St. Olaf College – Valerie's Voice

Family Concert at St. Olaf

St. Olaf College’s annual family orchestra concert’s program is put together with children in mind, using fun and unusual antics.

The concert was held in St. Olaf’s beautiful Boe Chapel.

During the opening piece by Bach, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Glory unto Thee be Given) the students played their instruments while walking up and down the aisles. That was different, and very engaging. I liked the idea.

Students playing their violins while walking the aisles.

And when I heard the very first notes of the concert I immediately was jolted to a place of enjoyment and contentment, and I said to myself, it’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this beautiful music. What a gift it is.

Louis & Dan and the Invisible Band, with the St. Olaf orchestra.

This year’s concert featured a guest appearance by Louis & Dan and the Invisible Band. Their catchy music and lyrics may work with an invisible band (as indicated in their name), but the St. Olaf orchestra was too loud for them and drowned out the two male vocal artists.

Dr. Chung Park, the St. Olaf orchestra conductor.

The traditional highlight of choosing a child conductor (this year three) from the audience is a favorite. Dr. Chung Park, the orchestra conductor, chose three kids from the audience who came forward to “try out” to be a conductor. As the students played Rossini’s famous William Tell Overture the three young kids started to conduct, however, Dr. Fang had to tell them to turn around and face the orchestra. It was comical.

The three young children conducting the William Tell Overture (facing the right direction.)

A segment called the “audience orchestra” was interesting. A student stood up front and turned to face the audience, and without words directed our hands and feet to make sounds/music. It was very well done…and during this time Dr. Fang went back stage and changed into a Lord of the Rings costume. He came out as Gandalf and conducted the final piece of the concert, “Symphonic Suite” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Gandalf conducting the St. Olaf orchestra.

This concert was a unique opportunity for the St. Olaf students to reach out to the children of the Northfield community. It was well attended, by the young, and the young-at-heart.

More Music

I’m grateful all the ways my life has been, and is currently, touched by music. I do appreciate music, although there is so much I do not know about it. The multitude of different musical instruments is amazing. I certainly appreciate musicians; their dedication to their craft and the practice they’ve endured, creating outstanding music for others to enjoy.

It’s nice to be able to attend concerts at the two colleges in Northfield. Even though I may not know much about the compositions, or composers, I can’t help but think I am changed in some way by hearing the beautiful music. Music is good for our souls.

Recently, we have been to several musical events…the St. Olaf Orchestra concert, a Boston Trio recital at Urness Hall (on St. Olaf campus), and the Rock and Roll Revival, a musical extravaganza put on by Northfield High school students.

Each were unique, each were performed by amazing musicians, and each were enjoyable.

The RRR (Rock & Roll Revival) has been put on every other year, for a total of sixteen times so far, by the high school students. It features rock and roll music, from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The high school kids put on a stellar and energetic performance. It’s always fun to see them in action.

I saw this box of 45’s in an antique store. These records were popular in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Most are without their sleeves, except for one or two.

And, this year’s RRR brochure was especially clever.

The brochure itself was square, with a 45 phonograph record printed on the front cover.

The picture of this “45” looks so realistic. The brochure was such a fun enhancement to the RRR.

The inside pages listed the songs to be performed. This brochure was then placed into a white, paper sleeve just like how the original 45’s were packaged for retail sale back in “my day.” What fun!

The brochures were tucked into these white sleeves, to represent a 45 phonograph record.

Music is very much a part of my life… from praise and worship songs and hymns on Sundays, to multiple and different opportunities presented to me from many other venues throughout the days, including my new Zumba class! We dance to lively, hispanic music.

Whether it is formal concerts, singing to ourselves or in church, or even hearing the birds sing their songs in the great outdoors, music is all around us…and I am grateful.

I would add to this saying on this card I received; .”And for all our saddest days, there is music.”

Urness Recital Hall

Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus is a wonderful venue all year long, but it is especially cozy this time of year with its intimate setting and attractive lighting.

The light shining through the windows of Urness Hall, lighting up a dark space.

We bundled up and went out into the cold night for a 7:00 performance at Urness Hall, knowing it didn’t take long to get to campus, it would be easy to park, it would be a free concert with a reasonable time commitment, and we’d hear some exceptional music.

Along one wall in Urness Hall is floor to ceiling windows. Sound boards help create fine acoustics.

The venue was maybe half full with students and community members. We sat on an aisle, behind a St. Olaf conductor of a different ensemble, who was in the audience. I’m sure she couldn’t help herself…she was covertly conducting the performance from her seat. She was fun to watch.

There were three musical scores on the program. The first two were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750, a German composer, and they both included the harpsichord. The third piece was composed by Pyotr Lylich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), a Russian composer.

Apparently during the 16th-18^th centuries, the harpsichord became an important European instrument, which may be why Bach’s compositions included the harpsichord.

