Barbara Helsingius facts for kids
1965.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Barbara Christina Elisabeth Helsingius |
| Born | 27 September 1937 Helsinki, Finland |
| Died | 9 March 2017 (aged 79) Espoo, Finland |
| Spouse(s) | Henry William Koski; 2 daughters |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Fencing |
Barbara Christina Elisabeth Helsingius-Koski (née Helsingius; 27 September 1937 – 9 March 2017) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish singer, poet, and Olympic fencer.
Contents
Career
She participated at the 1960 Summer Olympics in foil fencing. Trained as a gym teacher, she took her masters in pedagogy at Stanford University (1963). Interested in American art and folk music, she began to record, and her first release, Barbara (1966), was a collection of American folk songs, translated to Finnish.
She became well known internationally, and was a member of Visens venner in Norway, of Visans Vänner in Helsinki, and Yrkestrubadurernas Förening in Sweden, part of the Svenska visakademien (1999; its only Finn), and the joint Nordic cultural organisation NordVisa.
From 1968–1975, she lived in Oslo with her husband, Henry William "Hank" Koski, a diplomat at the U.S. embassy. She was the mother of two daughters. Her family lives in Espoo, Finland.
Death
Helsingius died following a long illness on 9 March 2017 in Espoo, Finland at the age of 79.
Prizes
- Hambestipendiet, Sweden (1989)
- Norsk-finsk kulturpris (1993)
- Nils Ferlin-prisen, (Sweden; 1994)
- Trubadurprisen (1994)
- NordVisa-statuetten ("Liv"; 1995)
- Pro Cultura, Espoo, Finland (1995)
Books
- Vill du visor min vän? ISBN: 9789515001726
- Kanske en visa (Schildts) ISBN: 9789515004727
- Eino Leino, sångarens visa, poetry collection
- Songs Finland Sings, Warner/Chappel Music Finland (2000)
Discography
- Barbara (1966; American folk songs in Finnish)
- Det var en gång (1977; own songs)
- Olipa kerran (1978; Finnish version of the above)
- Speiling (1981; Finnish songs in Norwegian)
- Barbaras blandade (1981; own songs)
- Kahlaajatyttö (1982; musical settings of the Finnish poets Aale Tynni and Aila Meriluoto)
- Fra Barbara med kjærlighet (1982; Finnish songs in Norwegian)
- Reflection. Songs from Finland (1984; Finnish songs in English)
- Drøm og bekjennelse (1986; her own and Finnish songs in Norwegian)
- Spegling (1986; Finnish-Swedish songs)
- Rakkaudella (1986; Finnish version of above)
- Tuulen niityillä (1992; Nordic songs in Finnish)
- Sånt är vårt liv (1996; own and Finnish songs in Swedish)
- Songs Finland Sings (2002; double CD of Finnish poems and songs, classics and songs which she translated to English. Contains 30 artists, including the Serena choir)
