In Lindsborg, the Messiah is religion...a conviction of truth; of high purpose; of religious zeal that... lifts...and resounds...'Hallelujahs.' " *
It is the Oberammergau of the Plains -- Reader's Digest April 1944
It is the Oberammergau of the Plains -- Reader's Digest April 1944
Scientist Emil O. Deere
Swensson's Musicians and Singers of the Messiah,1882 on ...
Due to Swedish American Bethany College founder and second president Dr. Rev. Carl Aaron Swensson's and his wife Alma Christina Lind Swensson's love for music, and, especially, the Messiah, with a growing chorus which would one day exceed 500 singers, the wheels were set in motion for little Swedish Lindsborg to become worldwide known to highbrow musical societies due to the excellent Music Department Swedish professors of the College, most notably Alma Swensson, Hagbard Brase, Samuel Thorstenberg, Thure Jaderborg, Oscar Thorsen and their "first dean of the College of Fine Arts," professor Oscar Lofgren, a position he filled from 1918 to 1948. (Note, also, Lofgren's colleague, professor Emil O. Deere, during this same time span of thirty (30) years would fill the position of the "first dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.")
To follow the incredible musical story of this rural Main Street Swedish America town, click here to Their Bethany College Handel's Messiah Performances; then, click here to Messiah Performers, Venues, Press, Broadcasts & Audiences; and finally, click here to "Messiah" Auditorium, Ling Auditorium.
To follow the incredible musical story of this rural Main Street Swedish America town, click here to Their Bethany College Handel's Messiah Performances; then, click here to Messiah Performers, Venues, Press, Broadcasts & Audiences; and finally, click here to "Messiah" Auditorium, Ling Auditorium.
From fourth Swedish American Bethany College president Emory Lindquist in his 1975 book, Bethany In Kansas, a history of a college, on page 39, we read about Swensson's lovely wife, Alma -- here a little about her life touching on a significant role which she would play in the creation of the Messiah performances:
"The great career of Carl Swensson was shared and supported by his wife, Alma. She came as his young bride to Lindsborg in September 1880, from Moline, Illinois. She was a talented singer and organist. The Swenssons planned together the presentations of the Messiah and Alma served as the conductor in rehearsals the first year, and at the renditions she was a soloist.
"Alma Swensson had an outstanding record in women’s work within the Augustana Lutheran Church. Its national Women’s Missionary Society was organized in her home in June, 1892, and she served as the recording secretary. She was the first and long-time editor of the official periodical of the Society. Mrs. Swensson taught music in the early years of the College and served as organist of the Bethany Lutheran Church for forty (40) years. She was a member of the Oratorio Society Chorus until two years before her death."
In 2012, a book on this strong woman, sure of her mission in life, was published, titled, Grace, Faith and the Power of Singing -- The Alma Christina Lind Swensson Story. Its author is former Bethany College Vice President Mrs. Karen Humphrey, the wife of former Lindsborg Bethany Lutheran Church pastor Charles W. Humphrey. For more on Mrs. Humphrey's book about this wonderful Swedish lady, who, through her gifts, was able to bring worldwide musical attention to a tiny Swedish town located on the Great Plains of Kansas, click on the photograph below.
*Source: Emory Lindquist's Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, page 168.
"The great career of Carl Swensson was shared and supported by his wife, Alma. She came as his young bride to Lindsborg in September 1880, from Moline, Illinois. She was a talented singer and organist. The Swenssons planned together the presentations of the Messiah and Alma served as the conductor in rehearsals the first year, and at the renditions she was a soloist.
"Alma Swensson had an outstanding record in women’s work within the Augustana Lutheran Church. Its national Women’s Missionary Society was organized in her home in June, 1892, and she served as the recording secretary. She was the first and long-time editor of the official periodical of the Society. Mrs. Swensson taught music in the early years of the College and served as organist of the Bethany Lutheran Church for forty (40) years. She was a member of the Oratorio Society Chorus until two years before her death."
In 2012, a book on this strong woman, sure of her mission in life, was published, titled, Grace, Faith and the Power of Singing -- The Alma Christina Lind Swensson Story. Its author is former Bethany College Vice President Mrs. Karen Humphrey, the wife of former Lindsborg Bethany Lutheran Church pastor Charles W. Humphrey. For more on Mrs. Humphrey's book about this wonderful Swedish lady, who, through her gifts, was able to bring worldwide musical attention to a tiny Swedish town located on the Great Plains of Kansas, click on the photograph below.
*Source: Emory Lindquist's Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, page 168.
- Alma Christina Lind Swensson -
Source: Forget-Me-Not, The Annual of Bethany College, 1902, page 96.
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- The patrons of a Holy Easter Messiah on their way to Ling Auditorium aka Messiah Auditorium -
Photograph by Lydia Sohlberg Deere
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Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated, or obviously concluded it is not.
Copyright © 2018 www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated, or obviously concluded it is not.
Copyright © 2018 www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
