Today we are beginning a series of articles which will outline the high spots of the careers of those Swedish-American men and women who have distinguished themselves in the realm of art here in our great adopted land, particularly of those who have made it their life work to cultivate and preserve the unforgettable Swedish song art here in our American melting pot.

We could not make a more fitting beginning than by presenting Johan Reinold Ortengren, professor at the Chicago Musical College.

Professor Ortengren, a leader within Swedish musical circles, deserves most of the credit for the reawakening of musical interest not only in Chicago but all over North America, wherever Swedes have settled to any extent. He took the initiative in organizing the first Swedish male choir in Chicago, the Swedish Glee Club; and when the various other societies that were being founded 2to foster the singing traditions of the homeland began to realize what could be accomplished under Professor Ortengren's leadership, they consolidated into the Swedish Singers' League, which has won its laurels under his electrifying baton.

Let us take a look into the past of this esteemed gentleman. Johan Reinold Ortengren was born in Gestrickland on October 5, 1862, the son of S. R. Ortengren, a captain of the Gestrike-Helsinge Regiment. His uncle was the celebrated actor, Albion Ortengren, of the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm.

Young Ortengren graduated from college in Gefle, and then began to study singing under the famous opera singer, Fritz Arlberg, in Stockholm. During the years 1883-85, he continued his studies under the late professor Julius Gunther, and at the same time attended the Royal Theater's training school. For one season he was engaged as an actor at this institution.

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In 1888, Ortengren went to Paris and studied singing for one year with Professor Romain Bussino, after which he returned to Sweden, where he was engaged as an opera singer at the Royal Opera in Stockholm from 1887 to 1889. We have seen newspaper clippings from that period and noticed that music critics called him "the pride of the Royal Opera".

In 1889, Mr. Ortengren arrived in Chicago, and has made his home and has done his work here ever since. For fourteen years,he has been one of the most sought after song teachers at the Chicago Musical College, which ranks among the world's leading musical academies, having a staff of some fifty teachers and several thousand students.

His soft, expressive baritone voice, which he uses with genuine artistry, has made him very popular with Chicago concert audiences. For many years, he was a soloist at the Unity Church, and is now singing at the Congregational Church of Oak Park.

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His personal qualities of leadership and his outstanding ability as a choir director have caused both Swedish and American singing organizations to compete for the privilege of singing under his direction. Among them are the Belvidere Glee Club and the Mendelssohn Club of Rockford. Among the Swedish choirs which he is directing at present are The Swedish Glee Club of Chicago and The Sons of Sweden of Rockford.

Ortengren was director-in-chief at the great Scandinavian singing festival in Minneapolis in 1891, and also on the occasion when the Swedish Singers' League was established. He has been the latter's director for ten years, and has headed the Swedish choirs at the Chicago World's Fair, and the singing festivals in New York and Rockford. He has already been appointed director-in-chief for the coming festival to be held in Chicago next year, and for the one following it, which will take place in 1907 in Rock Island, Illinois.

Most of us remember the Swedish singers' concert tour of Sweden in 1897.

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Professor Ortengren was in charge, and took the choir on a glorious round of visits to Swedish cities and country towns. During his stay in Stockholm, the professor was called to the Royal Palace and King Oscar, in flattering terms, expressed his admiration for the victorious singers' leader.

Coupled with Mr. Ortengren's unusual ability as a teacher and director is his sympathetic and unaffected personality, which has won for him the genuine affection of his pupils and the members of his choirs.

His native talent, together with his splendid training and varied experience, has made him one of the outstanding song teachers in the United States. He has the knack of bringing out the best in the student, and of awakening in him that interest in, and love of, his work which is the first requisite for success. Many soloists thank him for having started them on their careers.

As a choir director, Ortengren is probably unequaled anywhere. During a 6performance, he has complete control of the choir, which is under the spell of his forceful personality and faultless technique. Being a composer himself, he is a master of effective interpretation of the works of others, and the choir itself seems to sense this interpretation.

The professor's pleasant manner and interesting conversation make him a welcome guest at social gatherings, and Swedish societies have benefited from his experience as an actor; only last winter, he rendered valuable assistance when the Swedish National League presented "Around the World in Eighty Days" at the Auditorium.

His wife is the former Miss Mimmi Lindstrom of Hudiksvall, Sweden; they have two children, and the happy family home is in Park Ridge, Illinois.

Tomorrow, October 5, Professor Ortengren will be forty-two years old, and we join his many friends in wishing him a happy birthday. We also wish to thank him for all that he has done for the Swedish song and Swedish singers.