Gjendine and Jørgine - from Bøverdalen to New York

Two women - two dreams - two lives

This year we mark 200 years since the first boat with Norwegian emigrants left Stavanger for America. On that occasion, it is a good time to present the concert story about Jørgine and Gjendine, two charming ladies with bones in their noses.

Jørgine Boomer and Gjendine Slålien both came from simple backgrounds in Bøverdalen in Gudbrandsdalen. One was full of adventure and eager to travel and see, while the other let the world come to her. They made completely different choices and lived completely different lives, but perhaps they had more in common than we would think. The pursuit of the good life and inner happiness is central.

The trio Camilla Granlien, Alf Hulbækmo and Mari Skeie Ljones will play and talk about jazz and city life, folk music and rural life, Gjendine and Jørgine.

 In connection with the concert, there will be an offer of a guided tour of the exhibition at Sunnfjord Museum about the emigration from our area to America. Read more about it at https://misf.no/sunnfjord-museum

The concert story is produced by the three musicians, in collaboration with the Riksscenen in Oslo, the Storytelling Festival and Musikk i Innlandet. 

Jørgine Boomer (1887-1971) and Gjendine Slålien (1871-1972) both came from simple backgrounds in Bøverdalen, in Gudbrandsdalen.

Jørgine traveled to America, worked her way up the ranks, and married Lucius Boomer, who later became hotel manager at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Until his death, they ran the hotel together. Jørgine frequented New York society. She helped Frank Sinatra get his career off to a flying start by giving him a job as a hotel musician, listened to Cole Porter while he composed, knew presidents and royalty, and was greatly loved by many of her special guests. She traveled home to Bøverdalen several times, and built herself a Villa Jotunheimen both there and in the United States.

Gjendine , on the other hand, was a merchant and Edvard Grieg's greatest source of folk music. She never left her hometown despite courtship and offers of singing education abroad. She enchanted people with her singing voice, was cheerful and quick in her lines and could not live without the mountains around her.