Finlandia Foundation Lecturer of the Year at Heritage Center Feb. 28

HANCOCK -- The Finlandia University Finnish American Heritage Center will host two lectures by Glenda Dawn Goss, professor of musicology at the Sibelius Academy of Helsinki, Finland, at 2 p.m. and at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28. Refreshments will be served following each lecture.

Goss, who is the Finlandia Foundation Lecturer of the Year, will present her talk, "Sibelius and Finland’s Awakening," which is based on over two decades of research. The lectures are free and open to the public.

Finland experienced an unprecedented Golden Age of music and art late in the 19th century. Among the crowning achievements of this age were the compositions of Jean Sibelius, whose works served as a soundtrack to Finland’s growing sense of cultural independence. As the Finns enjoyed this flourishing of the arts, a political awakening resulted, while Finland was still an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire.

Goss began her research on this dual topic in 1989 in Finland, where she has lived since 1998. Her most recent publication is a major biography of Jean Sibelius: Sibelius: A Composer's Life and the Awakening of Finland (2009).

The lecture presentations are hosted by the Finnish Theme Committee/ Finlandia Foundation Copper Country Chapter and the Finnish American Heritage Center with generous support from Finlandia University’s Campus Enrichment Fund, the Michigan Technological University Department of Visual and Performing Arts, Finlandia Foundation National, and an anonymous donor.

The Finnish American Heritage Center is located on the campus of Finlandia University at 435 Quincy Street in Hancock. For more information, call 906-487-7505.