Volume CXXII January, 2014 No. 1 Christmas Events in …...celebration and resume rehearsals on...

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Published by the American Union of Swedish Singers In its 122st year of Performing Svenska Sånger in America

Volume CXXII January, 2014 No. 1

Happy New Year to all of our fellow

AUSS members and friends!

This past Christmas season, The Vi-

king Male Chorus and Damkören com-

bined to perform a Christmas program

for three nursing homes in the James-

town, NY area. Our director, Mary

Schmidt, put together a wonderful eve-

ning of entertainment for our audi-

ences. Our final program was on De-

cember 13, 2013, at Emeritus of Lake-

wood, NY. We also performed at Tan-

glewood Manor and the Frewsburg Rest

Home.

In the first picture, the group is about

to begin the Christmas Cantata, Comfort

and Joy, by Lloyd Larson. This cantata

recounts the nativity story through words

and music. Don Nelson was our narrator

and Kathy Durnell and Chuck Painter

were our soloists.

After the cantata, Linda Carlson played

a beautiful flute solo, The Holly and the

Ivy. That was followed by Ole, the Red-

Nosed Viking. For those of you not fa-

miliar with this traditional “classic,” it

tells the story of Ole and his glögg so

strong, that one Christmas Eve, Odin

invited him to join him in a song. The

other Vikings loved him so, they shouted

skål, with glee!

Then, Paul Sandstrom led us in truly

traditional Swedish Christmas songs Nu

är det jul igen, När juldagsmorgon glim-

mar, Hosianna, Var hälsad, sköna mor-

gonstund and Hej, tomtegubbar! Many

of our audience members acknowledged

being of Swedish descent. Mary then

returned to the podium to direct Samlas

nu kring julens träd and Silent Night,

with English and Swedish verses.

Many thanks go to Mary and our ac-

companist, Diane Kling, for all of their

hard work preparing us to present this

year’s program.

After our final program, we gathered at

the home of Jim Gardner and Amy

Stenta for food, fun, fellowship and

glögg. We’ll gather on January 11, 2014

for a more formal evening of holiday

celebration and resume rehearsals on

January 20 to prepare for our annual

Spring Concert.

- Amy Stenta, Damkören

Christmas Events in Jamestown

Above: Mike Yager preparing for the trium-phant return of Ole, the Red-Nosed Viking.

Below: Jamestown choruses performing on December 13, 2013 at Emeritus of Lake-

wood, NY.

January 2014 MUSIKTIDNING page 2 of 7

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 February issue is due February 8.

President’s Message Alana Mapes, AUSS President, [email protected]

Here it is… January 1, 2014! How exciting! We have a

brand new year… full of opportunities. How are you as a

chorus going to approach it? Optimistically is the word I

would like to hear.

I know it is sometimes hard to be optimistic. I have heard

comments that we are getting older, it’s hard to get people to

commit to regular practice, the chorus is shrinking, and the list

goes on. Don’t give up! Portland was there just a few years

ago. There were about 5 men in the men’s group, and the

women’s group though larger was basically “treading wa-

ter.” Our women’s director said he had other commitments

on Monday nights, and our loyal men’s director needed a

break from the responsibilities of the choir. That’s when we

decided to make a change and sing as

a mixed group, and although we

maintained our women and men’s

chorus identities, we shared the ex-

penses of the director, accompanist,

and facility rent. We offered the po-

sition to Vance Sele, knowing his

musical abilities, love of Scandina-

vian music, and of people in gen-

eral. It was the best move we could

have made. Warm-ups are like a

semi-private voice lesson, improving

breathing, vowel sounds, rhythm, the list goes on. He also

sneaks in some sight reading, but makes it fun so we don’t

feel we are back in a classroom. Our “sound” as a musical

group has dramatically improved, and people now want to be

part of our group. We have an average of 50 regular singers

at practice now, and we are still growing.

