volume cxxi december, 2013 no. 10 rhode island christmas

www.auss.org

Published by the American Union of Swedish Singers In its 121st year of Performing Svenska Sånger in America

Volume CXXI December, 2013 No. 10

Astrid S. Drew (left) and her daughter, Astrid M. Drew, sing a duet in Cranston, RI on De-cember 8. The Bethany Lutheran church choir is seated on the left. The Scandinavian

Women’s Chorus of RI is seated on the right. Director Stephen Moyer is seated at the organ console behind the lectern.

Rhode Island Christmas Concert The Scandinavian Women’s Chorus of

Rhode Island combined with the choir of Bethany Lutheran Church to present a program of Christmas music at the church in Cranston, RI on December 8.

The program began with both choirs singing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel from the narthex, followed by their pro-cession up to the altar, ringing bells in the same pitches as the hymn.

The church choir sang five songs, in-cluding Gabriel’s Message and In the

Bleak Midwinter. The Scandinavian Women’s Chorus

sang eight songs, most in Swedish, one in Norwegian, and three in English. The highlight was Silent Night - Night of Si-

lence, where the chorus sang one verse of Silent Night in Swedish, then two verses in English, while Astrid M. Drew sang a beautiful countermelody, Night of Si-

lence. New chorus member, June House, sang

a pretty song entitled What Shall I Give

Him?, written by chorus director, Stephen Moye. June’s husband, David, sang another of Stephen’s compositions, Child of the Snow. Stephen is also the music director and organist at Bethany Lutheran.

Astrid M. Drew joined her mother As-trid S. Drew to perform a duet of O Lamb

of God. Their voices blend so well to-gether.

The finale had all voices joining to-gether to sing Jul, jul, strålande jul in Swedish and English, after which the choristers walked out with the same bells ringing.

Refreshments in the church hall topped off the beautiful evening.

It was a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit. The Scandinavian Women’s Chorus wishes everyone God Jul och Gott Nytt År.

What: AUSS Central Division Con-vention hosted by the Twin cities cho-ruses of the AUSS (ASI Male Chorus, ASI Cloudberries, Flickorna Fem, and St. Paul Swedish Male Chorus)

When: June 25-29, 2014 Where: Crowne Plaza Suites Hotel,

Bloomington MN (a suburb of Minnea-polis). Booking info coming soon – a special rate has been reserved for us, so please watch for more info. The Grand Concert will be at Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, MN

Who: YOU! We’ve heard that the Western Division will not be hosting a convention in 2014, and the Eastern Di-vision will have a mini-convention in the fall, so if you’d like to attend ours, you are welcome! We’ve contacted the west-

ern division choruses, but if individuals or choruses from the Eastern Division want to attend, please let us know very soon! We’re trying to get music out in January, so time is short!

C o n t a c t A n d y H e n n i g ([email protected]) or Britt-Marie Wood ([email protected] or phone 763-475-9112).

We also have a choir coming from Sweden that will be participating in the concert with us. Our guests for the Grand Concert are a brass ensemble known as “The Lake Wobegon Brass Band.”

Why: …because you love to sing! Watch upcoming issues of Musik-

tidning for more info! -Andy Hennig

Welcome to the Central Division Convention!

December 2013 MUSIKTIDNING page 2 of 12

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN UNION OF SWEDISH SINGERS

(Organized November 24, 1892)

A Musical Journal in English and Swedish

"To teach, cultivate and promote Chorus singing, principally Swedish."

ELLEN SVENGALIS, Editor 204 Wyassup Road

No. Stonington, CT 06359

Tel: (860) 535-0362 Fax: (860) 535-0378 E-mail: [email protected]

CHARLES UPCRAFT Business Manager

4525 Parkside Lane Edina MN 55436

Phone: (952) 928-8173 E-Mail: [email protected]

JAMES R. MAURICE Subscriptions

445 E. North Water St. E2203 Chicago, IL 60611-5542

Tel: (312) 670-9570 Winter (Jan-Apr) tel: (727) 729-6269

E-mail (all yr.): [email protected]

