![\"kjersten_program.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/kjersten_program.JPG?resize=184%2C300\")
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This afternoon the first of two memorials to be held for Kjersten Oquist and Angela Svendsen was held. It was a remarkable event. There must have been at least 250 people in attendance at the Portland Golf Club in SW Portland. What a testament to the impact that Kjersten had on her family, colleagues, students, and friends. There were a number of very moving and insightful remembrances given by friends, family and colleagues. All pointed to Kjersten’s intense desire to be better <\/em>and her amazing capacity for selflessness<\/em>. Her desire to improve herself served as an inspiration for those around her. Her selflessness helped those around her to be more aware of the needs of others. That is a life lived well. In spite of its brevity.<\/p>\n The initial shock of Monday morning, which became anguish, pain, anger, doubt, confusion, hate, guilt, and resignation, has through the process of sharing my grief with others today, become something approaching hope. I wish I had known Kjersten better. I wish I had been a better colleague, acquaintance, friend, musician when I saw her both at the OSO and OBT. Today, I found out a lot that I didn’t know about her – her gardening, her deep love of books and reading, her incredible fight to become a mother, and her obvious love for her son and husband. I also learned that Portland, and Oregon in general, has a wonderful community of musicians of all types. We share a love of our craft and a love of sharing that craft with others. Some of us make a living from playing in one ensemble, while others work at several ensembles to cobble together a living. Some of us teach just a few students, where some of us teach dozens every week. In the end, we’re all the same, and we all care for each other. The outpouring of support, and the hugs shared with people I hadn’t seen for years, meant so much to me and everyone who was there today. It brought me comfort, and hope. I know that Kjersten would be proud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This afternoon the first of two memorials to be held for Kjersten Oquist and Angela Svendsen was held. It was a remarkable event. There must have been at least 250 people in attendance at the Portland Golf Club in SW Portland. What a testament to the impact that Kjersten had on her family, colleagues, students, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[3655,55,3666,3662,3656,3660],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-news","tag-orchestra","tag-oregon","tag-portland","tag-the-orchestra-world","tag-viola"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-3q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":765,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/02\/11\/kjersten-angela-and-kelly-one-year-later\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":0},"title":"kjersten, angela and kelly – one year later","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"[L-R] Angela Svendsen and Kjersten Oquist Last year - February 12th, 2007 - musicians Angela Svendsen, Kjersten Oquist, and Kelly Gronli were returning to Portland from a concert with the Eugene Symphony. Two of the three, Angela and Kjersten, never made it back to Portland alive, their lives ended in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "music"","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"angela.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/angela.thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":204,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/02\/12\/fallen-colleagues\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":1},"title":"fallen colleagues","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Being a freelance musician anywhere in the country involves one universal common denominator: driving.\u00c2\u00a0 When I lived in the D.C.\/Baltimore area my \"gig range\" was from Roanoake, Virginia in the south to Lehigh, Pennsylvania in the north.\u00c2\u00a0 I once even did a gig in Kingsport, Tennessee.\u00c2\u00a0 Every current or former\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":205,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/02\/13\/the-cost-of-drunk-driving\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":2},"title":"the cost of drunk driving","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Blogger Drew McManus has collected various news links of this senseless tragedy here. An eloquent comment from the Statesman Journal's bulletin board: Angela and Kjersten were my colleagues, my friends. I am still in shock and deeply grieved to learn of their deaths--they were beautiful, brilliant, dedicated and...oh, so deeply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":209,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/02\/17\/mourning-through-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":3},"title":"mourning through music","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"On Thursday evening, the Eugene Symphony went ahead with their scheduled concert featuring flutist James Galway. They also found some very touching and meaningful ways to express their grief and honor Kjersten and Angela, their two colleagues who were killed last Sunday night in a wrong-way accident. You can read\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"symphony_021607.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/02\/symphony_021607.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7334,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/02\/20\/five-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":4},"title":"five years","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"February 11, 2007","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/memoriam_splash.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/memoriam_splash.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/memoriam_splash.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1019,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/06\/25\/sentencing-in-oquistsvendsen-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":5},"title":"sentencing in oquist\/svendsen case","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I was forwarded this information from Janet George: Fivea Sharipoff was sentenced June 24, 2008 in a 3 hour hearing. Family members of Kjersten and Angela read statements, Kelly Gronli read her own statement and one from her parents, and members of Fivea's family read statements as well. 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