Above is a seriograph I made of my family trip to Stavanger, Norway in 1974. The scene is 'the market place' or 'Torget' and down one of those winding streets to your right is the family house where my grandfather was born in an area called 'Gammel Stavanger' or Old Stavanger. I returned to Norway in 1978 but only to Oslo.
Since our visit to Stavanger, as everyone on the planet knows, Norway discovered oil in the North Sea. Stavanger then became the headquarters for Norway's oil exploration becoming the 'oil capital' of Norway. Stadt Oil is the leading oil company in Stavanger and the once quaint fishing village which my grandfather left at the turn of the 1900's is bustling which plans to build a Concert Hall to house their existing Symphony Orchestra. And this is where I caught up with friends in Stavanger.
This past March Stavanger sent their Symphony Orchestra (SSO) to New Yorks Carnegie Hall for their first performance. I had the pleasure of interviewing the internationally renowned Violinist and conductor Fabio Bondi, the Artistic Director, Arne Almoth and attending the concert to write an article for the Norwegian American Weekly.
You can read my report at the Norwegian American's Blog at
Norway.com