OFFICERS OF AUSS 2012-2016 President: Alana Mapes

25500 NW Svea Dr. Hillsboro, OR 97124

Phone: (503) 647-5486 E-mail: [email protected]

Vice President: Christine Johnson

700 S. Main Street Ste 119-133 Lapeer, MI 48446-3077 Phone: (313) 506-5458

E-mail: [email protected]

Secretary: Kelly Otto P.O. Box 20835

Portland, OR 97294 Phone: (503) 318-7929


Financial Secretary: James R. Maurice 445 E. North Water St. E2203

Chicago, IL 60611-5542 Phone: (312) 670-9570

Winter (Jan-Apr): 670 Island Way #904 Clearwater, FL 33767

FL phone: (727) 729-6269 E-mail (all yr.): [email protected]

Treasurer: Charles Upcraft

4525 Parkside Lane Edina MN 55436

Phone: (952) 928-8173 E-Mail: [email protected]

Librarian: Robert Voedisch

722 N. Haddow St. Arlington, IL 60004

Phone: (842)255-7253 E-mail: [email protected]

Director-in-Chief: Sherry Dreyfuss

11665 Gleneagles Lane Belvidere, IL 61008

Phone: (815) 885-1424 Fax: 815-885-2250


Asst. Director-in-chief: Ken Olsson P.O. Box 445

Jamaica, VT 05343 Phone: 802-874-4366


Asst. Director-in-chief: Vance Sele 314 NW Treglown Ct. Hillsboro OR 97124


DIVISION PRESIDENTS (2010-2014)

Eastern: Ellen Svengalis 204 Wyassup Rd.

No. Stonington, CT 06359 Phone: (860) 535-0362


Central: David Winter 3550 N. Lake Shore #1004

Chicago, IL 60657 Phone: (773) 549-1678


Western: Karen Jones 2521 S. W. Bertha Boulevard

Portland, OR 97201 Phone: (503) 244-1469


OTHER OFFICES Website Coordinator:

Ellen Svengalis 204 Wyassup Rd.

No. Stonington, CT 06359 Phone: (860) 535-0362


Chorus Recruitment Chairman: Carl-Erik Westberg

P. O. Box 178 Londonderry, VT 05148 Phone: (802) 824-6578 Fax: (802) 824-3358


Membership Directory Coordinator: Kelly Otto

P.O. Box 20835 Portland, OR 97294


HONORARY PRESIDENTS, AUSS

Donald Lamont Carl-Erik Westberg

Jody Jones Joseph P. O’Leary

HON. DIRECTORS-IN-CHIEF

Robert Read Arthur W. Elander

Ernest Gunn Jeffrey DeLay

MUSIKTIDNING SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Please send material to the Musiktidning Editor. If possible, please

send both stories and photos via E-mail ([email protected])

Material for the January issue is due January 8.

Editor’s Notes Ellen Svengalis, Muiktidning Editor [email protected]

The best-loved holiday in Sweden and Swedish-America is, arguably, Lucia Day. There is something magical about the candlelit proces-sion of young people, dressed in white and singing Natten går tunga

fjät to a Sicilian folk melody. December 13 is one of the shortest

days of the year. In southern Swe-den, the sun is only up for 7 hours and, north of the arctic circle, the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon. Glowing candles are a popular way to chase away the darkness and bring warmth into the home.

Perhaps that is why the Swedes embrace Lucia, a symbol of light and peace in a darkened world. The name Lucia comes from the Latin lux, meaning light.

Happy Lucia Day, everyone!

Natten går tunga fjät English translation

The night walks with heavy footsteps, around the yard and hearth. Around the earth as the sun forgave, the shadows brood. Then in our dark house, rises with lit candles, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia.

The night was big and silent. Now, listen, it swirls in all quiet rooms, rustling as of wings. See, at our threshold stands, white-clad with lights in her hair, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia.

The darkness shall fly soon, from the earth's valleys. So she is telling us wonderful words: The day shall be new, rising from the rosy sky Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia.


