ABOUT US

 

The Norwegian Ladies Chorus of Seattle is a non-profit organization that celebrates Norway's rich musical heritage through traditional and contemporary choral music.  Chorus rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 8:30pm at the Leif Erikson Lodge in Ballard. Hope you can join us! Contact us if you'd like to join in!

 

NLC Executive Committee:

 

President                                 Julie Svendsen

 

Vice President                        Victoria Hunter

 

Correspondence Secretary  Juanita Holmes

 

Recording Secretary              Joanna Elizondo

 

Treasurer                                Nancy Hiraoka

​

 

​Joseph To, Director    

​

Award-winning choral director, Joseph To, serves as music director for multiple organizations, including the Norwegian Ladies Chorus of Seattle; the Magnolia Chorale; Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, SeaTac; and the Tukwila School District, one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. He holds a master’s degree in choral conducting and a bachelor’s degree in music education. Interested in world music, especially Chinese choral music, Joseph has studied and presented Mandarin and Cantonese choral music and ethno-musicology implementation in secondary music education. He serves as Co-Chair of the Racial Equity Committee of the Northwest Girl Choir and Community Repertoire and Resources Chair of the Washington Chapter of American  Choral Director Association(WAACDA). He is the recipient of the “Outstanding Emerging Choral Director” 2022 by the WAACDA and he will be presenting in NAfME Northwest regional conference in 2023 about ethno-musicology implementation plan for secondary music classrooms. 

 

Zhanhong Kuang, Accompanist

​

Zhanhong started learning piano at a young age. She earned her BA degree in piano performance from Seattle Pacific University in 2018 under the tutelage of Myrna Capp and Dainius Vaičekonis. She regularly collaborates with other musicians to perform chamber music, choral music, and church music. She currently serves as staff accompanist at Seattle Pacific University. In addition, she has been working as an accompanist for the Seattle School District since 2017, and has accompanied numerous choir concerts, musicals, music festivals, and competitions. In 2017, Zhanhong performed with SPU orchestra as pianist for Sacred Sound 2017 at Benaroya Hall. She was also the former pianist of Seattle Central Jazz Orchestra, and regularly performed at Tula’s Jazz Club. From 2019, she has been serving as the accompanist of Norwegian Ladies Chorus of Seattle. Besides accompanying, Zhanhong also enjoys teaching. She teaches private lessons at her own studio in Seattle.

​

Members of the 2022-2023 Chorus include--

 

Sheila Bartanen, Carol Benzon, Margaret Berg, Kirja Bruzzichesi, Barbara Dougherty, Joanna Elizondo, Marti Enke, Etta Gronvold, Nancy Hiraoka, Juanita Holmes, Victoria Hunter, Tami Jones, Tricia Kloth, Marilyn Molinari, Ragnhild Park, Elin Rummel, Claire Sagen, Kari Danielsson, Ruth Sundheim, Julie Svendsen, Arlene Templin, and Noel Wannebo

​