SOPRANO

Maria Ericsson grew up on the east coast of Sweden. Having sung with vocal groups in Sweden, Germany and the United States, she has extensive ensemble and solo experience. Also an accomplished recorder player, in 1992 Maria co-founded a recorder consort in Heidelberg, Germany. After moving to the United States, she wanted to reconnect with her culture and language, which led to her joining Stämbandet in 1997.

Growing up in Stockholm, Sweden, in a family and community that continually surrounded her with music, Eva Ström is one of the three founding members of Stämbandet. A tireless collector of Scandinavian folk songs, her personal collection now numbers in the thousands. Eva's love and understanding of Swedish culture and music has been a gentle, yet impressive, influence since the group's beginnings in 1978.

With her family's roots in Stavanger, Norway, Karin Holst 's earliest introductions to music were not folk but jazz and big band, and came from her brother -- a prodigious trumpeter. She has sung with an array of vocal ensembles, including two all-women a cappella groups. She began singing with Stämbandet in 1998

Andrea O'Connell, born in Philadelphia, PA, comes from a long line of singers and pianists. She has performed chorally and as a soloist in Boston, New York and Pennsylvania. Classically trained, she has also performed in theatre productions and as vocalist for stage and jazz bands. Tracing her Scandinavian heritage to Jutland and Copenhagen, Denmark, Andrea joined Stambandet in 2005