The official start of our Christmas mu-sic program was at Julfest, a major Scan-dinavian Christmas event in Seattle. Julfest is held in late November at the Nordic Heritage Museum. Food smells, music and crafts of all the Nordic coun-tries are in abundance during this very busy weekend. While much of our rep-ertoire includes traditional Swedish Christmas music we did have a few new pieces in English, Rocking Cradle Song

and Stars I Shall Find. They were lovely and were well received by the audiences. The SVEA Male Chorus joined us on-stage for some combined songs and then sang some numbers on their own. SVEA and the Seattle Swedish Women’s Cho-rus sing at all venues together now.

A few weekends later we performed at the Pancake Breakfast at the Seattle Swedish Club. What fun! Normally we lead the pancake eaters in a sing-a-long of traditional Swedish Christmas songs. We did that this year ending with the long line dance through the audience to Nu är det jul igen. But, we also per-formed our two new English songs and the audience liked those, too.

The Lucia Festival at the Swedish Club

Christmas Activities in Seattle

It is always fun to go to practice

during Halloween week. Here is

how some of the group showed up

on the Monday before the holi-

day. The gal with the gams is Ute

Munger, the “Gamle” man is Hans

Lundin, and the skeleton lady is

none other than Ann Grangaard,

the chairperson for Portland’s big

Scanfair at the Memorial Coliseum.

- Alana Mapes, Scandia Ladies Chorus

is sponsored by the University of Wash-ington Department of Scandinavian Studies. We will perform four pieces with SVEA, and generally support the singing of traditional carols at this Festi-val.

Next week we will perform at the

Norse Retirement Home. The Home is always brightly and beautifully deco-rated, welcoming us in on a dark and cold night. Our music is always appreci-ated at this retirement home. We will end the evening with cookies and coffee.

- Mary Hillman,Swedish Women’s Chorus

Halloween Fun in Portland

Swedish Women's Chorus and SVEA Male Chorus of Seattle perform at Julfest at the Nordic Heritage Museum

Children dancing to chorus songs at the Pancake Breakfast


Atlanta’s Vasa Drängar has been quite busy this fall. October, November and December generally are our busiest months – but even more so this year. That also goes for Vasa Drängar’s “Spex” group, whose funny songs from Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden, have become in de-mand.

At Atlanta’s popular Scandinavian Show on October 27th presented by Nor-dic Lodge #708 - now for the 5th con-secutive year - Vasa Drängar opened the show with Swedish folk-song Gärde-

bylåten in arrangement for mens’s choir by Gunnar Hahn – a song well-known to those who attended to the AUSS Con-vention in New Haven last year. We continued with Povel Ramel’s hilarious The Purjolök Song, with Sten Ekberg as the soloist. Vasa Drängar wrapped it up with O sole mio in high-sounding Italian.

The following performers included “The YellowBlue,” a duo consisting of accordion virtuoso Alla Melnik and Göran Rygert on the bass; the Spex group (more about that later) and the amazing “9 String Theory” consisting of world famous domra soloist Angelina Galashenkova-Reed and price-winning guitarist John Huston. They were joined at a finale by The YellowBlue in Hugo Alfvén’s Vallflickans dans, and Ack Vär-

meland du sköna. Vasa Drängar’s Spex group appeared

with several funny songs. First out was Sten Ekberg with Primula Venus, in which Emperor Franz-Joseph’s daughter Marie-Louise sings for Napoleon which resulted in the two of them going to the island of Elba on a honeymoon. In the next song, Erik Kind appeared as August the Strong – King of Poland – with sword and all, describing his ability as a potent man and seducer. The third song was a quartet called The Middle Beer

Quartet, about Sweden’s so called “mellanöl” in the 1960s and 70s, a beer that was not strong, not weak, just “lagom.” In other words, typical Swed-ish!

A few weeks earlier, the Spex group had already appeared at a Swedish Craw-fish party for the Chalmers Alumni As-sociation. There, we presented an hour

long program with spex songs from the 1950s and 60s. It included solo songs as well as quartets, with music from a sim-ple Swedish polka to Verdi’s Rigoletto Quartet. The audience was excited and a review days after told us that “not many scattered-abroad alumni are privileged to enjoy such a spex performance.”

