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Beste Hilsen
from
Stan
"I was born in
Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 5th, 1916, the first child of a Swedish
mother and a Norwegian father. Many of my early memories are of
hearing violin music, much of it Norwegian in nature coming from the old
victrola. At the ripe old age of four years, I, along with my parents and
two younger brothers, moved north to a piece of wild land on the south
shore of Mille Lacs lake, near Wahkon. I have lived my entire life within
sight of the "Big Lake".
"I have had a great interest in violins all my life,
and made a small violin at twelve years of age.
Not being fortunate enough to have a violin teacher in this northern
frontier country at that early date,
one had to learn on his own by doing it himself. I was fortunate to have
a very fine violin, made by my Swedish grandfather which he gave to us
three boys when I was about eight years of age. The violin has brought a
lifetime of enjoyment to me which has never left.
"I have collected
violins all my life, most of them in various states of disrepair, and
restored them to playability again. I had about fifty violins at one
time, many of which I have since loaned out or given away, hoping to
encourage violin playing in others. My violins have been a lifetime of
pleasure for me, and are to this day!"
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About Stan
Stanley Berge
has become a local legend, affectionately dubbed "Fiddler
Extraordinaire" by his many friends and fans. He frequently performs throughout Minnesota; at concerts, music festivals and
town celebrations. Wherever there is music, you will probably find Stan. A
violin maker, Stanley is also something of
an historian, discussing with pleasure the finer
points of the instruments by Stradivarius and
Amati. He's a well-rounded musician. Not only does Stan "fiddle around",
he is also classical violinist.
At age 87, Stanley finally began
notating his compositions. Tundradogs Music is proud to be the first to
publish "Tomte-Gubban's Reel", by Mr. Stanley E. Berge, Fiddler Extraordinaire.
At 90 years old, Stanley has recently composed another wonderful fiddle
tune; "Minnesota Springtime Waltz". Both of these pieces are published
together as violin (fiddle) solos and are available through Tundradogs.
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