Welcome to
The Edvard Grieg Society
of the Dakotas
The Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas presents
Oda Voltersvik: Nordic Unrest
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Oda Voltersvik’s international tour Nordic Unrest focuses on piano works that reflect dramatic aspects of nature in the Northern countries. The composers each aimed to portray characters and elements in nature or recreate tales of creatures originating from mythology and folklore.
Follow these links for more information about Oda's performances in North Dakota and western Minnesota:
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Monday, March 6, 2023
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7:30 p.m.
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Fox Recital Hall in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts, Minnesota State University
1104 7th Ave. S.
Moorhead, MN 56563
Tickets are available at the door!
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Wednesday, March 8, 2023
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7:30 p.m.
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Center for the Arts, Valley City State University
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Thursday, March 9, 2023
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7:30 p.m.
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Josephine Campbell Recital Hall in the Hughes Fine Arts Center, University of North Dakota
3350 Campus Rd
Grand Forks, ND 58202
Click here for Oda's program.
Click here to learn more about Oda
and her extraordinary artistry.
Click here to visit Oda's website.
A big thank you to KVRR for their wonderful interview with Oda about this tour!
Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota
2023 Piano Competition
The Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota is pleased to announce its 2023 Piano Competition. Registration is now open for pianists in two divisions: Youth Division, open to pianists ages 18 and under as of September 1, 2023; and Adult Division, open to pianists ages 19 and older as of September 1, 2023.
Three prizes will be awarded in both the Youth and Adult divisions. First Prize consists of a $1,500 cash award and a Winner’s Recital Performance on August 2, 2024. Second and Third Prizes consist of a $1,000 and $250 cash award, respectively.
Contestants must submit an Application, an MP3 recording, and a non-refundable application fee of $25 no later than
April 1, 2023 to the Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota at edvardgriegsocietymn@gmail.com. Finalists in each division will be notified by May 1, 2023. In-person Finals will be held in Minneapolis on August 5, 2023 at Norway House, located at
913 E Franklin Avenue, and the adjacent Mindekirken Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church. Click here for the application form and click here for Rules and Regulations.
Join members of the
Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas
and friends from the community for a concert and hymn-sing to shake off the winter doldrums. The concert will feature Nordic music, winter themes, and a sing-along of hymns to commemorate the
150th birthday of Norwegian composer Eyvind Alnaes.
This concert will take place on Sunday, February 5
at 2:00 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church
(1011 12th Ave. N.) in Fargo.
The all-ages event is free and open to the public.
Freewill donations
gratefully accepted
at the door.
We are pleased to announce the next round of grants offered for the coming year!
The Edvard Grieg Society of America was established to further knowledge and appreciation of the music of Edvard Grieg in the United States. To that end, a limited number of grants are available (now disbursed by the Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas) to qualified individuals or groups each year to support performance and/or research in America. Grants may range from $100 - $500.
Proposals for the next grant must be submitted by January 31, 2023, for an event taking place between March 1, 2023, and February 28, 2024. No grants are issued for a past event.
Scholars, individual performers, and groups with knowledge of and involvement with Grieg’s music may apply for a grant. Click here for more information about applying for a grant.
Join us on Sunday, October 23 for an afternoon of music by women composers of Norway. Two performances -- one at
3:00 p.m. and one at 5:00 p.m. -- will take place in the Johnson Fine Arts building on the Northern State University campus in Aberdeen, South Dakota. This wonderful showcase is free and open to the public.
Happy 5th Anniversary to us!
The Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas was officially incorporated on
August 1, 2017!
Happy Birthday
Agathe Backer Grøndahl (175)
and
Eyvind Alnæs (150)!
On July 28, we commemorated these milestone birthdays with a concert of piano and vocal music while also sharing some historical tidbits about both composers. The concert took place at 7:30 p.m. at
Peace Lutheran Church (1011 12th Ave. N. in Fargo)!
Agathe Backer Grøndahl
(1847-1907)
Featured performers include
Drs. Dianna Anderson, Marla Fogderud, and
Jean Hellner
Eyvind Alnæs
(1872-1932)
The Armstrong Boulevard Brass Quintet to Perform Selected Works of
Edvard Grieg
The Armstrong Boulevard Brass Quintet consists of five accomplished performers with over 150 years experience playing great brass music. A remarkable ensemble, this quintet is the recipient of the 2022 Grieg Society Grant.