On November 2nd, it was time for Vasa Drängar’s first tour of the year to a place outside Atlanta. We went to Charlotte, NC, to the ScanFest of the Carolinas. We put up an hour long program includ-

ing some of Vasa Drängar’s favorite songs and several spex songs. We had a great time there, not to mention the eve-ning spent at a restaurant near our hotel, singing our favorite songs around the table and receiving applause from the other people at the place. What else will make you happy?

Well, on December 6th, it was time again for another tour, this time to Ra-leigh, NC. This was our 8th consecutive annual tour to Raleigh’s Scandinavian Fair. As usual, we sang the national an-thems at the Opening Ceremony, for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United States. It was followed by a 45 minute concert by the Vasa Drängar. We presented a mix of Swedish folk-songs and Christmas songs such as I saw Mommy Kissing Santa

Claus, White Christmas and a funny Christmas Medley in which bars from 12 Swedish Christmas songs were mixed in a glorious mess. Later in the afternoon the Spex Group performed. A traditional Christmas party, hosted by Rae and Jim Gulick added the finishing touch of the day – a wonderful mix of glögg, julbord, singing, and playing until the wee hours.

OK, right now it is Sunday, December 8th. It is late evening and I have to pro-vide this article to Ellen in order to get it

Vasa Drängar: News from the South

Continued on page 5

Vasa Drängar performing at the ScanFest in Charlotte, NC

Spex performance by Vasa Drängar's Erik Kind, as August the Strong, King of Poland


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published in the next issue of Musik-tidning. But, Vasa Drängar’s duties be-fore Christmas are not over. In Sweden, Friday December 13th is the day of Lucia. This year it happens to coincide with Atlanta’s Lucia Celebration – that always happens on the second Friday of Decem-ber, rarely on the 13th. But, on this Fri-day, December 13th, the Lucia choir’s candles will shine a little brighter and the voices will sound better than ever, just because it is December 13th. Our Lucia choir consists of about 15 ladies and 10 men (all Vasa Drängar) and kids, and is conducted by Mia Peters. On the concert list are songs for SATB as well as SSA, TTBB and for the kids only, including for instance Tänd ett ljus by Lasse Lind-holm and Niklas Strömstedt; Stjärngos-

sarnas visa by Thord Gummesson; En

stjärna lyser så klar by Tore W. Aas; White Christmas, Stilla natt and many more.

Vasa Drängar’s last gig of the year will be at SWEA’s julmarknad on December 14th. There, we will present our best Christmas songs and, afterwards, enjoy some glögg and pepparkakor.

All of us guys in the Vasa Drängar wish all of you in the AUSS a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

- Göran Rygert, Director, Vasa Drängar

Winter’s festivities are fast approach-ing and life gets a bit more frantic and hectic, no matter whether we like it or want it – it’s a fact.

The Portland Scandinavian Choruses have been practicing for Christmas per-formances since September under the incredible, knowledgeable and patient guidance of Vance Sele, our cherished director of three years. The first of these performances took place at the annual Scan Fair.

Already on stage and after having mas-tered two songs each in their native lan-guages of Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish and Finish, we had just begun the de-lightful Swedish song Lyssna, lyssna when one of our sweet elders, Sharon Andrus, moved somewhat unsteadily and cautiously from her place in the first row to the staircase off the stage. Knowing that she had been a victim of a stroke many years ago, helpers immediately went to her side with assistance and first aid. After several minutes of uncer-tainty, it was established that it was a combination of an almost empty stomach and excitement that overwhelmed her system. She was given the choice to be escorted home or be checked out at the local hospital. Sharon chose the latter, where she was thoroughly evaluated and, later that evening, was released and taken home by her husband.

The moral of this story: treat yourself

well, take time out for a cup of good brew of your choice, do eat your meals when needed, bundle up when the weather dictates it, and be on the outlook for your neighbors’ wellbeing, and love one another.

A big “Thank You” to all Good Sa-maritans, professional and volunteer, who came to the comfort and aid on this occasion.

We are secretly thinking that Sharon just wanted to have those good looking men from the fire department and the first responders of the ambulance giving her their undivided attention (just kid-ding).

