Nordic Spirit Symposium

Nordic adventurers and explorers from the 18th to the 21st centuries will highlight this dynamic symposium featuring distinguished speakers and polished performers. The public is invited to share the time-honored spirit of a symposium, blending music, dining and the free exchange of ideas to enhance the pleasure of learning.

The symposium opens Friday evening at 5:30 with a reception in the Scandinavian Center. The cost of the reception is $10 and reservations are required. Street parking is by permit only. Visitor parking is available in the lots on Mountclef Boulevard north and south of Olsen Road.

The Friday evening program begins at 7 p.m. in Samuelson Chapel and includes the following presentations:

“The Adventurous Life of Thor Heyerdahl” – Donald Ryan, archaeologist and Faculty Fellow in the Division of Humanities at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., served as Thor Heyerdahl’s right-hand man during the last seven years of Heyerdahl’s life. He will provide an overview of the life of this daring creative thinker, global citizen and environmental activist.

“The Andrée Expedition: A Song Cycle by Dominick Argento” Baritone Christian Nova, Assistant Professor of Music at Los Angeles Valley College, and pianist Frank Garvey of Pierce College, will present a dramatic musical telling of the 1897 true story of three Swedish explorers on a journey to the North Pole – in a hot air balloon. Using the actual words from the explorers’ journals and letters, American composer Dominick Argento allows us a look into their minds, and ultimately asks the question: “At what price glory?”

Admission is $20; free for students. The Nordic Spirit Symposium is made possible by generous grants from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Norway House Foundation, the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco and the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles.

Pictured: Archaeologist Donald Ryan