Benni Hemm Hemm takes 30-woman choir to the Faroe Islands

Benni Hemm Hemm and the 30-member Kórinn will perform at Havarí on Wednesday before travelling to the Faroe Islands for a concert next Saturday, mbl.is reports. The programme will include songs from the play The Light and the Rubbish, Benni Hemm Hemm favourites and new songs being performed for an audience for the first time.

“Tonight’s concert at Havarí will follow the same format as the one at the Nordic House in the Faroe Islands next Saturday,” choir member Agnes Grímsdóttir said. She described the Havarí show as the group’s final stop before the trip.

The idea of performing abroad led the group to the Faroe Islands, Agnes said. Members of the choir helped organise the trip in collaboration with the Nordic House, where the Faroese concert will take place.

Benni formed Kórinn with women he knew about four years ago, after the songs he was writing called for a women’s choir. The group later grew as friends of the original members joined. Its members include beauticians, visual artists, designers, performing artists and teachers. Not all had previous choir experience, Agnes said.

“We have a lot of fun, there’s a great flow, and our song choices are a little different from those of traditional choirs. We’re a band,” she said.

Agnes said the group moves on stage, with choreographer Ásrún Magnúsdóttir responsible for staging its performances, though the movement is not traditional dancing. She described the working atmosphere as creative and said the choir and Benni worked well together.

Agnes joined the collaboration through Ragnheiður Maísól Sturludóttir, a friend of Benni’s, while they were staging The Light and the Rubbish at Tjarnarbíó. She said Benni had already performed with Kórinn in Kópavogur.

The group has been advertised in the Faroe Islands as indie pop with a large dancing choir, Agnes said. She added that the members were looking forward to both concerts.