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Spelkamraterna
The Swedish Fiddlers of Washington DC
The folkmusic group Spelkamraterna performs fiddle music to the traditional tunes of Sweden. The principal fiddlers: Kerstin Hendrickson and Steven Brodd, both hail from Greenbelt, MD.
The group plays two
distinct types of fiddle : the "flat" fiddle,
Click
on fiddle to hear a "midi" fiddle tune --->
and the Uppland keyfiddle
or "nyckelharpa" (see below). The nyckelharpa has evolved
over the centuries from the european "hurdy-gurdy" to the present day type.
The present day nyckelharpa
has four primary strings that are bowed, and 12 others that are
resonant and add warmth and power to the
music- characteristic of the Uppland polskas.
<--Click
on the nyckelharpa to hear a tune
Kerstin
Hendrickson holding her Swedish Nyckelharpa .
Kerstin Hendrickson and
Steve Brodd performing at
SCANFEST festival in northern Virginia. 
Steve and Kerstin love
to play, and perform at many Swedish cultural events. Recently, they played
swedish-polska,
while marching, at the annual Greenbelt Labor day parade (~3/4 of a mile).
They only perform at functions if there is to be interest in Swedish
traditional folkmusic...
Kerstin is a member
of the American Nyckelharpa
Association, and was born near Uppsala, Sweden
. She has studied with
Leif Alpsjö
of Uppland, and has attended countless workshops or "spelmenstammor"
(see Swedish links below). She plays both
flat fiddle and nyckelharpa.
Steve Brodd is an accomplished musician (dual majors in both honors music and mathematics at St. Olav's College), plays keyboard, organ, flat fiddle, viola, and some nykelharpa as of late!! Steve is sought after constantly to play at Scandinavian Church services (Swedish and Finnish).
SPELKAMRATERNA plays "Polska efter Byss-Calle"
(RealAudio 4) -----> 
Some useful SWEDISH Folkmusic links:
Kerstin Hendrickson's--
"Swedish handicrafts:
Pewter Embroidery"
Back to SWEDISH FOLKMUSIC of Wash DC
click here ---
Additional information at
sanggruppen@geocities.com