The school year 1905-06 was an exceedingly busy one for the director and members of the band. Mr. Christiansen very carefully selected the numbers of the program to be played. He was well acquainted with conditions and sentiments in Norway and knew how important was the selection of an acceptable program. It was decided that Miss Beatrice Gjertsen, daughter of a prominent attorney in Minneapolis, should accompany the band as soprano soloist. She was a voice student that year in Germany and joined the band upon its arrival in Norway. The band's repertoire included the following numbers: Alexander's Olympia Hippodrome March, Donizetti's Lucia, Elsa Entering the Cathedral from Wagner's Lohengrin, The William Tell Overture, Schumann's Traumerei, Macbeth's Love in Idleness, Delibes' Intermezzo, Grieg's Landsighting, Teilman's Kroningsmarsj, The Tancredi Overture, Sousa's Stars and Stripes, and the two national anthems, Star Spangled Banner and Ja vi elsker. Not all of these numbers were played at any one concert. Numbers sung by Miss Gjertsen were: Gounod's Jerusalem, Sullivan's The Lost Chord, and songs by Schumann, Hawley, and Martens. Alexander's Olympia Hippodrome was later sold in various music stores under the Norwegian caption: St. Olaf Gutternes Parademarsj (The St. Olaf Boys' March on Parade).

Forty-six boys were accepted as playing members of the band that year. In addition, the touring party included the director, the drum major, the president of the college (who went along as official speaker), the manager and, in Norway, the soloist --- fifty-one persons in all. (It may be mentioned as a matter of interest that four of these students besides the director and drum major have been long-time residents of Northfield: Herman Roe, George Mohn, Wm. Benson, and J. Jorgen Thompson.) Six concerts were given en route to New York. There was tremendous enthusiasm and applause in Minneapolis when a beautiful silk flag was presented to the band as a gift from one of the well-known business men of the city, General S. E. Olson. "Take this flag with you, and as it unfurls its colorful folds, bring to the friends across the water our warmest and sincerest greetings," were expressive words that accompanied the presentation. In St. Paul the concert was given during the meeting of our synod and there too friends and relatives in large numbers made the band's appearance a very festive occasion. The President of the Synod spoke briefly but very earnestly, requesting the organization to bring best wishes and greetings to the Church in Norway from the Church and church people in America. Our esteemed president, Dr. J. N. Kildahl, speaking for the group, carried out these wishes on numerous occasions in Norway. The other cities in which stops were made were Red Wing, La Crosse, Chicago, and Brooklyn.

On June 20, 1906, OSCAR II of the Scandinavian America Line left Brooklyn with the band party on board. Great changes have taken place since that time in boat construction and travel accommodations. First and second cabin and steerage have been largely replaced by "cabin" and "tourist" accommodations. The band boys were assigned steerage berths, and of course ate their meals in the steerage dining room. To put it mildly, this was not a very pleasant way to travel and quite a number became seasick. Nevertheless, it was happy and contented group. Rehearsals were held each day in different parts of the boat and very soon the band members were favorites with passengers on first and second cabin as well as with those in their own part of the boat. The boys were given some privileges denied to other steerage passengers and frequent hand-outs came from cabin friends. The young folks on first cabin even arranged a fine party one evening for them.

And so the days passed, and the passengers began to scan the eastern horizon for the first glimpse of land. It was indeed an exciting moment when the low ridge did appear. The first boat stop was Kristiansand in southwestern Norway, reached late in the evening of Sunday, July 1. After only a brief stay, the trip continued along the coast toward Christiania (now Oslo), the capitol of Norway. As the stately boat entered the beautiful Christiania Fjord on the following forenoon, flags were raised on the masts and banners and streamers were displayed in all parts of the boat. People had gathered in the villages along the coast and as we passed along, they waved flags and cheered, and of course our band returned the greeting by playing Ja vi elsker, the Norwegian national anthem. As we came nearer the city, salutes were fired by the small cannon on board our boat and answering cannon booms came from Akershus Fortress in the city.

