History

In 2002, sisters Lisa and Eva Lestander met with their friends Frida Johannson and Linne Nilsson at the local music school in Umeâ, their home town in the northern part of Sweden, and established the a cappella group named Kraja.

The word Kraja means 'a place where you feel at home', and the name is their program. Wonderful rediscovered and newly arranged Scandinavian folk songs as well as their own compositions let Kraja fascinate the auditorium. At live performances, listening to the complex four voice arrangements makes people get goose bumps and sends shivers down their spine. But Kraja understand themselves as one single voice!

Based on their naturalness and pleasant personalities, the four students transmit wonderful messages from their home country Sweden. Concerts in Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Russia, the Ukraine and Northern Germany are now followed by the concert in Erfurt/Thuringia. Thereafter the group plans the first tour through Austria.

Fall 2006

Martin Frischmuth, now a professed fan of Kraja, is an enthusiastic listener to the midnight program of radio station 'Deutschlandfunk'. This is where Martin hears the name Kraja for the first time when Scandinavian music is played. The station broadcasts parts of a live festival recorded at "folkBALTICA" in Flensburg, where four young Swedes make their debuts.

Being an active member of a choir himself, Martin is impressed by the clear yet warm hearted music, and he decides: I need to see this group in a live concert!

It is easy for Martin to convince Rolf Umbreit, one of his friends, to share his enthusiasm. From now on the two of them tour to Kraja concerts together. Little effort was necessary to fascinate their friends and choir colleagues Fred Krüger and Jörg Titz. The four men are members of the 'Erfurter Männerchor 1890 e.V.'.  Soon the idea was born to put this enthusiasm under a name: Kraja-Fan-Club Erfurt.

It didn't take long until a decision was made: Let's focus on a great goal and invite Kraja to perform a concert in Erfurt!