The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 82

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1967
were the organist and soloist at First
Lutheran Church, Winnipeg, where
they held a unique spot in the hearts
of all the congregation. Mrs. Hall’s
singing had a way of touching her
hearers and of appealing to their
aesthetic senses by evoking tender
emotions or half-forgotten memories
of the homeland or feelings of religious
fervour. Always she had the able as-
sistance of her husband-accompanist.
In addition to her church work,
Mrs. Hall was ever ready to contribute
to the program at secular concerts and
entertainments, a contribution always
welcomed and enjoyed.
In 1935 she moved to Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, with her husband and
later to Wynyard, Saskatchewan, where
she continued to take part in the mus-
Sigrid Olson came to Canada as a
young child with her uncle and aunt,
Mr. and Mrs. Johann Thorgeirson,
who had adopted her. A warm, sunny-
dispositioned child, she grew into a
lovely, gracious woman who endeared
herself to all who came to know and
associate with her. In addition to re-
ceiving the customary education, her
parents made it possible for her to
obtain a thorough musical training.
She soon became an excellent pianist,
in fact showed great promise while
she was still quite young. But her
musical potential manifested itself
further when it became evident that
she was the possessor of a beautiful
soprano voice. Then began years of
study under the gifted and renowned
voice teacher, Winona Lightaap of
Winnipeg. Mrs. Olson’s voice devel-
oped into a brilliant, cultured instru-
ment which she used with intelligence
and charm to thrill her audiences.
Further training followed under well-
ical activities a.s long as she was able.
Mrs. Hall passed away on May 10, 1954,
and was buried from the First Luther-
an Church, the church she called home
for so many years and the scene of so
many of her triumphs.
Mrs. Hall was a kind woman as
many of her friends and neighbours
bore witness to and often took a young
singer under her wing and offered
words of encouragement to the shy
and timid. Others, before her time and
since, have had more brilliant and
more polished voices and have sung
with greater knowledge and skill, but
few have endeared themselves so com-
pletely to their listeners. She had a
gift of being able to win her audiences
and to transport them on wings of song
above and beyond themselves.
Sigrid Olson
known teachers at Chicago, Illinois,
which added to her stature as a singer.
She gave generously of her time and
talent and was widely sought after as a