A tremendous crowd had gathered at the landing to bid the visitors welcome, and in an open space in front of this vast assembly stood the Student Chorus that had paid St. Olaf College a visit the year before. Under the direction of their distinguished leader, Mr. O. A. Grondahl, they sang The Star Spangled Banner and a "Welcome Greeting," and our band responded with Ja vi elsker. At the conclusion of this exchange of greetings, the band marched off the boat and up the street to the Mission Hotel which was to be their headquarters during their stay in the city.

No concert had been scheduled for the next few days and this gave the players time to recover thoroughly from their ten days on the water. Daily rehearsals were held, however, and there were interesting experiences and appointments almost every day. An invitation to a dinner banquet was received from the Student Chorus for the evening of July 3. This took place at Holmenkollen, a most wonderful resort high up the mountain just outside the city, to which streetcar service was available. This banquet proved to be one of the most interesting and thrilling events of the entire summer.

Then there was a much publicized "baseball" game to be played by two nines of band boys. Baseball had never been played in Norway and people were anxious to have an opportunity to see what the great American pastime really was like. A good sized crowd turned out for the game. A ball and a bat were provided by some of the Norwegian Singers who had been given them as souvenirs of the previous year when they were in America, and a fencing mask was borrowed from somewhere to serve as a catcher's mask. So far as we were able to judge from remarks made after the game, most people in the audience thought the game too dangerous, especially catching high flies. Nor did they understand what it was all about.

There was also leisure time those first days for some sightseeing. This reminds me of an incident that took place one afternoon. The boys had been looking in vain for ice cream but had located no shops where it was served. Then one day, one of the boys who had come back to the hotel by streetcar, announced that he had found an ice cream parlor only a short distance away. He had seen the sign over the door. So quite a number went with him to get ice cream. Sure enough! There was the sign over the door: "Isenkram." When, however, the boys went in they found to their dismay that this was a hardware store, the name for which in Norwegian is "Isenkram."

When strolling around in the city, the boys wore the square, tasseled graduation cap. This identified them as American band boys and entitled them to many privileges such as free rides on the streetcars and free admissions to museums and other places of interest.

The first concert was scheduled to take place in an open air amusement park in the heart of the city known as Tivoli. Announcement had been made in the daily papers that the band would march from their hotel up the famous Karl Johansgate --- the avenue at the head of which stands the Royal Palace --- over to Tivoli. Already early in the evening people began to gather along the avenue and around the hotel. An hour before concert time the crowds were so great that the doors of the hotel had to be locked. It was impossible to find space outside of the hotel to "line up" the band in marching order and I was obliged therefore to do this in the hotel lobby. A squad of policemen were on hand to clear the street when we were ready, but the task seemed almost hopeless. When I signaled to them that we were ready they opened the door and began pushing the people backwards. I shall never forget that march. The band played Olympia Hippodrome, but with thousands of people packed across the avenue from wall to wall, it was a slow procession. The police just ahead of me pushed and scolded the people and the look of consternation on many of the faces was quite terrifying. The concert place was finally reached and a completely sold out house greeted the players on this their first concert on foreign soil. The audience, which numbered more than 6,000, was tremendously enthusiastic and seemed to enjoy especially the spirited Sousa marches. During the intermission a committee from the Student Chorus presented the band and its director with a beautiful silk Norwegian flag and President Kildahl accepted it on behalf of our group with a brief address which left a profound impression on the vast assembly.

THE FIRST CONCERT OF THE TRIP
PROGRAM

Star Spangled Banner
Several Sousa marches were played as encores.

The morning paper carried long reviews of the events of the day, July 4, 1906, and praised in laudatory terms the band's playing and the director's conducting. All of us felt that the concert tour had had a very auspicious beginning.

From Christiania the tour went northward towards Trondhjem with a number of stops at interesting towns on the way. One of these was Eidsvold, the home of Norway's Independence Hall. After a brief tour of the building the band boys gathered outside the main entrance and played a short program to the assembled throng. The main concert would come later in the day in another location. The official in charge of Independence Hall was to speak to the band at the dinner in the evening and tell them something about the historical significance of the building and its contents. A rather unfortunate incident took place there while the band was playing the Norwegian national anthem. Director Christiansen had arranged the score and between the second and last stanza the sudden, thunderous rolling of the drums was enough to startle anyone. It proved to be more than that for this official, for at the conclusion of the anthem he was lying flat on the floor in a quivering faint. After he had recovered, he freely admitted that the playing of the national anthem by our band was the most stirring music he had ever heard and altogether too exciting for him. In spite of this experience, he gave a very good talk at dinner that evening.

Here in Eidsvold, as in practically all the towns in Norway, the band was royally entertained. I believe for most of us it was one of our first experiences with smorgasbord, which now is a quite common way of serving dinner in our own country too. At the banquet at Holmenkollen, for instance, a bounteous smorgasbord was served; and some of the boys partook of this too heartily, not knowing that the main dinner of roast goose was to follow.

One day while our Swiss mountain-climbing locomotive was pulling our train rather slowly up a steep grade, one of the boys decided to jump off his coach, pick some flowers which he saw in the woods along the track, and get on again on one of the rear coaches. He got off all right and picked the flowers but was unable to get back on the train. There he was alone in a mountainous region and in the midst of a dense forest. Luckily our train conductor knew that we would soon pass a working crew; so he quickly wrote a note with instructions and threw it to the crew. About six hours after we had come to the town where we were to give our concert that evening, and after all festivities in connection with our arrival were over, some of us went over to the depot to learn if any message had come from the missing player. While we were there a handcar came up the track, and sure enough on it was our friend helping the workmen pump.

Besides Eidsvold, stops were made at Gjövik, Lillehammer, and Hamar. Then a night journey in sleepers brought us to the historically famous northern city of Trondhjem. We arrived quite early in the morning, about 7:30 o'clock, and were surprised and disappointed that no one was at the station to welcome us, not even members of the local committee. We learned later that Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was also in Trondhjem at this time and that a grand banquet and ball had taken place the night before in honor of the visiting German sailors. People had been up most of the night and were not yet awake when we arrived. Our manager, Mr. Randall, led the way to one of the city's fine hotels where he thought the local committee had made arrangements for breakfast. However, when the group with their baggage came into the hotel lobby, the clerk in charge became very indignant and insulting and refused all requests for simple accommodations, saying: "Only respectable people stay in this hotel." There was nothing else to do than to pick up our suitcases and look for some other place for breakfast. This happily was done very satisfactorily. A fine breakfast was served in a nearby restaurant and there an announcement was made that a message had been received from the King, who was temporarily living in Trondhjem, requesting the band to come to the royal residence and play for the royal family. Uniforms were then donned and by 11:30 a.m. the band was in readiness. We marched down the wide avenue to Stiftsgaarden, the King's residence while in Trondhjem, and into the yard in the rear of the building. The King, the Queen, and the little Crown Prince Olav came out, and the band played a short program for them. The King then came over to the band and spoke to the boys, thanking them most cordially for their visit and wishing them a successful and interesting trip through the country. He then expressed a wish to hear the Star Spangled Banner again and the band graciously complied. Perhaps I should mention here that only two weeks before our arrival the coronation of King Haakon had taken place in the cathedral in Trondhjem, which explains the presence of the royal family in the city at this time. That afternoon the boys visited the famous cathedral and were lucky to catch a glimpse of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who in company with the King of Norway also was at the cathedral.

The tour from Trondhjem on was to be by boat, the Andenaes, and we were very happy to learn that afternoon that the boat was in readiness for our occupancy. Before evening we brought our hand baggage to the pier, got our berth assignments, and lived very comfortably on board from that day on until we reached Christiania again seventeen days later. Berths on the Andenaes were very good and the meals exceptional.

A number of short trips had been arranged for the band to nearby points of interest. One of these was Stildestad, where in 1030 King Olaf fought a battle with the armies of the heathen kings to establish Christianity as the accepted religion in Norway. The old St. Olaf Church and the St. Olaf monument were visited and at each place the band played a group of numbers for the country folks who had gathered in large numbers. Both in what was seen and heard that day, there were many reminders of the well-known battle cry of the sainted King Olaf, "Fram, Fram, Kristmenn; Krossmenn" --- "Forward, Forward Men of Christ, Men of the Cross" --- which is also the motto of our college in Northfield.

