A Night with the King and Queen
The Donald E. Benson Great Hall of Bethel College was the scene of a Minnesota Musical Salute to Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on September 12, 1996. This special jubilee occasion, presented by the American Swedish Institute, marked the 150th anniversary of the coming of some ragtag, hungry, cold, frightened Swedes to North America.
Bethel's woodsy Arden Hills Campus, alongside Valentine Lake, was idyllic on this beautiful evening. Sparkling lights from tree branches, Swedish-costumed fiddlers playing old folk tunes on the lawn, people in formal and informal evening dress milling about, and attentive college student helpers created a resplendent atmosphere for a majestic affair. It was a pleasure to attend with my wife, Muriel, and Mel and Dagmar Soneson. A regal reception with wonderful, burdened dessert tables and beverages preceded the concert.
The King and Queen, attended by Swedish dignitaries, strolled to their special seats along a cordoned path. Philip Brunelle was the Artistic Director and Eric Friesen the Master of Ceremonies for the festive evening. Bethel President George Brushaber, Financier Donald E. Benson, and Bruce Karstadt, Executive Director of the American Swedish Institute, all gave greetings. The large audience stood to sing their respective national anthems, "The Star-Spangled Banner," and "Du Gamla, Du Fria."
Musical events of the evening included The Bethel Choir, Jazz Pianist Butch Thompson, Soprano Maria Jette, Moore by Four — Yolanda Bruce, Ginger Commodore, Connie Eveingson, Steve Faison, and Sanford Morre, Dance Team Meghan Guernsey and Brian Sostek, The Ensemble Singers of the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota, The Symphony of the Greater Twin Cities' Youth Symphonies, and the American Swedish Institute Spelmanslag.
Neither the King nor the Queen spoke in response. A member of the royal entourage, Governor Jan-Erik Wikström, County Governor of Uppsala, Sweden, and a Covenanter, gave a greeting. He has kindly provided us with the following notes:
Your Majesties, President Brushaber, Mr. Benson, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The historical mass emigration period from Sweden to America began in 1846 when more than one thousand men, women and children followed their prophet Erik Jansson to America in search of the religious and social freedom they had been denied at home, They built their New Jerusalem in the Mississippi Valley on the fertile prairie of Illinois, christening their settlement with the name Bishop Hill. Today this site, with its pioneer buildings, is considered the greatest of Swedish cultural landmarks outside Scandinavia. The American government has officially made Bishop Hill a National Historic Landmark.
In the first report of Jansson's group when they arrived in New York, it is written: "This country is like heaven. This country accommodates all that is true, good, and free. It is a country for our work; a country in which the worker, as well as the ruler, is allowed to eat his bread."
During this Jubilee Year, we in Sweden do not wish to recall only the first migrants,those who followed the emigration stream, or those 200,000 who remigrated and contributed to the development of modern Sweden. We also wish to remember the achievements of immigrants in our country over the years. More than ten percent of our country's population is presently made up of people who have made their life in Sweden, often fleeing from political and religious oppression. Thousands upon thousands of immigrants have found Sweden to be a promised land of freedom in the same way in which America loomed large as a promise for hundreds and thousands of oppressed and land-hungry Swedes.
In the directive issued by the Swedish Government when it established the 1996 Jubilee Committee, the following was stated: "The purpose of the commemoration shall be to increase the understanding of our country's dependence on other parts of the world, the propelling forces behind emigration, and migration as a way of development and national advancement."
The State of Minnesota has always had a strong relationship with Sweden. This is the land where so many of the immigrants from Småland settled...so beautifully described by Vilhelm Moberg. The Governor of this great state has a Swedish background. The same applies to the President of the illustrious University of Minnesota, Philip Brunelle is a well-known conductor at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Looking at the auditorium we recognize many long-standing friends of Sweden — Curtis Carlson, Marilyn Nelson, Ed Lindell, Don Benson, Wendell Anderson, and Bruce Karstadt.
Thank you for this wonderful Minnesota Musical Salute to their Majesties, a proof of the fact that Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of the great musical centers of the world.
Congratulations to the famous Bethel College on its 125th anniversary.
The migration jubilee has strengthened even further the ties between Minnesota and Sweden. We ask for God's blessing on this great state and all its citizens.
The evening was brought to a stately conclusion with the performance by most of the musical groups of an arousing grand finale, "Klinga Mina Klockor." What a delightful and memorable musical, cultural, and artistic time of immigrant celebration with Their Majesties!