- Ute Munger, Scandia Ladies Chorus

Oregon Good Samaritans Vasa Drängar... Continued from page 4

Kelly Otto checks on Sharon Andrus to make sure she is alright

Swedish word of the month:

Snögubbe (snow man)


Christmas Greetings

Ken and Rosemarie Young

It is almost the end of the year and I just wanted to remind you about the op-portunity to donate to the CHF (the Cul-tural Heritage Foundation of the AUSS). Raise your hands to yourself if you have ever been to a conven-tion. How about knowing someone who has received the AUSS/CHF scholarship for college? Received Musiktidning? Ever been on an AUSS sponsored tour, whether it be to Kansas or Sweden? Has your chorus received yearly funds to help with whatever your group needs: music purchases, rent, director’s fees, etc? How many of you are interested in keeping the Swedish heritage of song and the AUSS alive and available for future generations?

The CHF pays for all those things and a lot more. We are a completely tax de-

ductible, volunteer organization and are ONLY supported by your generous do-nations. Please consider helping us. This is a perfect time of year to donate… just in time to write this off your taxes. Please contact Jim Maurice or Norm Matson about a donation. Jim’s address is on page 2 of Musiktidning. Surprise someone special this year with a dona-tion in their name for Christmas! It is truly the gift that keeps on giving!

If you have ANY questions about the foundation, please contact one of the board members: Christine Johnson, Norm Matson, Jim Maurice, Carl Erik Westberg, Jerry Jones, Don Ahlm, Alana Mapes or myself. Thanks for the consid-eration. Have a blessed holiday season!

- Jody Jones, President, AUSS Cultural

Heritage Foundation

Tis the Season to Give…

To the Foundation

The ASI Male Chorus has seven major concerts during the Holiday Season. It's an exciting time for the entire chorus. The venues range from the historic ASI Turnblad Mansion to the new ASI Lar-son Hall to historic, beautiful churches.

On Sunday, November 10th, the Cho-rus entertained ASI visitors by singing Christmas carols in the Mansion's Grand Hall. A beautiful rendition of Deck the

Halls was sung with three soloists. Other beautiful songs were sung, too, as people leaned over the balcony of the Grand Hall. People could then see the Mansion rooms decorated for the holi-days, with each Nordic country having a Christmas theme room.

Our attention then turned to the historic Fort Snelling Chapel on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This is a chorus tradition. The Chapel is similar to the chapel at West Point, only smaller be-cause, at West Point, the entire Corps attends services. Like the West Point Chapel, historic flags extend from the walls. It is exciting singing at the Fort

Snelling Chapel. The audience is appre-ciative. And, after the service, many chorus members and family enjoy going to IKEA for Swedish meatballs. It's a grand day.

On the 5th of December, the chorus sang at the Christmas gathering of Sven-ska Sällskapet, a group of men, who celebrate Swedish culture and heritage by dining on Swedish cuisine and enjoy-ing Swedish song, story telling, jokes, and good fellowship. On the program was The Twelve Days of Christmas a la

Svensk, getting a different Swedish item each day, such as Volvos and IKEAs. It's very funny.

We also sang Do You Hear What I

Hear and Evert Taube’s Fragancia, drawing on his Latin American experi-ences. The music gave this enthusiastic group great variety.

On Saturday, December 7th, we sang at the Julmarknad (Christmas Bazaar) at ASI, which is like winter markets across Europe. The event included a Handcraft Fair from twenty local artisans, family

activities, and holiday cheer. On December 8th, we sang at the Julk-

onsert at the Minekirken in South Min-neapolis, along with five other choirs: the ASI Cloudberries, the Nowegian Glee Club, the Flickorna Fem, the Mindekirken Choir, and a female chorus from Norway. This was a great after-noon of singing, followed by coffee and treats.

On Tuesday, December 10th, we held our annual Christmas Party at ASI, fea-turing good food and entertainment.

