Event

Midsummer celebration and concert

Saturday, June 24, 2017 • 5:30 pm

The American Scandinavian Association at Augustana will celebrate Midsummer with traditional Scandinavian dress, decoration and raising of the Maypole, procession of flags and the midsummer queen, and a concert by  coloratura soprano Ylva Sofia Stenberg, winner of Sweden's 2017 Jenny Lind Scholarship.

Decoration of the Maypole with fresh flowers will begin at 5:30 p.m. The Midsummer program will begin at 6 p.m. when the Maypole is raised. (In case of rain, the program will be held in the church fellowship hall.) Participants should bring a chair or a blanket.

After the program there will be traditional Scandinavian singing and dancing around the Maypole to classic Swedish folk dance music. Food will be available for purchase from 5:30-7  from Wiley´s BackRoad BBQ & Grill.

The concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary. After the concert, guests may meet the performers and enjoy a Scandinavian social with cookies and beverages.

The 26-year-old Stenberg graduated with excellent ratings from the University of Music, Theatre and Media Hannover in 2016. Besides her tasks in the Hannover state opera, she is also active as a concert singer in and around Hannover. 

Her accompanist, Allan Timofeitchik, is finishing the master’s program at the Musical Academy in Malmö. The performers will be on a seven-city tour of Canada and the U.S.

Kaitlyn O’Brien, daughter of Patrick and Gretchen Tweet O’Brien, will be the Midsommar Queen. She is the granddaughter of Roald and Margaret Tweet. Her attendants are Emma Wahlmann and Jill Hayden.

The program is supported by a generous grant from the Swedish Council of America and a gift from the family of Janet Sauter.  A freewill donation will be taken for the Mauritzson Scholarship at Augustana which supports Swedish students who attend Augustana.