The harpsichord and music score, on stage, ready to be played.

I don’t know the history of St. Olaf’s harpsichord, but I overheard this was the first time it was played in Urness Recital Hall. James E. Bobb, the conductor of a choral ensemble at St. Olaf, and an organ/harpsichord professor, played the harpsichord during the performance.

St. Olaf’s harpsichord, moved to the side after the first two pieces were finished (the top was removed before I was able to take a picture.)

The third piece by Tchaikosky was performed by 21 students from the St. Olaf orchestra. They were student-lead by the first chair violin (or viola), and included four string instruments: violin, viola, cello and bass cello. It was a lively, spirited performance. The students really do put a lot into their playing. Not only is it wonderful to hear them play, it’s fun to watch them play.

The 21 orchestra members playing beautiful music.

And so, an hour and 15 minutes later, we were putting our jackets back on and heading home, glad that we took the time to venture out for some high-quality music, being uplifted on this dark, cold January evening.

Steensland Hall

The St. Olaf College campus is a beautiful place to walk. It has lots of sidewalks, mature trees and magnificent buildings to look at. I took a walk up there last week, planning to stop in at a holiday open house in the newly renovated (well, two years ago now) Steensland Hall.

Steensland Library (now Hall) was built on St. Olaf Campus in 1902. It was the third building to be built on campus. Old Main was the first in 1877, then the Ytterboe Dorm (originally called Men’s Dormitory) was built in 1901. Ytterboe was torn down to make room for the student center, Buntrock Commons, which opened in 1999. Both Old Main and the Steensland Hall are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Old Main, the first building built on St. Olaf campus – built in 1877.

Steensland Hall, a smaller, quaint, Neoclassical Revival-style building was built close to Old Main. It began as a library then morphed into several purposes over the years, after a new, larger library was built. Then, the Steensland library sat vacant from 2001 until its renovation in 2021.

An old card catalog sits in the lower level. It has the original library cards in it, but is no longer used.

It was renovated to house the Hong Kirekegaard Library…the largest collection of books (outside of Denmark) by and about the Danish philosopher Søren Kirekegaard. Scholars come to St. Olaf to do their research here, since the books cannot be checked out. The lower level provides cubicles for visiting scholars.

When I walked through the door, I was greeted by a former acquaintance from when I worked up on the hill. Her first words were, “There’s a blast from the past.” I smiled, and she took me on a tour.

Upstairs, which is the entry level, there are a couple of offices, many bookshelves, and a big round oak table in the middle, welcoming people to come and sit a spell, and enjoy the charming and inviting space.

The building has lots of windows, so it’s very light and bright inside. There is a beautiful glass dome in the ceiling which was damaged in the infamous 2006 hailstorm, but the restorer was able to find the original glass provider and acquire more glass to repair the dome.

The classroom in the lower level of Steensland Hall.

Of course, the building is now all up to code. There is an elevator, and a handicap assessable bathroom on the lower level, in addition to the work area cubicles, a classroom, and a small kitchen.

Student workers put together this creative tree from books, for the holiday open house.

I was glad to finally have a chance to go inside and see this small, little building that has so much character.

And I enjoyed a Christmas cookie too.

Nerstrand’s Library

In the very, very small town of Nerstrand, Minnesota (population 279 in 2021) there is a quality meat market called Nerstrand Meats & Catering. It has been a mainstay of the community since 1890. Attached to the market is a recently opened café called Boot’s & Lu’s.

The owners of the meat market opened this cute café serving one lunch option daily (a different option each day, of course), and has limited hours. Nerstrand also has a convenience store and gas station, a couple of churches, a woodworking business, grain elevator, elementary school, a post office. The wonderful Nerstrand Big Woods State Park is two miles down the road.

The building next door to Boot’s & Lu’s is city hall, and within city hall there is a newly created library that recently opened, also with limited hours. As I was going to Boot’s & Lu’s one day, I noticed the library sign hanging in the window of city hall was turned to “open”. I have always liked libraries, so I was excited to step inside to take a peek.

A portion of the children’s library space.

Immediately a woman came out of her office to welcome us. She was pleasant, but I didn’t get her name or job title. She welcomes all who walk through the doors, and turned on the library lights for us.

One area of the older reader’s sections.

We browsed around. There was a nice-sized children’s section, and traditional books were shelved in different areas on the main floor. There seemed to be a very good selection of books.

The boxes are books that need to be sorted.

No library cards are needed. The honor system is used. You fill out the library card that is tucked in the back of the book and leave it in the check-out basket. There is no due date, you return the book when you are finished reading it. There are no late fees.

Our new friend continued to talk a bit about the history of the building. It was built in 1908 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The city hall housed city offices, some fire equipment, and a jail.

She unlocked a door in the back room to show us the original jail cell with bars still on the window. The old fire station was housed in the building next door (Boot’s & Lu’s).

