The Ericksons, a folk duo of two sisters, will be accompanied by the HHS orchestras Friday, Feb 21 preforming live in the HHS auditorium.

After three months of preparation, the HHS orchestra program hosts the annual spotlight concert. As tradition, the spotlight concert is a performance where the HHS orchestras play with a professional artist, or in this years case, artists.

The orchestras will be performing with The Ericksons, a Minneapolis based folk duo of two sisters, Bethany Valentini and Jenny Kapernick.

“I really like all of their songs. Their voices blend so well together and you can really tell they work hard,” said Alison Swiggum, Music Department. “Their music is so unique, it sounds great.”

Swiggum is the orchestra conductor, and has well prepared both the philharmonic orchestra and the symphony strings orchestra for the concert.

Valentini and Kapernick have been working together since 2006 to create their atmospheric indie folk sound, and call themselves The Ericksons. The duo plays local shows at The Icehouse in Minneapolis and other small venues around the midwest.

The Ericksons have released three albums, and each expresses their unique sound.

“The people in our personal lives really inspire us,” said Kapernick. “The energy of people around us and our family opens up a lot of thoughts for our songs.”

Working together as sisters, has been a great experience for the artists.

“We laugh at ourselves all the time because we really are together everyday. We’re sisters working together, so our work can get very personal at times,” said Valentini.

With all the time spent together, the sisters agree it’s where they should be.

“We are very lucky to work with each other. Many bands break up, so as long as we keep each other healthy and wanting to keep going, we will.” Kapernick said.

Both the Ericksons and Swiggum attended St. Olaf University which is how the union was made.

“We were very lucky Mrs. Swiggum saw an article in the St. Olaf alumni magazine. She contacted us this fall asking if we were interested, so it kind of found us,” Kapernick said.

Playing with the HHS orchestras has been a different experience for The Ericksons compared to their usual concerts with just each other.

“Being on stage with the orchestra gives us lots of motivation. We can really feel the energy behind us and it’s been great,” Valentini said. “I’m looking forward to connecting with the audience friday night as well.”

After weeks of rehearsals both groups are ready to perform as one.

“I hope the audience will enjoy the music by The Ericksons,” Swiggum said. “Students in both philharmonic and symphony strings are excited to play together with current artists.”