Nordic Spirit Symposium

From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday evening and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the 2007 Nordic Spirit Symposium will explore contemporary musical, political and scientific cultures of the Northern countries.

Distinguished speakers will include Leena Peltonen-Palotie, M.D., Ph.D., University of Helsinki, Finland (founding chair of the Department of Human Genetics, UCLA); Christine Ingebritsen, Ph.D., University of Washington; William Halverson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Ohio State University; Dr. Olav Orheim, former director, Norwegian Polar Institute; and Lene Balleby, Minister Counselor, Danish Embassy, Washington, D.C. Presentations will include a tribute to the pioneering work of Swedish scientists Carl Linnaeus and Svante Arrhenius.

Musical performances by internationally acclaimed artists Per Vollestad (baritone), Sigmund Hjelset and Dorothy Schechter (piano), and Loretta Kelley (Hardanger fiddle) will be dedicated to the living memory of Edvard Grieg on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death.

For information on each day’s program as well as registration and fees, please call Allan Carlson at (818) 788-4552 or e-mail seeallan@sbcglobal.net.

The Nordic Spirit Symposium is sponsored by the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation and California Lutheran University, and is made possible by generous grants from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco and the Norway House Foundation in San Francisco.