One of the key reasons we are growing is that we are sing-

ing all our songs in language. We found that young people

did not seem interested in singing show tunes with an inter-

generational group. Twelve of our new members were native

speakers who came specifically because we sang in Scandina-

vian languages exclusively. At least four other new members,

(not native speakers) came for the same reason. I have to say,

many of us doubted Vance’s wisdom choosing all Scandina-

vian language songs. Several went to him individually with

concerns. He always listened, and said, “Give it a

chance.” We did and the result is wonderful. The native

speakers are telling their friends, and we continue to

grow. For the first time that I can remember, during our bak-

ing marathon, Swedish was spoken as much as English. I

loved it!

Growth can happen to every chorus, we are not the excep-

Continued on page 6


Seated one day by my chainsaw, I was

weary and ill at ease, and my fingers

wandered idly over my splintered knees.

I knew not where the wood was, undeliv-

ered and very late, but I heard a truck in

the driveway, so I called out to my mate.

(Apologies to the composer of The Lost

Chord, a great old male chorus standard.)

Up here in the north woods, everyone

in the Nordic Harmoni Chorus either has

a wood burning stove or a new pellet

stove. The Johnsons, Sven and Carol,

have given up felling trees, so they buy

their cord wood. It is a bit too much

hard work to wheelbarrow and stack the

dumped wood, so we rounded up a crew

of singers and spouses, and soon the

wood was stacked and under cover. The

Johnsons were happy and we felt good

about helping.

The Chorus concluded the season with

a Sankta Lucia concert at the Weston

The Lost Cord

With wood for the Johnsons are (left to right): Dale Malekoff, Mike Malekoff, Bill Ellio, Bill Lynch, Tom Houston, Carol Johnson, Sven Johnson, Joel Kuhlberg, Carl-Erik Westberg,

Sherrie Rice, and Bob Rice. Photo: Marijke Westberg.

The Scandinavian Women’s Chorus of

Rhode Island finished the Christmas sea-

son by performing for the Norwegians.

The Sons of Norway asked us to sing at

their annual meeting at the Scandinavian

Living Center in Newton, Massachusetts

on January 5, 2014.

For the occasion, we included two Nor-

wegian Christmas songs: Ett barn er født

i Betlehem and Du grønne glitrende tre.

English songs performed during the

thirty minute presentation included The

Snow Lay on the Ground, Do You Hear

What I Hear?, and the pretty Christmas

Lullaby. Some well-known Christmas

carols were also included.

Hosianna, Julvisa, Lyssna Lyssna, Låt

mig få tända ett ljus, När juldagsmorgon

glimmar, and Juletid, Julefrid were

among the Swedish selections.

Next, we will prepare for the spring

concert.

- Astrid S. Drew, SWCRI

Members of the Scandinavian Women’s Chorus of RI are (left to right): Seated: June House and Astrid M. Drew. Standing: Jessica Stensrud, Astrid S. Drew, director Stephen Moye,

Lee-Ann Hurtubise, and Ann-Kristine Zaikowsky. Missing from the picture is Barbara Lundgren.

Rhode Island Chorus Sings for Norwegians

Congregational Church on December

4th. A full house, a poised and attractive

Lucia, and a good selection of songs

made for very successful event. We

were part of a town-wide Christmas fes-

tival sponsored by the Vermont Country

Store. A party after the concert at singer

Jeri Gerold's house, two doors away,

made for a perfect day.

We start up again the first week of

May. And, now, to play in the snow!

- Carl-Erik Westberg, Väst Jämtland, VT


Sele Siblings Win CHF Scholarships This is the first time ever

that siblings have been

awarded the AUSS Cultural

Heritage Foundation’s Seth

and Gloria Hokanson Music

Scholarships. Sean Sele, a

freshman, and his sister,

Kyla, a sophomore, both at-

tend Taylor University in

Indiana. These deserving

young adults are extremely

talented, yet humble. They

have spent the last few sum-

mers as volunteers at Trout

Creek Bible camp, giving

back to a camp they attended

as children. They are schol-

ars as well as talented musi-

cians.

Sean’s musical accomplish-

ments in high school have

been numerous. Although he

has won many awards in solo

Bass competitions and has

had the lead in several large

musicals produced by his

high school, he is focused on

what he can give back.

When asked about his musi-

cal goals, Sean writes:

“At the moment, I can

foresee my musical career

manifesting itself in several

different ways. Ideally, it

would be thrilling to be a

performer on Broadway. ...

