Andrea Een (born January 22, 1947) is a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist,

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than ...

r, poet, and Professor Emerita of Music at St. Olaf College. __TOC__

Career

Een is a founding member of the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America. In 2002, she was awarded St. Olav's Medal by H.M.

Harald V of Norway Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...

for helping to reintroduce the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle tradition to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She received the Ole Bull Award, from the eponymous academy in

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...

, Norway, in 1987, and was accredited as a Master Folk Artist Teacher by the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

State Arts Board in 1998. She was a professor of music at St. Olaf College from 1977 to 2012 and conducted the St. Olaf Chamber Orchestra (now Philharmonia) from 1977 to 1994. She was also a member of the

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

Orchestra from 1985 to 2013 and has performed with

VocalEssence VocalEssence is a non-profit choral music organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each year the organization presents a series of concerts featuring the 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus and its core group, a 32-voice professional mixed chorus ca ...

, directed by

Philip Brunelle Philip Brunelle (born July 1, 1943) is an American choral scholar, conductor and organist. He is the founder of VocalEssence. In the course of an international career as a choral and opera conductor Brunelle has been awarded Commander of the R ...

, since 1985. She appears on their Grammy-nominated recording of

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

's ''

The Tender Land ''The Tender Land'' is an opera with music by Aaron Copland and libretto by Horace Everett, a pseudonym for Erik Johns. History The opera tells of a farm family in the Midwest of the United States. Copland was inspired to write this opera aft ...

'' and Gramophone-winning ''

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the o ...

'' by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

. In 2004, she released an album of traditional and original compositions for Hardanger fiddle titled ''From the Valley''. One work from the CD, "President Thomforde's March," was written for and premiered at St. Olaf College Inauguration Weekend in April 2000. Een earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in violin performance and literature at the

University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

where she studied with

Paul Rolland Paul Rolland, né Pali Reisman (November 21, 1911, Budapest – November 9, 1978, Illinois),Fanelli, Michael P. (2001) ''Paul Rolland: His teaching career and contributions to string pedagogy and education.'' (Doctoral Dissertation) Retrieved fro ...

. Her dissertation "Comparison of Melodic Variants in the Hardingfele Repertoire of Norway" was advised by ethnomusicologist

Bruno Nettl Bruno Nettl (14 March 1930 – 15 January 2020) was an ethnomusicologist who was central in defining ethnomusicology as a discipline. His research focused on folk and traditional music, specifically Native American music the music of Iran an ...

. On January 20, 2007, Een demonstrated the Hardanger fiddle at the Highview Lutheran Church.Andrea Een and the Hardanger Fiddle – Brightcove

Personal life

Een is the granddaughter of Norwegian and German immigrants and grew up in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

. Her brother is the composer and cellist Robert Een. She has one son.

Awards

*1987 Ole Bull Award from Ole Bull Academy Voss, Norway *1998 Master Folk Artist Award from Minnesota State Arts Board *2002 St. Olav's Medal from King Harald V of Norway

Discography

Hardanger Fiddle

*''Norwegian-American Music from Minnesota'' (1987), Minnesota State Arts Board *''From the Valley'' (2004), solo recording

Violin and Viola

*''Lake Wobegon'' (1994) with Garrison Keillor *''The Tender Land'' with Plymouth Music Series (1990) *''Paul Bunyan'' with Plymouth Music Series (1987)

Publications

*''Some Days We Name It Love'' (Heywood Press, 1994) *''The Quick and the Dead'' (Minnesota Valley Review, 1992) *''Penchant: Anthology of Northfield Women Poets'' (Heywood Press, 2005)

References

External links

* - Official site
Hardanger Fiddle Association of America
- Official site 1947 births Living people University of Illinois alumni St. Olaf College faculty American people of Norwegian descent American fiddlers Women fiddlers American violinists American women violinists American violists American women violists Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 21st-century violinists 21st-century violists {{string-musician-stub