THE NEWS FROM BRUNER’S BROOD FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2026 A CONCERT FIT FOR A KING

Hello, everyone! As I write this article from Oslo on a break from personal business, I trust all is well with you, that your musical experiences have been delightful, and maybe even historic. For those who have recently liked and followed my artist page since my last posting on New Year’s Day 2026, thank you very much for your interest and kind support, as I warmly welcome all the new followers who have come onboard. Please share this page with others, tell those you know that this page and website exists, and let them know that activities and events are lining up nicely for June 2026 and beyond. Here’s the latest for my Facebook pages and www.trentbruner.com.  In September 2025, I began work as a conductor with Kordial, an adult community mixed choir from the Vaksdal Municipality, northeast of Bergen and Osterøy. This dedicated group of 25 singers became part of my musical activities after their past conductor, Tone Lise Moberg, went on to pursue other musical opportunities. The choir has an active performance calendar, arranging two coffee house fundraisers per season, and works with other local and regional music groups for concert appearances and various community events. So far this season, they gave six public performances and will have their season wrap up concert in 2025-26 as a part of the Town of Dale’s annual Culture Days Friday, June 5^th as their seventh show. This article focuses on performance six, which was historic. On Thursday, March 20^th, the Vaksdal Municipality contacted local music ensembles for a major performance honour on Wednesday, May 27^th, which would be to perform for a royal visit from Norway’s King Harald V, aged 89 at the time of this article. This would be the King’s first visit to this municipality during his reign. Kordial was invited to be part of a project choir that included the Kilden Church Choir from Vaksdal Lutheran Church, conducted by cantor Ruben Gjertsen. The answer from both choirs was an immediate yes. The official program would last for 90 minutes with this project choir performing one song only. When Ruben and I were in contact, he selected a local folk song to arrange for the project choir, “På klårfjell”, which means “On the Clear Mountain.”  The song’s text describes the beauty of the regional mountain view, the animals that lived there, and the place that God had in making this part of His Creation. The melody is attributed to the 1300s and was notated in the late 1700s by a local archivist. I approved of the choice of song and the choral arrangement Ruben created. Further background on the song can be found in the YouTube description through the following video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2YAMV7EB5s As I recorded additional practice audio files for both choirs, I also thought that Norway’s national instrument, the Hardanger fiddle, would be a perfect background instrument with the song. Ruben agreed, and the search began to find a hardanger fiddler from Vaksdal Municipality who could accompany the choir. None were found on the first call. I then asked if there were people working in the Vaksdal region, but did not live there who could play hardanger fiddle. None were found the second time, either. Hence, the question came to me about anyone I knew who would be available from anywhere to perform. This became an easy matter for me to follow up. At the end of April 2026, our youngest daughter, Ingrid Sofie Midtbø-Bruner, agreed to take on the assignment, and received permission from Langhaugen High School in Bergen to accept this major performance opportunity. It was time to practice for His Majesty. King Harald V’s wife, Queen Sonja, had planned to accompany him, but was unable to travel on the Royal Tour due health concerns arising the week before. With the ceremony taking place on the Dale School grounds, the outdoor performances from local brass ensembles, the Dale Elementary School Choir, the Vaksdal Culture School’s Children’s Choir and Student Stage Band, the Dale Men’s Chorus, local historians and our project choir were an accurate picture of what Vaksdal Municipality and others like it are: Average people doing their best to live lives in the most humble and productive way possible and enjoying life with what they have. It was also an opportunity to honour a long serving monarch who had kind words for those living in the Vaksdal region. His short, public address received a warm reception from all. Additionally, the Norwegian Royal Ceremonial Guards and their accompanying brass band gave a 30 minute presentation of military precision drills and high quality brass band music that was an appropriate conclusion to the official ceremonies after the King’s departure. On a personal note: For myself as an immigrant to Norway from Canada, I never thought a musical opportunity like this would ever come as it did, nor in the way it did. For our youngest daughter, a Grade 13 student in her final semester of high school who will become a student in Norwegian Traditional Folk Music performance studies at the Norwegian Conservatory of Music in Oslo this fall, this is a significant performance in a musical career that holds a bright future for her. Our family was humbled and honoured to be part of this significant event so close to home. For the locals participating in various ways, they would say similar words as well. In closing, please check the photos from me, the Vaksdal Municipality and the performance video of the song our project choir and musicians gave via YouTube and Facebook. Special thanks as well to Inghild Berentsen for sharing the performance video with me for posting, and for sharing a keepsake that will be a treasure for the lives of all who participated. Until next time, see you somewhere down the musical trail. Musically yours, Trent