Bradley Ellingboe of "Choral Music for Sundays and Seasons" (Augsburg Fortress Press, 2004) a compendium of sacred choral music. He is also well known as an expert on the vocal music of Scandinavia, and particularly the songs of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). His editions of Grieg's songs: "45 Songs of Edvard Grieg" (1988) and "A Grieg Song Anthology" (1990) are both published by Leyerle Publications. For his work on making the music of Norway better known among English-speaking singers, Ellingboe was awarded "Sankt Olavs Medaljen" by His Majesty, King Harald of Norway, in 1994. He has curated the choral series Music
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra has had a long tradition of playing contemporary music. Ludwig van Beethoven's second symphony was performed in Bergen in the year it was published, 1804, even before it was performed in Berlin. Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg had close ties with the orchestra, and was artistic director from 1880 to 1882. He also bequeathed a portion of his estate to a fund which continues to provide financial support for the orchestra. Other composers have served as principal conductor of the orchestra, including Arvid Fladmoe, Johan Halvorsen, Iver Holter, Richard Henneberg, Olav Kielland and Per Winge. Composer Harald Sæverud was frequently invited