We will sing much the same music at our ASI Christmas Consert in Larson Hall at ASI on December 21st. We will be joined by the talented Cloudberries. We will sing Tomte Gubber, Twelve

Days of Christmas, Do You Hear What I

Hear, and many other songs. On Christmas morning, we will again

sing at Julotta at the Augustana Home. This is our way of honoring a Swedish Christmas tradition. Last year, Reverand Berg perfomed the liturgy from memory in Swedish a few weeks before he died at 102. He will be smiling at us from on high.

We will then take a break until January 21st, when we will begin preparation for helping to host the Central Division Con-vention, which will be June 25 to 28. You will hear more about this great event in the coming months.

We wish everyone a Glad Jul and a Gott Nytt År.

- Richard Sandeen

ASI Male Chorus at Various Venues


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Elaine and Ralph Hogstrom

Vi Önskar Eder Alla En Fröjdeful Jul

A Joyful Christmas to All Singers and Friends of the AUSS

North Star Singers Northern Lights Singers Fairfield, Connecticut www.auss.org/nssnls

God Jul och Ett Gott Nytt År

Bob Voedisch and Karen Johnson

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year! The Chicago Swedish

Glee Club

Rehearsals: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at Bridgeway of Bensenville 303 E. Washington St. Bensenville, IL 60106

God Jul from the Granat FamiliesGod Jul from the Granat FamiliesGod Jul from the Granat FamiliesGod Jul from the Granat Families

Jerry & Jody Jones

Marshall & Alana Mapes

Kurt & Maurine Granat

The Eastern Division has decided to have a mini-convention in the fall of 2014, rather than a full-blown conven-tion. The main reason is that we don’t have the attendance to justify all of the work involved in putting on a conven-tion. So, we will have a get together in Vermont, similar to the Eastern Division Fall Weekends. There will still be re-hearsals, a concert, socializing, and food and drink—all the things you love about a convention—on a smaller scale. And, we expect to incorporate some of the music for the 2016 Chicago convention in our concert.

More details will follow in future is-sues of Musiktidning.

We welcome all singers from across the country to join us in a great time!

Eastern Division Get Together

December 2013 MUSIKTIDNING page 8 of 12 God Jul och Gott Nytt År Önskar

Scandinavian Women’s Chorus of R.I.

God Jul och Gott Nytt År tillönskas av

Ellen and Ken Svengalis Northern Lights and North Star

www.SwedishMusician.com

www.auss.org/svenskmusik

www.NELawPress.com

www.DunelandPress.com


God Jul och Gott Nytt År

Hälsningar från the

Swedish Women’s Chorus of Seattle

The Very Best Wishes for a

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2014

Gunnel and Alf Lundquist

Chicago Swedish Male Chorus

Holiday Greetings from your Archive and Gallery Committee

The American Union of Swedish Singers is

one of the oldest ongoing Swedish-

American organizations in the U.S. and it is

important that our history is maintained

and secured. A dedicated tax exempt fund

exists within the Cultural Heritage Founda-

tion to assist with this effort; we would ap-

preciate your support.


Skål på Dig!

God Jul &

Gott Nytt År

Richard Young

Merry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry Christmas from

Nordic Harmoni Londonderry, Vermont


Tillönskas av

The American Swedish Institute Male Chorus and Ladies Auxiliary

Minneapolis, Minnesota

To: All Singers of the A.U.S.S. From: Members of the A.U.S.S. Cultural Heritage Foundation

A Very Merry Christmas and

A Happy and Healthy New Year



Happy New Year

God Jul &

Gott Nytt År

Ernest and Betsy GunnErnest and Betsy GunnErnest and Betsy GunnErnest and Betsy Gunn

God Jul Gott Nytt År

From

Carl-Erik och Marijke Westberg

“Vårt Land” Väst Jämtland,

Vermont

From the Arpi Swedish Male Chorus

and Scandia Women's Chorus of

Michigan

To All AUSS Members




Scandia Ladies Chorus Scandinavian Male Chorus

Portland, Oregon

Happy Holidays

to all our

AUSS Friends

from

Viking Male Chorus

and

Damkören

Jamestown, New York

volume cxxi december, 2013 no. 10 rhode island christmas

Documents