Scandinavian Showcase with an Irish Twist

SFS and Skandia Folkdance Society are thrilled to co-sponsor and showcase 2 local Scandinavian music bands for this concert. These young performers have a way of bringing the music to life!

Sølvstål | Silversteel is a new project from hardanger fiddle player Mira Dickey and viola d’amore and fiddle player Lennart Jansson exploring the novel musical territory at the intersection of Norwegian fiddling and Irish traditional music. Their duet playing combines Mira’s expertise in the hardanger fiddle tradition with Lennart’s knowledge and creativity in Irish fiddling. The 9-string hardanger fiddle and 12-string baroque viola d’amore are a natural match for each other, both with a range of unusual tunings and otherworldly resonance thanks to sympathetic strings. Their sound ranges from delicate and tender to brilliant and symphonic, with a repertoire spanning traditional dance tunes both popular and obscure, as well as recently-composed pieces. This is Irish and Norwegian music like you’ve never heard it before!

Elise, Mira & Pat perform traditional Nordic fiddle tunes that transport listeners and dancers to far-off lands real and imagined. Mira Dickey (hardingfele and fiddle), Elise Snoey (fiddle and hardingfele), and Patrick Gunning (guitars and fiddle) bring vibrant harmonies and driving groove to timeless music.

Sølvstål musicians:

Mira Dickey is a hardanger fiddle player based in Seattle, WA. Having grown up playing classical violin, she eventually became interested in folk music; first playing American old-time, then exploring Scottish and Irish music, and finally discovering Scandinavian music after hearing a recording of hardanger fiddle music from Setesdal in 2016. The next year she began learning hardanger fiddle herself, spurring a long journey of musical study, first through Scandinavian fiddle camps in the US, and eventually through a year of study of traditional music at the University of Southeastern Norway in Rauland.. Since then, she has been active in the US Scandinavian music scene both performing with groups or solo, playing for traditional folkdance events, and teaching private lessons and workshops. She has taught at workshops such as the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America’s summer and winter workshops, Salt Lake City’s fall fest, and Seattle’s Skandia Folkdance Society workshops. Most recently she has performed at Seattle’s Nordic Museum Julefest, Bellingham Folk Festival, Seattle’s Folklife festival and the Montana Folk Festival.

Lennart Jansson is an Irish traditional musician from Seattle, WA. A multi-instrumentalist, Lennart plays fiddle, uilleann pipes, concertina, and tin whistle, and is known for championing the use of the viola d’amore in Irish music. Lennart has extensive experience as a classical cellist, and holds a B.A. in music performance from Stanford University, where he performed both baroque cello repertoire as well as unaccompanied contemporary works by living composers. Since 2021, Lennart has shifted his focus primarily to Irish traditional music and is a frequent performer and a mainstay of the Irish session scene in Seattle. His recent performance appearances include multiple concerts with acclaimed Irish accordion player John Whelan, in addition to the Cascade Celtic Festival in Leavenworth, WA, the Acadia Festival of Traditional Music and Dance in Bar Harbor, Maine and the Montana Folk Festival.

Elise, Mira and Pat

Elise Snoey (fiddle, hardingfele) is a fiddler based in Seattle, WA. Growing up in the traditional folk music community of the Pacific Northwest, she learned from a diverse array of tradition-bearers, playing many fiddle styles. Amongst those styles was the Scandinavian music learned through her years in the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag, which gave her the opportunity to travel to Sweden in 2013 and fall in love with the driving groove of this dance music. This spurred many years of musical exploration and experimentation with Nordic music styles. She began studying Norwegian hardanger fiddle and dance traditions in 2022 and now plays regularly for Seattle’s Skandia dances. In 2024, she began playing with Patrick Gunning and Mira Dickey after a formative trip the three took to Ransäterstämman in Sweden

Patrick Gunning (guitar and 5 string fiddle) brings a unique perspective to interpreting Scandinavian folk music. From a background in bluegrass music as a contest-winning flatpick guitarist, Patrick has spent the past decade developing an innovative guitar style to complement these traditional fiddle-based dance melodies.  He draws inspiration from frequent journeys to several of Sweden’s traditional spelmänstamma (fiddlers’ gatherings) has also studied 5 string fiddle (combining violin and viola ranges) with some of Sweden’s leading players including Mia Marine and Lena Jonsson.  Gunning’s approach brings a modern drive to timeless music, and infuses performances with the energy of summer dance floors where the sun never sets.

Come to this concert, sit back and enjoy their wonderful music! Or get up and dance!  🙂