Migration by Steven Luksan
This folk song, sung by Norwegian immigrants in their new homeland and published in the early editions of the Sons of Norway Songbook, asks a question that was important for people starting from scratch in the US: Can you ever forget where you came from? Must one forget their heritage to start anew?
Arranged by Steven Luksan for this program, this bilingual setting of the song highlights the process through which Norwegian immigrants assimilated into American culture, with their Norwegian language giving way to English.
Cradle Song
by Christian Sinding
Christian Sinding was a renowned composer in his day, so much so that he was sought out by the newly-founded Eastman School of Music to be one of their first composition professors. One of his few songs utilizing an English text, Sinding composed this "Cradle Song" while living in Rochester, NY.
Click HERE for more samples from Musical Migration
Performances of Musical Migration:
Please Contact Steven for more information as these dates are subject to change and not all performances are open to the general public.
December 2024
December 14, 2024 @ 7pm - Scandinavian Cultural Center, Pacific Lutheran University, WA
March 2025
March 15, 2025 @ 11am - Nordic Lodge, Whidbey Island, WA
March 22, 2025 @ 1pm - Tordenskjold Lodge & Harald Hårfager Lodge Sons of Norway, Spokane, WA/Coeur D’Alene, ID
March 29, 2025 @ 6pm - Cascadia Art Museum - "Music in the Museum"
March 30, 2025 @ 2pm - Oslo Lodge Sons of Norway & Nina Grieg Lodge Daughters of Norway, Poulsbo/Bremerton, WA
April
March 27, 2025 - Nordic Chamber Music: Norway, with Julia Adams on violin, Seattle, WA
May
May 2, 2025 @ 7pm - KING FM Northwest Focus Live, Seattle, WA – live on-air on Classical KING 98.1FM
May 4, 2025 @ 4pm - Nordic Chamber Music Series, Lakewold Gardens, Tacoma, WA
May 9, 2025 @ 3pm -Skyline Retirement Community, Seattle, WA
May 10, 2025 @ 11am - Clinton Daughters of Norway, Clinton, WA
May 19, 2025 @ 7pm - Vesterdalen Sons of Norway, Auburn, WA
May 31, 2025 - Horizon House, Seattle, WA
June
NORTANA & NAHA Crossings and Connections Conference at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
July
July 16, 2025 @12noon - Listen Live at Lunch, Tacoma First Lutheran Church, Tacoma, WA
August
Kirsten Flagstad Museum/Utvandrer Museum, Hamar, Norway
September
Concerts & Workshops, Norskedalen, Valley, WI
Concert in Madison, WI
Concert & Workshops, Winona State University, Winona, MN
Concert & Student workshop, Vesterheim Museum/Luther College, Decorah, IA
Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota, Mindekirken, Minneapolis, MN
October
October 3, 2025 @ 7pm - Nordia House, Nordic Northwest, Portland, OR
October 18, 2025 @ 7pm - Saltwater Music Series, Des Moines, WA
November
International Edvard Grieg Society Convention, Bergen, Norway
Workshop with students at the Grieg Academy, Bergen, Norway
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