The Bert Stromholm Band

The Bert Stromholm Band (AKA The SAHS Band) feature Bert and Eric Johansson on the accordion, violinist Jeanette Baker, Walter Eriksson Jr.on drums and nyckelharpa, and Roy Johnson on guitar.

They are one of the leading Scandinavian bands on the East Coast.

Children's Club Skansen

Children's Club Skansen #147 was chartered in the summer of 1959 and included children from 5 to 13 years old. Membership has averaged from 15-40 children, many of who continue on to Vasastjarnan Junior Club. The club meets once a month at Viking Hall at Vasa Park.

Örebo Woodwind Ensemble

The Örebro Woodwind Ensemble will perform for our Midsummer Celebration, as well as in a number of concerts in NYC during the Midsummer week in 2009. The ensemble will present a program based on Swedish music of various styles, composed by Roman, Söderman, Peterson-Berger, Alfvén, Moraeus, Andersson/Ulvaeus among others.

The musicians in the Örebro Woodwind Ensemble are mainly students from the School of Music at the University of Örebro and music teachers from the Örebro area and its surroundings. Current ensemble consists of about twenty musicians. The bass clarinet player Tomas Wikenius has arranged most of the music for the ensemble with its specific setting of traditional woodwind instruments like flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon combined with English Horn, Alto Saxophone and Double Bass.The repertoire is very broad with a mixture of music styles. Therefore, Örebro Woodwind Ensemble can perform at different kinds of concerts and events.

Örebro Woodwind Ensemble has become very popular in Sweden with its unique sound and music arrangements. Visit their site for more information at http://www.woodwind.orbs.se

Wil Kilpela & Friends Band

The Wil Kilpela and Friends Band is a wildly popular dance band from the high Finnish populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At the age of 15, Wil began playing the accordion his sister had abandoned and practiced relentlessly, puzzling out bass, treble, and scales by himself. He developed his musical style and learned many tunes by playing with local musicians and listening closely to musicians who traveled through the area, such as Viola Turpeinen, who inspired him greatly. Famous accordionist of the day, Frankie Yankovich, also had a strong influence on his playing.

Wil has played the accordion throughout his life, more so since his retirement as a civil engineer, and the formation of his own band, which has set the region’s dance floors afire for over a decade with lively polkas, and minor key waltzes, as well as swing, humppa, tango and jenkka. In 2002, Wil Kilpela was named as a master folk musician by the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program through Michigan State University Museum in East Lansing, Michigan. His band of seasoned traditional Finnish musicians has been featured at many Finn Fests (in the United States and Canada), as well as countless dances, concerts, festivals, and Finnish and Scandinavian programs.

Accompanying Wil is Randy Seppala on drums, bones, and spoons. Randy is one of the top bones and spoon players. He will also be giving a workshop and or demonstrations during their performances. Ken Holster, banjo and Paavo Hilska, vocals and mandolin round out the band.

They will be touring the East coast before and after their appearance at the Midsummer Celebration, on Saturday, May 20, 2009 at Vasa Park in Budd Lake, New Jersey sponsored by the Scandinavian American Heritage Society, SAHS.

Put your dancing shoes on because it’s hard to sit still when Wil Kilpela and Friends take the stage. If any clubs would be interested in arranging a performance by this band, please contact Bert Stromholm, 973-835-1666.

Rolf Stang – Showman and Storyteller

Mr. Stang is an actor, singer, writer, translator, repertoire coach, and lecturer based in New York City. In addition to appearing in many musicals and singing Lieder recitals throughout the U.S. and around the world, he regularly brings to life historical figures such as Edvard Grieg, H.C. Andersen, Leif Eriksson, and Henrik Ibsen. Mr. Stang was knighted by the Norwegian Crown in 1997, and in 1998 he was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame.

Mr. Stang is an actor, singer, writer, translator, repertoire coach, and lecturer based in New York City.

In addition to appearing in many musicals and singing Lieder recitals throughout the U.S. and around the world, he regularly brings to life historical figures such as Edvard Grieg, H.C. Andersen, Leif Eriksson, and Henrik Ibsen. Mr. Stang was knighted by the Norwegian Crown in 1997, and in 1998 he was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame.