The Swedish Margareta Church 100 years!
Saturday 22 March, 14:00
(Doors open at 13:15)
The Swedish Margareta Church
Adult: 350 NOK
Senior/student: 250 NOK
Child: 50 NOK
Duration: 1 hour
Gothenburg Cathedral’s Girls’ Choir
Petter Ekberg, conductor
World-class girls’ choir
On the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of Margaretakyrkan, the Swedish church in Oslo, we have invited Gothenburg Cathedral’s Girls’ Choir to give a concert. The girls’ choir is known for its high quality, and they are bringing an exceptionally exciting and varied program. Among the highlights, we find the Canadian composer Christine Donkin’s (b. 1976) Magnificat, a beautiful and atmospheric a cappella piece. The audience also gets the pleasure of hearing excerpts from Mass no. 6 by the Romanian-Hungarian composer György Orbán (b. 1947). Orbán is especially known for his compositions within the sacred and liturgical choir repertoire, and often combines elements from the traditional liturgy of the Renaissance and the contrapuntal composition techniques of the Baroque with elements from jazz. Mass no. 6 is written for women’s choir, accompanied by a melodic piano and filled with beautiful timbres.
The choir will also perform works by the French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), as well as the Swedish composers Carl-Bertil Agnestig (1924–2019) and Agneta Sköld (b. 1947). The girls’ choir showcases both its versatility and artistic depth, in a concert that is sure to inspire.
Gothenburg Cathedral’s Girls’ Choir is a part of the boys’ and girls’ choirs in Gothenburg Cathedral, which consist of more than 200 children and youth aged 8 to 25 years. As well as participating in the Cathedral masses and the well-visited choir concerts, the choir also performs in external concerts and tours. During the school year 2024–2025, Gothenburg Cathedral’s Girls’ Choir will perform at Lund Choral Festival and Oslo International Church Music Festival.
Petter Ekberg has been a central figure as a choir conductor in Gothenburg Cathedral since 1995, where he is in charge of the boys’ and girls’ choirs, as well as the Gustavi Youth Choir. His curiosity for choir music, joy of singing, and a pedagogical approach, characterise his work with the choirs, from the youngest taking their first steps to the more advanced musical endeavours of the oldest. Ekberg is often used as a lecturer and teacher, and has since 2016 been a part of developing the course ‘Körpedagog med fokus på barne- og ungdomskor’ (Choir teacher specialising in children’s and youth choirs) at the School of Music, Theatre and Art at Örebro. In 2014, Ekberg was given the prize for ‘Children's and Youth Choir Choral Director of the Year’ from UNGiKÖR.