While in Trondhjem our entire group took time to gather in the cathedral cemetery around the grave of the founder of St. Olaf College, the Reverend Bernt Julius Muus. After a long period of service in America, this pioneer pastor returned to his native Norway, where he passed away and was buried quite close to the cathedral. A wreath was laid on the grave and President Kildahl spoke with intense feeling. A daughter of Pastor Muus was present and briefly responded.

The concert in Trondhjem was given in the huge cathedral. The magnificent decorations that had been put up for the coronation were still in place. Although no applause was permitted, it was quite evident the large audience was deeply stirred. At this program the well-known Norwegian organist Lindemann played the organ accompaniment for Miss Gjertsen's solos.

After the concert a reception was held in a beautiful park where bountiful refreshments were served. The band party then found its way to the boat and we bid farewell to Trondhjem.

It was nearly two o'clock at night when the Andenaes was ready to leave. Although late, it was not at all dark, and as we came into the outer harbor we could very easily see the large German boats at anchor. Slowly we circled round the Kaiser's while our band began to play Die Wacht Am Rhine. Immediately German flags were raised to top masts and the sailors lined up on deck in respectful attention. After this exciting diversion everyone in our party was ready to call it a big day and retire for some much needed sleep.

Most of the larger coast cities were visited during the next seventeen days. At all stops great crowds were on hand to welcome the visitors from America. There were festive occasions, dinners, and speeches every day, as well as short sightseeing trips of various kinds.

On some days, however, the experiences and events were unusual and exceptionally memorable. After the concert in Aalesund, for instance, we were told that on the next day the Andenaes would go into the famous Geiranger Fjord and that the entire day would be a day of sightseeing and picture taking. And so it really was. The scenery all the way into the fjord was wonderful. Pictures were taken of Pulpit Rock, the Seven Sisters, and many other outstanding natural formations. When we had come into the inner fjord near Merok we saw another boat in the distance quite similar to ours and when we came nearer we found it to be the Mira with the Royal Family on Board. Salutes and greetings were sent from each boat to the other. This meeting was an unexpected pleasure.

The stay in Bergen also was replete with exceptional appointments and experiences. An invitation had been received from Prime Minister Michelsen and his wife to visit them at their beautiful estate, "Gammelhaugen," a short distance from Bergen. It was a privilege indeed to meet the man who had so successfully and without bloodshed arranged the separation of Norway from its union with Sweden, and who had brought it about that now Norway would have its own King and Royal Family.

The band on the march, an everyday occurrence, proved to be a great attraction. The usual procedure was for the boys to be in readiness at the boat about an hour before the concert. Then the march would proceed up through the main streets of the city to the place where the concert was to be given. The two beautiful silk flags that had been presented to the band, the American in Minneapolis and the Norwegian in Christiania, were carried by two of the boys. In most instances one or more marches would be played while great crowds of young and old people followed along. They cheered, waved flags, gave us flowers, and in other ways expressed their appreciation of the music, the uniforms, the various instruments, especially the trombones and saxophones, and the ornate attire of the drum major, including shako and baton. On one occasion in Christiania people followed the band as it marched back to the hotel after the concert. Soon a tremendous crowd gathered in front of the hotel and shouted and clamored for the man with the big fur hat to come out. I was finally obliged to step out on the roof of the porch and stand there for awhile with baton and shako while the crowd cheered and cheered.

The evening paper in Fredrikstad described the band's marching as follows: "Precisely at 7 o'clock the student band, with the American and Norwegian flag in the lead, began their march from the ANDENAES to the concert hall. They played several resounding marches on the way and were followed by a great crowd of people who cheered lustily but who also puffed and gasped trying to keep pace with the youthful marching musicians."

In another daily this notice appeared: "Do not forget to shower the dapper young Americans with flowers. Nothing adds more to the festiveness of an occasion than the display of flags and banners and heaps of flowers."

Stavanger proved to be an interesting stop. For the noonday meal the band was invited to the famous Bjelland's Cannery. There we were shown fish of all kinds, from sardines to huge sea bass. As the fishing boats came in with their catches of bristling or sardines, women workers cleaned them, strung them on wires for drying in the ovens, and packed them in cans which were then filled with olive oil and hermetically sealed. It was interesting to watch these operations. The meal was served in one of the huge attic rooms where a long table had been loaded with food. Included in the menu were the different kinds of food canned by this company; ryper, a bird like our American prairie chicken, and fish of all kinds including fish jellies and caviar. We were told we could help ourselves to any canned goods on the shelves if we cared to take some back to America; and those that had room in their traveling bags did help themselves.

