PROVO, Utah (Dec. 9, 2016)—Even a Christmas tree has a story to tell. That’s what visitors learned while listening to a choir deep within the BYU Museum of Art.
An annual event, the Scandinavian choir performance featured songs in various languages. This year, the choir sang “Santa Lucia” (Swedish), “Nu Er Det Jul Igen” (Danish), Tenn Ljus (Norwegian), En Etsi Valtaa, Loistoa (Finnish), “En Rose Så Jeg Skyde” (Danish), “Ó hve dýrðleg er að sjá” (Icelandic), and “Silent Night” (English). Together, the songs told the story of a Christmas tree, curious about the strange winter traditions of the nearby village and its part therein.
Thea Hansen, who directed the choir, has worked with many choirs in various countries, and every one has impressed her. This experience, though, stood apart from the rest. “The BYU Scandinavian choir took my breath away as we worked to learn 5 Scandinavian languages, new melodies and have it all come together,” she said. “It has been an absolute inspirational experience to work with students who dare to venture into a world of strange languages and cultures and allow themselves be a part of it.”
She added, “We started out as individuals, but ended up as one strong united unit.”
—Samuel Wright (B.A. American Studies ’16)
Samuel covers events for the Department of Comparative Arts and Letters for the College of Humanities. He is a senior pursuing a degree in American studies with a minor in editing.