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April 2001 Fálkinn, the ICCT NewsletterICCT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING(Come at 7:30 and visit with friends) Introduction and election of Club Officers and Directors for the coming year. The slate is not yet ready, and there are still some gaps. If you can spare some time to get involved, you will be welcomed with open arms. Call Garry (416) 463-1324 or Darla And our only “practising Viking”, Thorsteinn Helf, will give us a very interesting presentation. Thorsteinn says: “The subject of my talk on May 8 will be the culture and world view of the Northern European people, the spiritual heritage of our Teutonic ancestors which in today’s world has been given the names Ásatrú or Odinism. I shall speak about its present re-emergence in the western world and the particular role that Iceland has played in its preservation during the past centuries, and also its reawakening in our time.” Thorsteinn will also answer your questions on this topic. Members $4, Guests $5 ******* Refreshments
UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS AND ACTIVITIESOur delegates will be attending the conference of the Icelandic National League in Vancouver on April 27, 28 & 29. Have a good conference, and be sure to also have a good time. On Friday, May 4, the increasingly more popular quartet from Iceland, “Sigur Ros”, will perform at Palais Royale in Toronto. Their recent album “Ágætis byrjún” (in English “A Nice Beginning”) has been receiving great reviews, so go and check them out. Palais Royale Ballroom (416) 537-5050 1601 Lakeshore Blvd West (between Jameson Ave. and Parkside Dr.) ICELANDIC NATIONAL COSTUME WORKSHOPSaturday, May 26th at the Unitarian Hall, 175 St. Clair Ave. West – 10am to 5pm - $35.00 including lunch. This is part of the International Visits Program of the Icelandic National League, sponsored by Icelandair. A seminar by Friður Ólafsdóttir, Associate Professor at University College of Education in Reykjavik. I had a few questions for Friður about this event, so I asked them via email: Q. How did you first get
interested in the Icelandic national costumes?
Q. Do you have a favourite amongst the costumes?
Q. Have you ever been to
North America before? What do you want to do while you're here (apart
from giving lectures!)?
Q. Have you read any of the Icelandic emigration books which have come out in the last few years?
Q. You were doing your Masters in England - how did that go?
Q. Is there any aspect of
your lecture that you'd like to ask people to pay particular attention to?
We could use a couple of dress forms to display the costumes.If you can lend us one, please call. For more information, and to make a booking, contact Gail Einarson McCleery – (416) 762-8627, fax (416) 762-7107; email: icegem@compuserve.com. THE MOTET CHOIR OF HALLGRIM’S CHURCH – REYKJAVIKSunday, June 10 – 8pm at St. James Cathedral, 65 Church St (King St. East @ Church) The Motet Choir, described by many as Iceland’s best, opens a North American tour here in Toronto. The magnificent St James’ Cathedral in downtown Toronto will reverberate to their fifty five voices, under conductor Horður Áskelsson. The program will consist of modern sacred choral music from the Nordic countries and the Baltic, focussing on music from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Denmark. The Choir has brought out several CDs with Icelandic religious music as well as a separate disc with the music of Duruflé, which has received excellent reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. Founder, conductor and organist Horður Áskelsson studied music in Akureyri and Reykjavik before going to Dusseldorf, Germany, where he graduated as an organist and cantor in 1981, returning to Reykjavik to found the choir in 1982. Those of you who had the undeniable pleasure of hearing other visiting Icelandic choirs (such as the Hamrahlið Choir in 1997) will surely be looking forward to this one. If you are a choir member, be sure to tell your fellow choristers about this opportunity to hear an excellent choir. Tell your fellow church members too, as this is beautiful sacred music. TICKETS PRICES: - $20 Adults -- $15 Senior / Student (Cheques to ICCT mail to Evelyn Trites ICCT Treasurer 7 Wax Myrtleway Don Mills, ON M3B 3K6 or book through our website http://icct.info/ Or call Ellen (905) 889-9937 – or – Merle (905) 731-4799 ICCT Picnic and Iceland’s National Day—Sunday, June 17 at Gimli Farm, Colborne Ontario.Lynda and Gunnar Helgason have once again invited us to visit the horse farm. This will be the usual ‘pot luck’ event, so pencil it in. More details will be in the next issue. In the meantime, make your travel arrangements (offer or ask for rides). We are very fortunate to have generous members with beautiful rural properties – Erla Macaulay’s place in Hillsburgh, and the Helgasons in Colborne. We thank you. “FULL CIRCLE: FIRST CONTACT, VIKINGS AND SKRAELINGS IN NEWFOUNDLAND”A travelling exhibition of the Museum of Newfoundland commemorates the extraordinary events that surrounded the Viking landfall at L’Anse Aux Meadows at the turn of the last millennium. This exhibit was described in detail in our last Fálkinn.