Not only have I participated

in musical theater produc-

tions since I was little, but

have immersed myself in the

talents required to be success-

ful in the art of musical thea-

ter since.

“However, I also have en-

joyed many forays into the

opera and classical music

world. I have been blessed

with high quality voice teach-

ers, such as Dr. Scott Tuomi,

and have experienced success

in competition as a solo clas-

sical singer. … I will con-

tinue to develop my classical

voice over the rest of my col-

lege years and beyond, both

gaining excellence and possi-

bly a career.

“Another strong interest of

mine is choral singing. I

have been exposed to choral

music since I was born, at-

tending my father’s concerts

and listening to it at home.

Having joined the Pacific

Youth Choir at seven years

old, my experiences in con-

cert choirs, chamber choirs,

and accapella, from barber-

shop to modern, have given

me an appreciation of the

paradoxical co-existence of

both individuality and self-

lessness that is necessary to

produce quality music in a

group. The symbolism of

this coexistence is a beautiful

representation of the way we

were meant to live as hu-

mans. The importance of

community choirs such as the

Scandinavian chorus cannot

be emphasized enough. One

of the values to striving to

reach my vocal potential is so

that as an adult in community

choir I will be able to use my

individual talent to contribute

to the group.”

Besides vocal talent, Sean

also plays guitar, jazz piano,

trumpet, and bagpipes.

“Whatever skill constitutes

my future vocation, I know

that all of these abilities and

blessings will have a special

place in my life as I continue

to develop and improve. My

primary musical goal is to

utilize the talents I have, im-

prove them, and then use

them in a way that is honor-

ing and giving. As I did

nothing to earn that with

which I was lucky enough to

be born, and exposed to, I

consider nothing more appro-

priate than to, in turn, give of

myself and my music freely.

In order to do this with

honor, I must first improve

my gift so that what I give is

even greater than what I re-

ceived.”

Kyla Sele was a double

major last year as a freshman,

and as a music major, re-

ceived an AUSS CHF Music

Scholarship (see February

2012 Musiktidning). As a

sophomore, she has declared

music as a minor. (I’m sure

with a double major, music,

with all its practice and lab

requirements, was a huge

demand on her time.)

When asked about her mu-

sical endeavors, Kyla writes,

“Music has always been one

of my passions. Although I

am no longer majoring in

music, I know that music is

something I want to be in-

volved in for the rest of my

life. Right now, I am not

entirely sure what I will be

doing when I graduate. … I

definitely seek to be in a

choir whether that be through

the community or through a

church.

“I am earning a Music Mi-

nor, which will allow me to

put my musical knowledge to

use wherever it’s needed.

This fall, I discovered my

love for conducting through

the first semester of the class.

This spring, I’m excited to be

continuing with the class so

that I can learn even more

and put my conducting to

practice with the Taylor Or-

chestra and Chorale. I don’t

know exactly where my mu-

sic will take me, but I’m ex-

cited to find opportunities to

be involved in it in the fu-

ture.”

Last year Kyla wrote: “I

know music will always be

part of my life, because I

believe in its power to affect

performers and audience

members alike. … Through

music, we can express what

we can’t convey in words. …

Music has a great power to

speak to people. It provokes

joy, tears, and humor, but

most importantly it gives us

hope.”

Sean and Kyla have Norwe-

gian and Icelandic heritage.

They attend Portland Scandi-

navian Chorus concerts

whenever they are home from

school. These talented sib-

lings’ father is Vance Sele,

the Portland men’s and

women’s choir director. He

will also be an Assistant Di-

rector-in-Chief at the 2016

National Convention.

- Alana Mapes, Scholarship

Committee Kyla Sele

Sean Sele


December proved to be a busy, but

enjoyable month for all of us.

December 4th was our annual sing for

the residents of the Salvation Army

Home in Waukegan. This year, both the

men’s and the women’s choruses

sang. As always, it was a pleasure to

perform for this group.

Julmiddag was held at the Chevy

Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL on

a cold and snowy December 8th. The

Chicago Swedish Male Chorus

joined Waukegan's mixed chorus for a

delightful afternoon of Swedish mu-

sic. After the concert, family and

friends feasted on a delicious smörgås-

bord. Poinsettia plants decorated the

tables and banquet hall. One person

from each table was able to take a poin-

settia plant home with them.

