Empowered Women International

Well, it was not quite the way we planned it to be, but despite the serious snow and icy roads, we had over 120 guests in attendance. The musical program was exceptional and the fine art by Empowered Women unique.

The 7Sopranos, a local women’s a capella ensemble presented an outstanding, witty and classy performance. If you have not seen the 7Sopranos yet, they are amazing, fun to listen to and a must for all opera and classical music lovers.

Anders Lundegård, a local Swedish classical saxophonist had a breath-taking performance of original and classical saxophone pieces. He was born in Vaxjo, Sweden, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and received his doctorate in music from Northwestern University. Dr. Lundegård has devoted his career to capturing the original sound.

The Lucia Girls, our traveling Swedish guests presented an enchanting musical program of Lucia songs celebrating centuries-old Swedish yuletide traditions that mark the day of shortest daylight hours and herald the changing season. Lucia is the celebration that takes place in Sweden during the year’s darkest day, on December 13 – the darkest day according to the old calendar, i.e. before 1753.

Lucia, the Queen of Light, wears a white dress with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head. She leads a procession called “Luciatåg” where she is accompanied by several attendants, also dressed in white with candles in their hands. They perform Lucia songs and bring coffee, ginger breads and saffron buns. But most importantly, they bring light amid the long and dark winter. To many, the highlight of Swedish Yuletide is the traditional Lucia procession.