- In OTTAWA, at the Museum of Civilization – April 19 until August. CLUB NEWSThe Icelandic Foreign Ministry has announced that Hjalmar W. Hannesson will be the Ambassador of Iceland in Ottawa. The embassy will open in May. We look forward to the opportunity to meet and entertain the Ambassador at some of our events. Hopefully, our geographic proximity to Ottawa will make this possible. It was also announced that Eiður Gudnason, commencing this August, will replace Svavar Gestsson as Consul General of Iceland in Winnipeg. A big welcome to both of these diplomats. Your travels can benefit the club. An agreement has been made between the INL and member clubs and the Great Canadian Travel Company Ltd., based in Winnipeg. The clubs will receive a commission for any members that travel to Iceland, or elsewhere in Europe. You mention that you are a member of the ICCT, and it will bring a commission to the club. They have a toll-free number, 1-800-661-3830. Many of you will remember the many excellent performers from Iceland and Scandinavia during Northern Encounters a few years ago … well, the man who brought you those, Lawrence Cherney, and his company, Soundstreams, is now responsible for a revival of Harry Somers’ & James Reaney’s opera Serinette, a passionate tale of duels, religious conflict, and dark family secrets just after the War of 1812. Renowned conductor Victor Feldbrill leads a group of 10 singers and a chamber orchestra – Thursday, May 31 and Sat. June 2 at 8 p.m. at St. James’ Cathedral. Tickets $25, students/seniors $18 - 416 504-7529 Group rates (save 25%) available. The Icelandic Language and Cultural Camp will be held this August (dates not yet final), in Manitoba. The ICCT has an annual grant of $500 awarded to a successful applicant between the ages of 8 and 12. If you have a family member who qualifies, please consider applying for this grant. The application form is included with this Fálkinn issue. The application deadline is June 1st – we will announce the winner at our picnic. There’s going to be a Danish Heritage Seminar at the Canterbury Hills Conference Centre , June 4-9. This five day educational course about Danish culture and history also emphasizes friendship and fun. For information, contact: Esther Machacynski, 16 Campbell Crescent, Kingston ON, K7M 1Z5, Tel (613) 542-8876 Condolences to the family of ICCT member Salín Guttormsson of Winnipeg, on the passing of her father Pétur Thor Guttormson, born in Baldur, MB in 1928. He was a prominent member of the legal profession , serving as Administrator of Court Services in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Curling in Iceland is established. The efforts that have been ongoing for 10 years to get curling, or “Krulla” going in Iceland have brought success. Dr Thomas and Sophie Wallace (she is an Icelander) of Seattle, worked with several different Icelanders over ten years to get the rocks running. Our Ellen (Sigurdson) Gilmore’s brother, Ray Sigurdson of Gimli, Manitoba was also involved in this effort There’s a new Webstore in Iceland that you can access. www.sunfim.is Finally, while we in Canada are hosting and enjoying the costume workshop given by Friður Ólafsdóttir, a parallel event will also occur. We are sending a North American Icelander to Iceland as part of the International Visits Program. Soprano Carole Davis (daughter of the late Ásgeir Jónas Thorsteinsson and Mildred Anderson Thorsteinsson) and accompanist Harold Brown will be giving five concerts in Iceland. It is expected that this will be a very successful concert tour, as the people in Iceland now look forward to this exchange of visits. Transportation generously provided by Icelandair. EDITORIAL COMMENT:Writing the previous item once again brings me so much pride that I find I must say something. The International Visits Program of the INL was the brainchild of your own ICCT. And our own Gail Einarson McCleery still very capably manages it. Source of pride? You bet. Also, have you ever noticed how often we state “transportation provided by Icelandair”? I believe that we have had their assistance with the transportation of all of the principals in the International Visits program from its inception. The Fálkinn thanks Icelandair.
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