Today I had herring for breakfast. I kept remembering that wonderful Faulty Towers episode where John Cleese hides the breakfast herring in his sweater vest. I was fortunate to not have to hide something like that in such an intimate fashion.
We hiked up the hill behind our hotel to sing for the county mayor at the Telemark County Council Tingsalen. It was too hot in the building where they had originally planned for us to perform, so we sang outside. Stig Sjøstrøm worked wonders with a sound system, and with a little work he had us ready to perform outside in the garden.
Here’s a clip of Minot State University Senior, Nathan Bowles, singing Danny Boy with the Minot State University Choir:
After our concert which included:
- Skien City Song by Abraham Hvidsten
- Simple Gifts by René Clausen
- Frog Went A’Courtin’ by Joseph Gregorio
- Danny Boy, Featuring Nathan Bowles, baritone
- Ja, vi elsker dette landet (Norwegian Anthem) by Rikard Nordraak
The choristers loaded up in the bus to travel to Skien Recreation and Athletic Park for some much needed R&R after a very full schedule of concerts. Libby and I decided to check out the outdoor facilities at the Brekkeparken for tomorrow’s May 17th celebrations (Norway’s Independence Day Celebration). We ran into a preschool celebration that was a preview of tomorrow’s attractions, and it warmed the heart:
Tonight after sitting down to one large table in our hotel for a scrumptious dinner of pork loin, we scurried off for a rehearsal with the Telemark Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Papadic was conducting the Grieg Landkjenning which is such a fun piece. There was a community mens choir that roared out those Norwegian stanzas with such strength and vitality, we all felt Norwegian, even those of us who were more Czech.
We made our way to the Henrik Ibsen House where we rehearsed the To The Red & Green Forever, the Minot State University Alma Mater (Arranged for orchestra by Maestro Efrain Amaya), and my arrangement of He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands featuring soloists: J’Kobe Wallace, baritone, Maddy Sem & Bethany Kolschefsky, sopranos, and the wonderful Telemark Symphony Orchestra.
Here’s a clip of that rehearsal:
