Members of the community got a trip through Scandinavia at the Tisdale Community Lions Band’s 2017 spring concert.
The May 13 concert at the Maurice Taylor Auditorium featured solely on the Scandinavian countries, with music ranging from Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to Swedish pop group ABBA.
The Scandinavian show fit in nicely with the band, noted Lisa Skogsrud, MC and band member, saying that conductor Uffe Vors and a few of the other band members are of Scandinavian descent.
This also gave the band a chance to be a little different, Skogsrud said, who notes that Scandinavian music typically does not get a lot of attention.
“Sometimes we hear a lot more of the serious composers of the more southern parts of Europe but we don’t get to hear a lot from northern Europe.”
This year, the Lions band invited some friends to join in the concert, with the Tisdale Strings kicking off the show, before giving way to a variety of duets and solos.
This part of the concert showcased a number of band members, who got the opportunity to showcase their talents on an instrument other than the one they play in the band.
“When you have people who are musicians with one instrument, you often find that they’re musicians with another instrument or with voice and so tonight was a chance for that to come to the fore a little bit,” said Skogsrud.
The show was played in front of a packed house, which was really nice to see, Skogsrud noted.
“We like to know that what we do is appreciated and is of interest to people and I think that encourages us to keep going and to do more and more.”
The concert was the annual spring show for the Lions Band, and featured a wide range of performers ranging from under 10 to over 70.
“It’s a nice intergenerational thing to do and we have some family groups. It’s something that parents and kids do together a little bit.”
The band will now take a break for the summer before reconvening in September and encourages anyone to join, regardless of age or skill level.
“We will find something that you can do that makes you feel comfortable and makes you feel like you’re musical and we would encourage anybody who wants to do that to come on out.”