The following interesting item appeared in the daily paper in Larvik several days before our arrival: "This our coronation year has attracted a group of Norwegian-American students to their ancestral home in Norway. They come in the nature of a return visit to the one our student singers paid them in America last year. They bring us a welcome message in music, a message that will delight and entertain us with most beautiful harmonies. Good music always lifts us up out of the routine of daily striving. We are indeed pleased to learn that this fine music organization will also pay us a visit in Larvik. Of special interest to our entire community is the fact that the band's distinguished director is a child of our city. We remember him well as a boy. It was our own well-known musician, Oscar Hansen, who discovered the talent in the boy and started his music career. On every 17th of May, and also on other festive days, we saw the little fellow march along with our city band. Later in life, like so many other talented Norwegian boys, he felt the urge to cross the high mountain in order to get more air under his wings. And now he returns to his boyhood home town, a grown-up man, who has brought glory and honor to the land of his birth."

The schedule for the day, July 21, was published well in advance of our arrival.

1. The reception committee will meet at the landing pier for the arrival of the visitors at 10 A.M. They are to go aboard and welcome our guests.
2. After the reception festivities have been concluded the entire group will be given a ride through the city and park, out to Fritzehus, and along our "Appian Way" to the Beach Woods where breakfast will be served. After breakfast the group will return to their boat.
3. The open air concert will be given in the Beach Woods at 8:30 P. M.
4. At 8 P.M a dinner will be served at the Larvik Bath. Townsmen and others from nearby communities are invited to the dinner as long as there is room.
5. During the coffee hour our local singing society will entertain with some songs and at 11 P.M. they will conduct our guests back to the boat.

The concert in the Beach Woods proved to be a tremendous success. At its close one of the city's foremost citizens thanked the band and its director for their visit and proposed that the assembly give them a "tre gange tre" hurrah, three times three hurrah, a special form of salute in Norway. To this the band boys responded with their college "yell":

Eel Ah! Ah! Oh! Yah!
Yah! Yum! Yoh! Anikenek! Kenek! Kenek!
Wahoo Manitou! Rick, Rick, Rick!
Arrapah! Arapah! Alamahaw!
St. Olaf, St. Olaf, Hi! Hurrah!

Of course there followed thunderous applause by the audience who probably had never heard anything quite like this before.

At the dinner following the concert the usual speeches were given, one of them by Mr. Smesrud, a friend of the Christiansen family. He spoke very feelingly on behalf of Director Christiansen and the director's father who was present for the occasion. Mr. Smesrud then presented Director Chistiansen a beautiful silver Viking ship inscribed with the words: "Professor F. Melius Christiansen, a remembrance from the women of Larvik, July 21, 1906." It was quite late before the players were escorted back to their boat. Everyone felt that the day had been one of the most enjoyable and memorable of the tour.

Next morning the Andenaes made the trip from Larvik to Skien. Here again a huge crowd had gathered at the pier to bid the visitors welcome. An excursion had been arranged for the day up river to a remarkable waterfall known as "Vrang Foss." (Angry Falls), where a fine lunch was Served after which the band played a number of pieces for the entertainment of folks that had gathered from the Telemarken district. In the evening a concert was given in the Skien Church. Following are excerpts from the review of this concert:

"The huge church was yesterday filled to over-flowing. Every seat had been taken and people crowded all aisles. But then, that was a concert no one will ever forget. Nothing like it has ever been heard here in Skien. The entire audience was overawed from the first number on."
"When we remember that these musicians are young students, not professionals, it is hard to understand how it has been possible for them to reach such perfection. It must be due to very exceptional instruction by a very exceptional instructor, the young man from Larvik, F. Melius Christiansen, who surely must be a director by the Grace of God."
"The American students deserve highest praise and thanks for their visit. They have given us a breath of that fresh air in young, free America; and young, free Norway has greatly benefited by the experience."

