Musical Migration Concert is this coming Saturday March 15! Don't Miss it!

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 followed over the next several decades by hundreds of thousands of other Norwegians.

This concert celebrates the migration of these Norwegian immigrants with a performance of the music they composed. Our musicians are Laura Loge and Steven Luksan. Much of this nearly-forgotten music has been found through Steven's archival research and has not been heard in a very long time.

About the Artists:

Soprano Laura Loge has been hailed for her “luminous stage presence” and“characterful and versatile voice.” Opera roles include Violetta, Musetta, Micaëla, Mother (Hansel & Gretel), Ännchen, Lisa (La Sonnambula), La Fée,Lucy (The Telephone), Rosalinda, and Suor Genovieffa, among others. She has performed as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Incidental Music to Egmont, Neilsen’s Third Symphony, Fauré’s Requiem, Grieg’s Incidental Music for Peer Gynt, David Monrad Johansen’s Syv Sanger, Op.6, arranged for her and chamber orchestra, Schumann’s Mass and Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Verdi’s Requiem. Laura specializes in Nordic art song and chamber music, having performed across the United States and in Norway, including in Edvard Grieg’s villa. She has produced two albums of Nordic song, including Breaking the Language Barrier: Songs in Norwegian and Danish, Composed by Foreigners and Songs and Piano Music of Edvard Grieg, Op. 33 & 66. Her next album, Der Skreg en Fugl, featuring previously unrecorded songs by Norwegian women with pianist Angela Draghicescu will be released in 2025 on the Chandos label. Laura is Founder and President of the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society, Artistic Director of Nordic Chamber Music, former Artistic Director of Mostly Nordic Chamber Music Series at the National Nordic Museum, and Concert Series Coordinator at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Saint Olaf College, Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory, and studied Nordic Art Song and chamber music at the University of Stavanger Conservatory of Music.

Website: lauraloge.com Email: lauraloge@gmail.com

Steven Luksan is a composer, pianist, and educator making music in Seattle, WA. He is a pianist at Seattle Opera, on faculty at Music Center of the Northwest, and is the accompanist for the Seattle Mannskor (The Norwegian Male Chorus of Seattle). He currently

serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Northwest Edvard GriegSociety. Steven received a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from the University of British Columbia and Bachelor’s Degrees in Music and Norwegian Language from the University of Washington. Steven is an advocate for the performance of new and uncommon compositions (especially those by Scandinavian composers and women composers), and for the performance of chamber music in intimate settings. He 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. As a performer and researcher, his interests focus on late-19th and 20th century Nordic and American music, especially music composed by Norwegian-American immigrant composers. Highlights of the 2023- 2024 concert season include the premiere of Steven's first opera, Valparaiso, a tour throughout Washington State with Seattle Opera's production of Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, and a revival of Alf Hurum's chamber music in both Hawaii and Washington. As a scholar, this season includes Steven's presentation of his research paper "Bjarne Rolseth in America: the Life and Work of a Norwegian-American Composer" at the International Edvard Grieg Society Conference (Bergen, Norway), and his lecture recital "Leif Erikson in Seattle: Gerard Tonning and Norwegian Opera in the New World" for the Society for the Advancement Scandinavian Studies.

Website: stevenluksan.com Email: stevenluksan@gmail.com

This concert is open to all and is FREE. Donations will be gratefully accepted.