How did it all start?

Ordrup Gymnasium and Baldwin School - two schools closely connected. Here you can read about the very beginning of the exchange.

This is written by Mrs Anne-Mette Hansell, teacher at Baldwin School, and related to one of our students at Ordrup Gymnasium. She wrote "A History of the Danish Exchange" at the time, when students from Ordrup Gymnasium first visited Baldwin October, 2011. But it is a very good place to start. Enjoy yourselves!

A HISTORY OF THE DANISH EXCHANGE

(by TEACHERS on OCTOBER 31, 2011 in ARTS with NO COMMENTS)

Today we welcomed the guests of our Danish Music Exchange, an exciting event at Baldwin that is very near and dear to my Scandinavian heart. The Exchange takes place at Baldwin and Haverford between October 31st and November 4th.  Our Danish friends are members of the elite chorus at Ordrup Gymnasium, just north of Copenhagen.

A few of the Danish girls rehearsing in Baldwin's Assembly Room
The seed to this amazing musical and cultural event was planted during Baldwin’s Upper School music trip to Sweden, Norway and Denmark in March of 2007. It was such a magical trip and so many wonderful connections and friendships were built during our stay. The audiences gasped in delight hearing the hand bell performances and the girls’ beautiful a capella voices, both little known in Scandinavia. We connected with Baldwin alums in Scandinavia.

The Notables at Haverford subsequently heard of that 2007 trip. They traveled to Copenhagen and Stockholm in June of 2010, just as crown princess Victoria married her fiancé of many years. While the Notable trip was in the early planning stages, Michael Stairs, head of the Haverford Music Department asked me if I could possibly put the Notables in touch with concert venues in Denmark. It was great fun to help them. The Notables performed for over a thousand people in Tivoli Gardens and they connected with Ordrup Gymnasium.  Ordrup Gymnasium was the obvious choice as my two nephews attend the school.  Harald is now a senior and Holger a sophomore. The Notable’s visit at Ordrup Gymnasium was a huge success. Several students from Ordrup Gymnasium have visited their new Haverford friends and they came to visit Baldwin as well in the fall of last year.

Last spring the Head of Ordrup Gymnasium, Henning Thomsen, and his director, Ole Pinholt, came to visit Baldwin and Haverford and to see if a permanent musical and cultural exchange is viable. All three schools have a global perspective in their creed.  The match between us all is truly amazing and one that fits on so many levels. It was a very productive and successful visit.

During Spring Break of 2012, the Upper School Music department will travel to Copenhagen and will visit Ordrup Gymnasium. Our students will perform at the school, and they will perform with Ordrup Gymnasium’s Elite Chorus at Ordrup Kirke at an evening concert. Baldwin will also perform at the Royal Church at Frederiksborg Castle in Hilleroed. The castle church is still in daily use and used for royal functions, weddings, and of course for concerts. The girls may also perform in Roskilde Domkirke, where the Danish kings and queens are laid to rest.

Baldwin has alums worldwide. We also have a diverse faculty and staff, who can facilitate our global outreach through our own very local connections. Our late Madame David’s French Exchange Program, and her daughter Lori Clark’s continuation of this, is one such example. So is Sally Powell’s connection with of the Perse School and our exchange with them. I am also reminded of Pooh Gephart’s friend, who founded and runs the Rift Valley Children’s Village in Tanzania and the exciting service initiate which was kicked off six years ago.

As you can well imagine, it is a labor of love for me to help connect Baldwin, Haverford, (my son Erik graduated from the school in ’05), and my two nephews’ school in Copenhagen, with one another and to help our girls form lasting bonds and friendships with my fellow Danes and my family in Denmark.

Hav det godt!

 - Anne-Mette Hansell, Grade V teacher