Here's a scene from Setesdal, near Ose, taken from the top of Reiårsfossen, a beautiful waterfall. On an extremely hot day, several of us hiked up the long switchback and then through the woods full of wild blueberries to get to the top of the waterfall.

HARPA 06 is a group of North American folk-harpers who came together to perform and teach during a two-week tour in southern Norway and Sweden. The goal was a cultural exchange between the USA and Scandinavia. America has been greatly enriched by the millions of immigrants from these countries. The harp tradition has been all but lost in Norway and Sweden, so we seek to encourage musicians to take up the folk harp.

We produced a HARPA CD that perfectly reflects the talent and skills of the performers. Featuring a hearty sampling of Scandinavian and Celtic music, Back to the Old Country sold very well on our tour. We sold all the copies we brought with us, in fact! But don't despair - if you want a copy, please contact me directly at bethkolle@comcast.net.

HARPA 06 MEMBERS: Sue Richards and Sharon Knowles from the duo Hen in Maryland, Cheyenne Brown from Alaska, Susan Easthouse and John Peekstok from Washington State, Aryeh Frankfurter, Teresa Bailey and Kevin and Carol Holsinger  from the Bay Area, Barbara Tronsgard from Georgia and Kathy Elarte and Judy Cook from Canada - a good representation from all over the continent. One thing I loved about our group was that everyone contributed to the concerts, even those not performing: from helping with set-up to selling CDs, everyone chipped in.

Fiddler, Folkdancer, Friend and Bus Driver

Another wonderful feature of our tour was our busdriver, Hogne Tellnes, who is also a fiddler and folkdancer and an old friend of mine. Not only did Hogne drive us through mountainous terrain with great care, but he took charge of many details for us, making the trip smoother for everyone. His gentle sense of humor and warmth endeared him to all of us.

The group was unanimous: the HARPA tour would never have been the same without Hogne. He MUST be our busdriver in 2008! (UPDATE: Hogne has agreed to be our busdriver again - HARPA 08 will take place end of May through beginning of June.)

We traveled through southern Norway and Sweden from July 15th to 31st, 2006 with four large harps and two lap harps along with us. Two guitars, four fiddles and two flutes rounded out the group. We performed in concerts at several venues in Norway as we traveled from Oslo through the county of Telemark to the west, and then over the mountains to the beautiful valley of Setesdal. There we played a concert with celebrated folksinger Kirsten Bråten Berg, and then on to Sweden, to perform at the huge folk festival Nordlek06 in Göteborg.

One of the highlights of the tour was getting to know each other, both as people and as musicians. Jam sessions abounded, and with local musicians whenever possible. After our concerts we often found audience members eager to try out our harps.

Heddal Stavkirke, Telemark

This is one of Norway's most spectacular medieval stave churches, a most amazing structure built entirely without nails.. As you're driving down the main road (well, the only road, actually), you come around a corner and there it is. The carved portal is especially beautiful.

Evening Concert at Mjonøy

Mjonøy

A concert in a traditional meeting house in the county of Telemark, hosted by noted folksinger Ellen Nordstuga. Yes, we got to stay in cute little huts with turf roofs! Our concert was outdoors in beautiful weather, and it was very well attended by the other guests and locals.

We toured the wool fabric fulling machine that takes newly-woven fabric to the 'wadmal'  or partially-felted stage (you have to be a fiber-geek to know what I'm talking about, but take my word for it - it's cool!). This fulled wool is then used to make the beautifully embroidered 'bunader', Norwegian national costumes as well as other clothing.