The annual Christmas Party was De-

cember 14th at the American Legion

Hall in Lake Forest, IL. We did a lot of

decorating for a party that lasted just

several hours - a tree, wall decorations,

along with table decorations. Gunnel

Lundquist made the Glögg. We had

smoked salmon on our smörgåsbord ta-

ble in addition to good food prepared by

members of the Glee Club, plus egg nog

and a delightful sweets table with rice

pudding. After singing of carols, we

had a grab bag gift exchange. Everyone

had a chance to socialize and have a

good time.

All of us are looking forward

Waukegan’s Busy Christmas Season

January 13 is Tjugondedag Knut

(twentieth day Knut), the traditional end

of the Christmas season in Sweden.

Everyone dances around the Christmas

tree one last time, plunders it of its re-

maining candy and goodies (julgrans-

plundring), and tosses the tree out the

door. Besides doing the usual ring

dances and songs, they sing “Nu är glada

julen slut, slut, slut.”

Nu är glada julen slut, slut, slut Nu är glada julen slut, slut, slut

julegranen kastas ut, ut, ut

men till nästa år igen

kommer han vår gamle vän

för det har han lovat.

Now is Merry Christmas done, done, done

Christmas tree is thrown out, out, out

but the next year again

he comes our old friend

for he has promised.

to the New Year of singing and the up-

coming convention. - Pat Minkler, Swedish Glee Club—

Waukegan


The Seattle Swedish Women’s Chorus and SVEA Male Chorus sing at the Norse Retirement Home on December 17.

The Swedish Women’s Chorus and

SVEA Male Chorus performed at the

Norse Retirement Home on December

17, ending the program with a party. It

was fun and relaxing to socialize with

each other while sampling the products

of our great bakers. The residents enjoy

our performance each year and it is

heartening to observe the residents smil-

ing as they hum along to old favorites.

The Philadelphia Church, a Norwegian

church in Ballard, invited us to perform

in Swedish at their Jultrefest. With some

trepidation, we arrived at the Norwegian

bastion to be received with warmth and

appreciation. They also provided us with

great food!

Our president, Marta Schee, is hard at

work organizing a program for the

spring. The program will include several

Scandinavian choirs. We did this last

year and it was very successful. This

year, Marta is extending an invitation to

other northern European ethnic choirs to

participate. There will be lots of joyful

singing! Stay tuned for information

about this program.

We resume rehearsals in mid-January.

- Mary Hillman, Secretary, Swedish

Women’s Chorus

December with the Seattle Choruses

tion. Nordic Harmony has experienced a

very similar pattern. I am sure their di-

rector, Ken Olsson, has had a lot to do

with that. Working with Ken at the last

convention in New Haven was delight-

ful. He is a talented musician, friendly,

and knowledgeable. He is devoted to

making a group sound better, his direct-

ing techniques demonstrated that.

If you find your chorus needs a “shot

of optimism,” ask yourselves if a change

would make things better. Change is not

a bad thing. Several AUSS choruses

have merged, or become a mixed

group. If there is another group declin-

ing in membership located near, maybe

these groups could merge. Together they

could hire a talented director who would

love to “grow” a Scandinavian cho-

rus. As the group grows, so will the

quality of their music. It could be a win/

win situation. Small groups located far-

ther apart could practice the same songs

locally on a weekly basis with a member

of their group who could assume the

leadership role, then once a month they

could get together with the music profes-

sional, (paid director) who could have an

afternoon workshop.

I don’t want to offend any small

groups—there is nothing wrong with a

chorus of a few talented individuals. My

suggestions are for choruses that have

voiced concern about their numbers. My

advice is: “Don’t give up.” Remain opti-

mistic, make a joyful noise, and sing!

If you can, go to the Central Division

Convention (read about it in the Musik-

tidning). Even if your chorus does not

go, get the music and join the group

practicing for the Grand Concert. You

will be welcomed, and have a wonderful

time.

