Soprano Laura Loge has been hailed for her “luminous stage presence” and “characterful and versatile voice.” Opera roles include Violetta, Musetta, Micaëla, Mother (Hansel & Gretel), Ännchen, Lisa (La Sonnambula), La Fée, Lucy (The Telephone), Rosalinda, and Suor Genovieffa, among others. She has
performed as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Incidental Music to Egmont, Neilsen’s Third Symphony, Fauré’s Requiem, Grieg’s Incidental Music for Peer Gynt, David Monrad Johansen’s Syv Sanger, Op.6, arranged for her and chamber orchestra, Schumann’s Mass
and Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Verdi’s Requiem. Laura specializes in Nordic art song and chamber music, having performed across the United States and in Norway, including in Edvard Grieg’s villa. She has produced two albums of Nordic song, including Breaking the Language Barrier: Songs in Norwegian and Danish, Composed by Foreigners and Songs and Piano Music of Edvard Grieg, Op. 33 & 66. Her next album, Der Skreg en Fugl, featuring previously unrecorded songs by Norwegian women with pianist Angela Draghicescu will be released on the Chandos label. Laura made her directorial debut in a production of Grieg’s Peer Gynt in 2025 with the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society, Choir of the Sound, and Thalia Symphony. Laura is Founder and President of the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society, Artistic Director of Nordic Chamber Music, former Artistic Director of Mostly Nordic Chamber Music Series at the National Nordic Museum, and Concert Series Coordinator at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Saint Olaf College, Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory, and studied Nordic Art Song and chamber music at the University of Stavanger Conservatory of Music. For more information visit lauraloge.com.

Steven Luksan is a composer, pianist, and educator making music in Seattle, WA. He is a pianist at Seattle Opera, on faculty at Music Center of the Northwest, and is the accompanist for the Seattle Mannskor (The Norwegian Male Chorus of Seattle). He currently serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society. Steven received a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from the University of British Columbia and Bachelor’s Degrees in Music and Norwegian Language from the University of Washington. Steven is an advocate for the performance of new and uncommon compositions (especially those by Scandinavian composers and women composers), and for the performance of chamber music in
intimate settings. He is the founder and artistic director of the Saltwater Music Series (Des Moines, WA), a concert series dedicated to performances of local and off-the-beaten-path chamber music. As a performer and researcher, his interests focus on late-19th and 20th century Nordic and American music, especially music composed by Norwegian-American immigrant composers. Highlights of the 2023-2024 concert season include the premiere of Steven’s first opera, Valparaiso, a tour throughout Washington State with Seattle Opera’s production of Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, and a revival of Alf Hurum’s chamber music in both Hawaii and Washington. As a scholar, this season includes Steven’s presentation of his research paper “Bjarne Rolseth in America: the Life and Work of a Norwegian-American Composer” at the International Edvard Grieg Society Conference (Bergen, Norway), and his lecture recital “Leif Erikson in Seattle: Gerard Tonning and Norwegian Opera in the New World” for the Society for the Advancement Scandinavian Studies. Learn more at stevenluksan.com.