Their first Grieg recital in Owatonna on June 20th has been postponed due to weather. We will let you know when this concert will be rescheduled.
We hope that you will be able to attend the concert on September 29!
Click here for what will be a great program!
Grieg in Performance
International Research Seminar 2022
The International Edvard Grieg Society, the Grieg Research Centre at the University of Bergen, and Grieg Museum Troldhaugen invite you to an international research seminar on Grieg in light of historical performance traditions and their relevance for present day interpretive practices. The seminar will take place 2 September at Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen and 3 September at the Grieg Academy.
Click here for more information!
Oda Voltersvik
in concert
World-renowned Norwegian pianist
Oda Hjertine Voltersvik
gave two concerts in our region during her tour of the United States!
Her first concert took place on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
For those in the Fargo-Moorhead area, Oda performed on Monday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Hvidsten Hall of Music at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
More information about Oda can be found at www.odavoltersvik.com.
Winner of the 2022 Grieg Society Grant
The Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas is pleased to announce the Armstrong Boulevard Brass Quintet as the recipient of the 2022 Grieg Society Grant. The $500 award will be used to produce two concerts of Grieg's music transcribed for brass quintet. The ensemble is based in southern Minnesota and includes members Thomas Bierer, trumpet; Craig Brendan, trumpet; Steve Spieker, horn; David Stordalen, trombone; and Al Tonn, tuba. Further information on concerts will be shared on our website and on the EGSOD Facebook page.
Songs Older and Newer: A Showcase of Edvard Grieg's Romanser
Join us for Dr. Marla Fogderud's upcoming faculty recital on Sunday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m.! This one-of-a-kind recital will be held at the Johnson Fine Arts Building on the Northern State University campus in Aberdeen, South Dakota. If you are unable to attend in person, click here for a live-stream link, and click here for the program. Please mark your calendars and tell your friends!
"Klaver-kvinner Konsert"
A Celebration of Norwegian
Women Piano Composers
The Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas presented a concert on Sunday, July 25th at
3 p.m. in the sanctuary of Peace Lutheran Church, 1011 12th Ave N, Fargo. The program, which is the first of its kind in this region, showcased piano music written by Norwegian women composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The concert included performances by pianists from around the Fargo-Moorhead community.
Click here to view this concert on our YouTube channel. Click here to view the program.
All donations will go toward future programming by the Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas.
Grieg and Mozart:
Emotion through Song
EGSOD, in partnership with Northern State University School of Fine Arts, presents
Dr. Marla Fogderud, soprano, and Dr. Jean Hellner, piano, in a lecture recital of songs by Edvard Grieg and W. A. Mozart. The program explores how each composer approached common emotional ideas such as love, longing, and remembrance. The concert will have a limited live audience in the Jewett Theater on the campus of Northern State University and will also be live-streamed. Please note masks are required for all on-campus attendees. Admission is free; donations to the Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas are gratefully accepted.
Please join us Saturday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. in person or
online for the live-stream broadcast.
Edvard Grieg:
Songs from the Heart
The Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota is pleased to release the first professional recording of songs by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, sung in English.
Recorded at the Landmark Center in Saint Paul, MN in the summer of 2020,
Melissa Holm-Johansen, soprano, and Stephen Swanson, piano, have captured the essence of the original song and text in these new English translations by celebrated Grieg scholar, Dr. William H. Halverson.
The album features 25 of Grieg's songs, along with a lyric book and notes by Dr. Halverson. Your CD may be picked up at Norway House or shipped to you directly. Shipping is free throughout the US. Proceeds support the Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota and Norway House.
The album will soon be available on all streaming platforms.
To order this CD, click here.
"The Beloved as Muse"
Our very own president,
Dr. Marla Fogderud, published a poignant, heart-warming article on the unique and beloved (if not at times tumultuous) relationship between Edvard and his wife Nina in the July 31, 2020 edition of The Norwegian American. Click here to read this article.
If you would like to contact Marla, please email her at griegdakotas@gmail.com.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Edvard and Nina Grieg in 1888
Image: Wikimedia Commons "Edvard Grieg accompanying his Wife" (1889), oil on wood, by Skagen painter Peder Severin Krøyer, is one of the most famous portraits of Edvard and Nina Grieg. Krøyer was a friend of the Griegs, who spent many winters in Copenhagen.
The EGSOD BLOG
Check out our brand-new blog for interesting news and information about Edvard Grieg and other Norwegian composers.