093_SR0271
LRB093 13434 RAH 18752 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois learned with regret of the death of Sten G.
4 Halfvarson on September 1, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania to Swedish
6 immigrant parents, Mr. Halfvarson moved with his family to
7 Chicago in 1929; at Senn High School, the composer-director
8 Noble Cain took Mr. Halfvarson and his baritone voice under
9 his tutelage; he sang with Cain's Chicago A Cappella Choir
10 from 1929 to 1936 and performed in concerts, radio and on
11 tours; and
12 WHEREAS, For two years Mr. Halfvarson attended North Park
13 College before finishing his education at Northwestern
14 University with a degree in music education; in 1937 he began
15 his teaching career in Menominee, Michigan, but the following
16 year he began his long association with West High School in
17 Aurora as the choral director until 1979; and
18 WHEREAS, Mr. Halfvarson's career was interrupted when he
19 served as a B-17 gunnery instructor in the U.S. Army Air
20 Forces from 1942 to 1945; after World War II, he returned to
21 Aurora and in 1946 married Lucille Robertson, a choral
22 director he met at a conference; and
23 WHEREAS, Mr. Halfvarson's Christmas concerts were more
24 than simply singing traditional songs; he used his talents to
25 write musical links between the songs, creating a
26 concert-long musical medley; his talents were often coveted
27 by other schools and choirs; over the years, he was on the
28 faculty of music camps at nine universities around the
29 country, and was invited to be choral director at more than
30 50 festivals in the Midwest; in 1968, he directed the
31 Illinois All-State Choir, which sang at the World Conference
32 in Dijon, France; and
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1 WHEREAS, In 1960, Mr. Halfvarson formed the Aurora
2 Festival Chorus and for 15 years, the chorus performed in
3 city parks, high schools and at the Paramount Arts Center;
4 for 42 years, Mr. Halfvarson was the director of music at the
5 New England Congregational Church before retiring in 1994; he
6 was also the past president of the Illinois Music Education
7 Association; and
8 WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Mr. Halfvarson wrote
9 numerous pieces for use by his choirs; at the urging of his
10 children, he submitted several of his works to music
11 publishers; in 2002, his talents were recognized by Alliance
12 Publications Inc. out of Fish Creek, Wisconsin, which has
13 recently released the Sten Halfvarson Choral Series,
14 including a collection of five songs for Christmas; and
15 WHEREAS, The passing of Sten G. Halfvarson has been
16 deeply felt by all who knew and loved him, especially his
17 wife of 57 years, Lucille; his daughters, Linea Halfvarson,
18 Laura Jump, and Mary Covelli; his son, Eric Halfvarson; his
19 grandchildren; and his great-grandson; and
20 WHEREAS, As a choral director for more than 50 years,
21 Sten G. Halfvarson did more than teach the mechanics of
22 music; he instilled and fostered in his students the beauty
23 of a piece and in the process gave them a foundation of
24 musicianship and a freedom of creativity; therefore, be it
25 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
26 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
27 of Sten G. Halfvarson and extend our deepest sympathy to his
28 family, friends, and community; and be it further
29 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
30 presented to the family of Sten G. Halfvarson as an
31 expression of our sincerest condolences.