From Skien the American visitors were taken to Some of the cities along the Norwegian-Swedish border. Stops were made at Fredrikstad, Fredrikshald, and Sarpsborg. Very enjoyable excursions had been arranged to nearby places of interest and a number of speakers explained the historical importance of each place and the significance of the various monuments. Drammen and Horton were also visited before the band returned to Christiania and in each place huge crowds greeted the players although the concert in Horton, Norway's Naval Base, had been arranged on only two days' notice.

On July 29, in Christiania, the boys bade farewell to the Andenaes, the beautiful coast boat on which they had had such a wonderful seventeen-day tour along the coast of Norway, and it was a rather sad farewell.

Three more concerts were given in Christiania, one in the Mission Auditorium --- to an audience of 3,500. Immediately after this concert the boys were taken to the auditorium of the local Temperance Society where a second concert was played and refreshments were served. The next morning the last concert on foreign soil took place in the gymnasium of the local military fortress.

It was with mixed emotions that the boys realized the tour had come to an end. With deep regret they were now to leave Norway with its friendly, hospitable people and its wealth of beautiful scenery, mountains, lakes, and fjords. But it was also with a feeling of genuine satisfaction that the tour had been so successful and of joyous anticipation of "going home" to relatives and friends. The liner HELLIG OLAV of the Scandinavian America Line left Christiania at 6 p.m. on July 29 with the greater part of the band membership aboard; a few remained to return on later sailings.

The following item appeared in that evening's daily: "They have conquered our hearts. We want them to take with them as warm and heartfelt a greeting as it is possible to give to the thousands of homes on the western prairies as well as those in the large cities, where hearts beat with warmth for Old Norway. Theirs has been a triumphal tour." Yes, it was a wonderful tour, unique in many respects. It was the first tour to Norway of any large Norwegian-American student group and it created a profound impression throughout the country.

The band was a revelation to the people everywhere. Such instrumental groups as were found in different cities over there were small with very limited instrumentation. No wonder people came out by the thousands to see our band on the march! No wonder so many came up to the boys to examine the various instruments, especially the slide trombones, saxophones and bassoon! Critics and musicians spoke in the highest terms of the playing calling special attention to the fine interpretation of classical music, to the strict attention of all the players to the director's conducting, and to the ability of the boys to handle their instruments so well and play difficult passages with comparative ease.

The director of the band too came in for some special recognition. He was a great favorite throughout Norway. The country was proud of him for he was born there and now had brought great honor to the land of his birth. He was recognized as a musician and composer of highest rank. His directing was invariably described by the critics as superb, and his composition, The Norwegian Rhapsody, was considered a work of great merit. Although he was given high praise at almost all concerts and functions, Director Christiansen always acknowledged it with characteristic modesty.

It was exceedingly fortunate that President Kildahl was able to accompany the band throughout the trip. He was an eloquent speaker and always had something to say that was appropriate for the immediate occasion. On Sundays he was frequently called upon to preach. I enjoyed his company very much and we were together a great deal on the tour.

One afternoon in Trondhjem we decided to take a walk out into the country. After we had gone quite a distance we met a group of people, young and elderly, going into the city. Of course we stopped and talked with them and learned that they were on their way to hear the St. Olaf Band from America. They told us where they had come from and gave their names. And who should they be but distant relatives of President Kildahl. It was a happy meeting and a very unexpected pleasure for them all. (President Kildahl was born in the Trondhjem district. )

On another occasion we went for a walk in the city of Stavanger. We first visited a number of churches, one of them a small but beautiful church, and then came to a hospital. President Kildahl introduced himself and asked if we could visit some of the hospitalized folks. This was allowed and we entered a number of rooms. The president talked encouragingly with the bed ridden patients and before leaving asked if they wished him to have a short devotion with them. They seemed eager to have him do this and President Kildahl was greatly pleased. When we had returned to our hotel he said he felt that the morning's walk had been of benefit to him in more ways than one.

Of course the return to Northfield, to family and friends, was a gala occasion!

ST. OLAF BAND ITINERARY IN NORWAY, 1906

The attendance figures are taken from the manager's report and from newspaper reviews.

Besides the above attendance thousands of people heard the band in places where free open air short concerts were given.