This photo hangs in the hallway of Nerstrand’s city hall. It is a photo of Osmund Osmundson, a Norwegian immigrant who is credited for founding Nerstrand, incorporated in 1897. He was also one of the four founders of St. Olaf College.

We were impressed with this little library in this little town…a big step above “Little Free Libraries”. Plus, we had our own delightful guide, willing to share a lot of information about a place she cares about.

A quote on the wall in the children’s section of the library.

Trondheim

Trondheim is the 3^rd largest city in Norway. Oslo is the largest, next Bergen, then Trondheim. It’s a walkable city, and that is how we got around.

This colorful canopy of umbrellas in the downtown area made me smile.

Our first day in Trondheim, we walked the city loop before the afternoon rain came. We got a good look at what we were interested in, then settled in to read and relax on this rainy afternoon. It was a nice break to slow down and have a rest day.

The lobby of our funky hotel in Trondheim.

The next day we walked to another botanical garden. Although not as spectacular as the one in Tromsø, it was nice to visit. And we took a couple small detours on the way back, for different vistas overlooking the city.

We liked the grass border around the different beds in this garden.

A perky purple flower in the botanic garden.

The Nidaros Cathedral is Tronheim’s most famous “monument”, where royal coronations are still celebrated today.

The cathedral was built over a 230-year period, beginning in 1070 to 1300 when it was substantially completed. Nidaros is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world.

Inside the cathedral, looking towards the beautiful stained-glass rose window.

The cathedral was large with very high ceilings and spacious areas for interior seating.

The cathedral is the burial place of King Olav Haraldsson, around 1030, but nobody knows for sure the precise location of his burial place under the cathedral floor.

Nidaros Cathedral is a place near and dear to St. Olaf College here in Northfield. King Olav Haraldsson is St. Olaf College’s namesake.

The Old Town Bridge is another popular attraction in Trondheim. It stretches over the Nidelva River. It was built during the reconstruction of the city after a fire ravaged the city in 1681. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1861.

Bakklandet, a view from the Old Town Bridge.

The bridge is a gateway to Bakklandet, the old town, and a very picturesque area on the eastern bank of the river. It is made up of narrow cobbled streets lined with colorful wooden houses. So quaint.

The curious bicycle lift, in Bakklandet.

This is at the top of the bicycle lift, looking down the steep hill.

Many towns along the coast are hilly, and bikes, especially e-bikes, are very popular in Norway. Trondheim has a bicycle lift…an ingenious idea we’ve not seen before. Supposedly it’s the only one in the world. It boosts you up a steep hill while on your bike. Unfortunately, we didn’t see anyone use it the few times we were in the neighborhood. We watched a YouTube video to see it in action.

We enjoyed our two 13K (8 miles) walking tours of the city, seeing many of the main tourist attractions.

Below are photos of doors I found interesting in Trondheim.

The priest’s entrance for the Nidaros Cathedral.

We passed another old church in Trondheim with a priest’s side door.

Next stop…Bergen!

A Norwegian Odyssey

It’s been two weeks since celebrating America’s Independence Day, the 4^th of July. Although we didn’t get to see any fireworks in the night sky, Gary and I were welcomed to Bergen, Norway on the 4^th of July with an American flag waving for us, in the reception area of the Bergen airport. A few of my second cousins met us at the airport to welcome us to Norway. What a great way to be greeted on the 4^th of July. It was better than fireworks.

Warm greetings from the Norwegians, for Gary and I.

When we first arrived in Norway, a week prior to meeting up with the relatives, we flew directly up to Tromsø, a city 200 miles above the Arctic Circle…the land of the midnight sun. And we were witnesses to that sun that did not set…I saw the sun at 2 am one morning when I woke up.

The midnight sun, from our hotel room window, 2:16 am.

After two days in Tromsø, we boarded the Hurtigruten, a Norwegian coastal ferry and postal service boat that travels along the Western Coast of Norway, making many stops along the way. We had reserved a cabin on it for three nights…and it was amazing. We were delighted and surprised to realize it was more than a working ship, but very much a comfortable, not extravagant, ship with wonderful buffets at mealtime, and relaxing chairs next to large windows overlooking the magnificent beauty of the Norwegian coast. We liked the size…not too big…and the only entertainment was the breathtaking sea and scenery, and that was enough.

We disembarked the ship in Trondheim, where we spent the next two nights at a hotel. We walked around the city for two days, plus had a needed, relaxing rain afternoon.

Trondheim is the city where St. Olaf College performs choir concerts in the majestic Nidaros Cathedral. I’ve heard about this cathedral for years while working at St. Olaf. It was fun to finally see it….and when we purchased tickets…we learned the young woman behind the counter had been to St. Olaf College singing with her Norwegian women’s choir.

