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.

Brent Buswell

A young blind virtuoso accordionist. Brent is of Finnish and Swedish descent. He performed on our stage a few years ago and was very well received. Since then, he has graduated from the renowned Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts and recently got married.

He has toured throughout the country with the Stratton Mountain Boys from Vermont, has been a guest performer with the Grammy-winning "Polka King" Jimmy Sturr Orchestra and performed at accordion conventions throughout the country. He has also performed at Scandinavian celebrations in Oregon, Maine, Texas, Michigan and other states. Brent was featured on the Sally Jesse Raphael TV show. He also has played at Disney World and at the Finnish Embassy in Washington DC and has recorded three CDs. He will be performing for us in the afternoon and evening and also sitting in with the Bert Stromholm Band for dancing.

His wife, Crista, a fine musician herself, will be performing with Brent. For more information about Brent check out his website: www.brentbuswell.com.

Ulla Suokko
Flutist, Singer & Storyteller

Carlos Revollar
Flamenco guitarist & Singer

After establishing versatile careers in their individual fields as international concert artists and entertainers, these Manhattan-based performing artists, Ulla Suokko and Carlos Revollar, are excited to bring their talents together to create a unique musical alchemy in celebration of our shared human heritage.

Romantic, charming, elegant and entertaining, this duo is committed to bringing beauty, passion and joy to the world through their custom-designed performances. Their program Lemminkäinen's Daughter Travels the World is inspired by Finnish music and mythology, though the journey into the mystery of love which it contains is a universal one.

Ulla Suokko, a native of Finland, is active both as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been featured in some of the world's most prestigious concert venues. Recipient of the Finlandia Foundation National Trust's Performer of the Year-award, Ulla has toured the United States with her creative and cherished programs of stories, music and poetry. Showing her versatility, Ms. Suokko has many credits also as an actress, including the title role in an award-winning short film Dolores, as well as multiple appearances on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Conan's Finnish wife. She holds the degree Doctor of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School.

Flamenco guitarist Carlos Revollar is one of the most sought-after flamenco artists in New York City, performing regularly with some of flamenco's top dancers and singers. An accomplished composer, Carlos has won American Music Center Award Grant three consecutive years for his compositions. He is currently the Musical Director of the Alborada Dance Theater. As winners in the Artists International 35th Annual New York Debut Award Auditions, the duo Ulla Suokko and Carlos Revollar will be presented in their official New York recital debut in Carnegie Hall on February 10, 2008 in Artists International's Special Presentation Winners Series.

Read more about Ulla at her website: http://www.ullasuokko.com

Rolf Kristian Stang

Rolf Stang plays Grieg, Hans Christian Andersen, and other Scandinavian greats. For the past year and a half, he has been traveling far and wide playing his one-man show "HENRIK IBSEN: The Quiet Eye of the Hurricane" with great success. On the 23rd, he will give us all a taste of the cranky but amusing genius, Henrik Ibsen. A fascinating subject, Ibsen is second only to Shakespeare as the most often performed dramatist worldwide.

Rolf was with us in 2005, when he gave our young folks a great program as Hans Christian Andersen. A translator of note, he also sings, acts, lectures, and writes about Scandinavian culture, particularly Norwegian. King Harald V has decorated him with the St. Olaf Medal in recognition of his years of interpreting Norwegian culture so effectively. You may have seen Rolf on TV in the CBS Thursday night series "Promised Land".