Nordic Chamber Music: Norway

Highlighting the bicentennial of the first wave of immigration from Norway, Northwest Edvard Grieg Society’s Composer-in-Residence, Steven Luksan, will be joined by violinist Julia Adams and soprano Laura Loge to share long-forgotten songs, piano and violin works by Norwegian immigrant composers.

• Steven Luksan, piano
• Julia Adams, violin
• Laura Loge, soprano

• Songs, piano and violin works by Norwegian-American immigrant composers

Concert duration: 60-75 min

More info at nordicchambermusic.org

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 Grieg Society. 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 ofMonkey 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.

Violist Julia Adams attended the University of Washington where she studied String Performance and Music Education. An active performer and pedagogue in the Seattle area, she is the assistant principal viola for the Federal Way Symphony, section viola for the Yakima Symphony, former principal viola of the Bellevue Symphony and Seattle Philharmonic, and section viola for Lyric Opera Northwest, The Sound Ensemble, and Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. She also maintains a busy private studio and is a sectional coach for the Cascade Youth Symphony. Her principal teachers have included Lisa Dyvig (Principal Violist, Olympia Symphony), Aviva Leonard, Melia Watras (Associate Professor, UW), and Katie Kadarauch (Assistant Principal Violist, San Francisco Symphony).

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’sRequiem,Beethoven’sNinth SymphonyandIncidental Music to Egmont, Neilsen’sThird Symphony,Fauré’sRequiem, Grieg’sIncidental Music for Peer Gynt, David Monrad Johansen’sSyv Sanger,Op.6, arranged for her and chamber orchestra, Schumann’sMassandRequiem,Handel’sMessiah,and Verdi’sRequiem. 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, includingBreaking the Language Barrier: Songs in Norwegian and Danish, Composed by ForeignersandSongs 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.

The Nordic Chamber Music Series is produced by the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society.

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More info at nwegriegsociety.org

Host or Publisher Northwest Edvard Grieg Society