I don’t understand the question mark on Bergen’s airport identification sign.

Then… we flew to Bergen, where we began the second half of our trip with my wonderful, amazing Norwegian relatives, who treated us like royalty. We spent the next nine days with them and it was over-the-top wonderful!

From the airplane, along the mountainous coast of Norway.

From the airplane…along the western coast of Norway.

Norway, a country of 5 million people, is a stunningly, beautiful country with mountains, fjords, pristine shorelines, and breathtaking natural beauty. It is clean with friendly, warm and welcoming people.

In the coming days I will be posting blogs about this amazing odyssey. I will struggle with what photos to share…I took many!

More Sweet Music

We recently we attended a St. Olaf Orchestra concert. The college finally opened the campus to visitors, so we could be on campus. The orchestra concert was especially inviting since it is one of Steve Amundson’s (the conductor of St. Olaf’s orchestra) last concerts. He will be retiring at the end of the school year, after forty years at the college.

I enjoy attending St. Olaf orchestra concerts. The audience is guaranteed an amazing, and varied, performance. The students create beautiful music and sound fantastic. At this concert, besides being one of Steve’s last concerts, two out-of-the-ordinary things happened.

First, this concert was performed a few days after the invasion of Ukraine. Steve added a special piece to the program, “Nimrod”, a beautiful, calming piece, and he called for a moment of silence to remember the people of Ukraine. It was poignant.

Then, in addition to featuring two outstanding soloists, a cellist and a clarinet player, another special and distinct piece of music was performed. The husband of a friend of mine, commissioned Steve Amundson to write a piece in honor of his wife and her retirement from thirty-plus years of working at St. Olaf College. The composition was débuted at this concert. It was titled “Gratia Viva” and the piece was remarkable….marvelous…wonderful… it’s hard to find words to describe it. It was such a sweet piece of music, and it was exciting to know the people and story behind the song. How one composes music, especially for multiple instruments, is beyond my imagination.

We will continue to monitor the college’s music calendars for more events, now that the campuses are open to the public. Both colleges offer many gifts to our community, and I am grateful.

Love Divine

Love Divine, that was the theme of this year’s St. Olaf Christmas Festival.

The St. Olaf Christmas Festival program.

After cancelling the festival last year during the pandemic, the Christmas Festival was back this season, strong and beautiful. It felt like a worship service, with praise songs, Christmas music and scripture readings, all focusing on God’s love, and the birth of Jesus.

The participants and concert goers were carefully monitored. Everyone was masked…even the performers who were singing! Every ticket holder had to show proof of COVID vaccination before entering the building. The students and conductors all had multiple COVID tests planned throughout the days leading up to the festival, and during the performance dates.

It felt wonderful to be back, sitting in Skoglund Auditorium (transformed from a gym every year) and listening to magnificent music, performed with energy and dedication, by the St. Olaf students. What a blessing!

Even through masks, the singing was glorious. However, the St. Olaf Choir director, Anton Armstrong, tested positive for COVID a few days before the first performance, so he was unable to attend the Festival. That must have been hard for him.

The St. Olaf orchestra does an astounding job under the leadership of Steven Amundson. The orchestra sounds like professional musicians. I loved the compositions played in the festival. Steven Amundson has been the orchestra conductor at St. Olaf for 40 years, and this is his last Christmas Festival. He is retiring at the end of the academic year. He is loved by the students and will be missed by many.

Although Anton Armstrong always conducts the final piece at the festival, because he was not in attendance Steven Amundson was able to step in for Anton and direct the signature ending piece, Beautiful Savior. What a marvelous, and meaningful, way for Steven to end his last Christmas Festival at St. Olaf College.

Carleton College

I like to get outside and walk when I can. However, in Minnesota it can be challenging. The winter weather is not always conducive to walking outdoors.

Since I was a previous employee at St. Olaf College I have access to their indoor track. It’s a retirement benefit and I’m thankful for it…but walking outside is my preference. Even in the cold. It’s the ice that is the problem. And this year the ice seems to be especially bad…early on we had an ice storm and many public sidewalks were never cleared properly, leaving icy spots in several places and making it unsafe to walk, probably for the whole winter.

Behind my favorite tree on campus is the 1887 Goodwill Observatory (listed on the National Register of Historic Places).

Fortunately there are two colleges in town and both keep their sidewalks cleared of snow and ice for the many students walking across campus all day long. Carleton College is a little over a mile from our house so I tend to go there often to walk outdoors.

I thanked these two custodians for their hard work, as they walked by carrying shovels.

I can count on Carleton’s sidewalks to be cleared down to the cement with not many traces of ice anywhere…and pretty much within a few hours of a snowstorm…or at least it’s always cleared when I’m ready to get out for a walk.

Carleton College is a beautiful and interesting place to walk: the academic and administration buildings are impressive,