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Sandefjord Girls Choir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sandefjord Girls Choir (Norwegian: Sandefjord Jentekor) was a Norwegian girls choir that performed from 1956 to 2009.

It was founded in 1956 by Sverre Valen and had a varied repertoire.[1] In 1969, the choir won its class in the BBC (later EBU) competition Let the Peoples Sing. They won NRK's national competition for youth choirs 15 times. On tours in Europe, the choir performed in cathedrals like Cologne Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris[2] and St. Peter's Basilica.[3] In 1976, the choir toured USA for three weeks as part of the United States Bicentennial. The tour ended with a performance in the Carnegie Hall, for which they received an excellent review in The New York Times.[4][5] Valen stopped conducting the choir in 1997.[6]

Recruiting many of the best singers of the Sandefjord Girls' Choir, Valen started Valen's Soloist Ensemble ( Valens Solistensemble) in 1985 and conducted it to 2000.[7]

Jan Helge Trøen took over as conductor of Sandefjord Girls Choir in 1997. In 1999, the choir became part of the foundation World Festival Choir who hired Vesta Zabulioniene as conductor. During her time the choir held concerts with artists like Tommy Körberg, Benedicte Adrian, Jørn Hoel, Jan Werner Danielsen and Sandra Lyng Haugen.[8] She conducted the choir until 2009 when she decided to concentrate on her own music school and the girls in the choir followed her.[9]

Selected recordings

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  • Jul med Sandefjord Jentekor. (1970) Conductor:Sverre Valen
  • Hymn to Freedom (1990). With Jorunn Marie Bratlie. Conductor:Sverre Valen
  • O Helga Natt. (1992) With several others. Conductor:Sverre Valen
  • På folkemunne. Norwegian folk tunes. (1994) Conductor:Sverre Valen
  • Julemoro. (1994) With Gunstein Draugedalen. Conductor:Sverre Valen

References

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  1. ^ Sandefjord jentekor (in Norwegian) Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. ^ Hugo Lauritz Jenssen, Linda Næsfeldt (3 March 2013) Alt for barna Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 17 February 2014
  3. ^ Flemming Hofmann Tveitan (12 January 2010) Samlet mellom to permer Sandefjords Blad. Retrieved 14 February 2014
  4. ^ Peter G. Davis (12 July 1976) Sandefjord Girls' Choir of Norway ends tour (paywall) The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2014
  5. ^ Sverre Valen International Adventist Musicians Associations. Retrieved 14 February 2014
  6. ^ Ser helst livsverket dør (in Norwegian) Sandefjords Blad. Retrieved 17 February 2014
  7. ^ Aksel Korbøl (in Norsk biogragisk leksikon) Sverre Valen (in Norwegian) Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 14 February 2014
  8. ^ Ser helst livsverket dør (in Norwegian) Sandefjords Blad. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2014
  9. ^ Marianne Henriksen (10 June 2009) Synger på siste vers? (in Norwegian) Sandefjords Blad. Retrieved 20 February 2014
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