ORGANIZATION
Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag

The Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag is a group of young musicians that play traditional Scandinavian music. The word “lilla” in Swedish means young while the word “spelman” means fiddler and “lag” is a guild or society. Young people from age 8 to 18 come together to play, perform and enjoy folk music from Scandinavia within a community of young musicians.

Our goal is to provide an experience of the Nordic music traditions, and the culture around them. We support this in a tolerant, kind, respectful environment that recognizes the contribution that each musician makes to the whole. We use performance as a vehicle for teaching poise, confidence and presence, while building musicianship, teamwork and leadership. The group has only three rules: smile, have fun and keep your bow moving.

The Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag is a performance group. Members perform for a variety of occasions including for dancing, concerts for community organizations like schools and churches and we march in parades. We perform at festivals, such as Yulefest at the Nordic Heritage Museum, Skandia Folkdance Society’s Midsommarfest, and of course at the Northwest Folklife Festival.