- Alana

President’s... Continued from page 2

Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem writ-

ten by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to

the tune of a traditional folk song, proba-

bly originally in a sprightly dance tempo.

The song’s Scots title may be trans-

lated into English literally as “old long

since,” or more idiomatically, “long long

ago” or “old times.” Consequently, “For

auld lang syne” might be translated as

“for (the sake of) old times.”

Burns’ original Scots verse:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

- from Wikipedia

For Auld Lang Syne


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This is the title of a new book, written

by Göran Rygert of Vasa Drängar, re-

cently published by Nordstjernan Förlag

Swedish News Inc.

It is the history of Sweden’s unique

tradition, snaps-song-singing. It de-

scribes the background of why the

Swedes love to sing snapsvisor. Drink-

ing-songs can be found everywhere in

the world, but only Swedes sing songs in

connection with the drinking of snaps.

In fact, it must be right before the drink-

ing. According to the unwritten rules,

you must not drink from the snaps glass

until you have executed a snapsvisa!

Every single party at which you prac-

tice these rules gets more fun. And you

will not get drunk because you’ll sing

more and drink less!

From Chalmers University of Technol-

ogy in Göteborg (from which I gradu-

ated) came a long time ago a snapsvisa,

called Ratataa, about the drinking a

snaps. It ended “So I’ll be glad today.”

Sometimes, at parties not at Chalmers,

people would sing: “So I’ll be drunk

today.” But, at Chalmers, that was a big

no-no, because “be drunk” rarely hap-

pened at those parties in which you were

busy singing. Not singing in connection

with drinking snaps is a poor show!

As you know, Sweden is a great choir-

singing country with about 600,000 ac-

tive choir singers. That’s about one

choir-singer out of every 15 Swedish

residents. But when it comes to the sing-

ing of snapsvisor, you don’t need to be a

choir singer. Every Swede (well, maybe

with an exemption of teetotalers) knows

“Helan går” and at parties he/she usually

sings at the top of his/her voice – in the

right key or not, on a recognizable mel-

ody or not.

Of course, if you are a choir singer, it

is even more fun to sing in parts. Last

November Atlanta’s Vasa Drängar had a

dinner at a restaurant in Charlotte, NC,

and we had a snaps. In accordance with

the Swedish rules, we had to sing before

we sipped from the snaps glass. This

resulted in applause from the other

guests in the restaurant. So we sang

more. More applause. And we contin-

ued. I can tell you that the snaps we had

lasted a long time and thus became the

basis of a small and unannounced, but

obviously appreciated, mini-concert.

In this book, you will find information

of the most varying kind. Did you know,

that:

• There are about 50 synonyms of the

word “snaps” in the Swedish lan-

guage? They are all listed in the book.

• Alcohol in the 15th century was used in

the process of making gunpowder?

• In the 17th century, it was considered

absolutely necessary to drink at least

one gallon of beer – every day?

• The number of restaurants, taverns,

and inns in Stockholm in the 18th cen-

tury was one out of every 79 residents?

What makes a good snapsvisa? There

are four components you need to know if

you want to participate in a snaps song

writing contest. That may happen in the

fall!

People in older days threw the stoup

away when they were finished drinking.

The royal parties were not much better.

At a party in 1573 in Stockholm, hosted

by King Johan the Third, 375 crystal

glasses were crushed. Luckily the man-

ners at Swedish dinner parties have be-

come more civilized. In the book you

can read about good toasting manners –

do’s and don’ts at fashionable dinner

parties, even how to toast with the King,

if you happen to be invited to the Nobel

dinner at Stockholm’s City Hall.

In addition to all this information, there

are about 100 snapsvisor, in English and

Swedish, in the book. There is also a

chapter about how to spice your own

snaps.

This is a book for all of you who are

interested in Swedish traditions, espe-

cially the one of singing snapsvisor – a

tradition that is unique in the world!

If you would like to get a copy of this

book, it is available at Nordstjernan.

But, right now, I am able to get you a

copy for a special price of $13.50 includ-

ing the postage. Just send me a check, or

send an email to [email protected]

Göran Rygert

4390 Ivywood Dr. NE

Marietta, GA 30062

Chasing Snaps-Songs

Cover of a new book by Göran Rygert

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