History of the United Swiss Singing Societies of the Pacific Coast (USSSPC)
Swiss immigrants were among the first West Coast settlers in the early twentieth century. They were attracted by the natural beauty and spacious stretches of the Pacific Coast in Canada and the US. After the newcomers from the valleys and mountains of Switzerland had established themselves in their new homeland, theyfound the time and means to resume musical traditions they had acquired in their youth. With large communities established, it was only natural for Swiss singing clubs to be formed.
The Pacific Northwest became the cradle of Swiss singing and yodeling with three well-known male choruses among the singing groups. In 1933, the Helvetia Sänger Club of Portland invited the Männerchor Edelweiss of Tacoma and the Swiss Male Chorus Alpenrösli of Seattle to join them in a combined concert. On January 21, 1934, 120 male voices performed in the Swiss Hall in Portland. After the concert the presidents of the three choruses met the following day and agreed to form a Federation with the title "United Swiss Singing Societies of the Pacific Coast". The founding fathers were Otto Hausermann, of the Helvetia Sänger Club, Charles Bischofberger, of the Männerchor Edelweiss, and Hans Forster, of the Swiss Male Chorus Alpenrösli.
The purpose of the new organization was described in its first constitution:
"To keep alive the songs of Switzerland as they are sung in our native country, to arrange festivals in the various states, and to promote the best feeling and understanding among Swiss."
Some 55 years later, the constitution was revised, to include
"To promote Swiss folk singing, yodeling, and music; foster their common cause; and encourage friendship and camaraderie among the members of the societies. This purpose shall be carried out mainly by holding song festivals periodically."
Charles Bischofberger was appointed festival president. The three choruses, number more than one hundred voices, presented a so-called Grand Concert on the first day of the Festival, followed by a singing and yodeling folk fest on the second day. Mr. Bischofberger was later awarded the title "Sängervater" (Father of the Singers), an honour that has been bestowed upon every festival president to this day.
The festivals were suspended during World War II, and resumed in 1946 in Seattle. For the next eight years they were held every other year, rotating among the member societies. Beginning in 1954, the interval between Festivals was increased to three years. The Festivals have grown with the addition of ladies and mixed choruses. An all-time high of thirteen choruses participated at the San Diego Festival in 1990. The Enzian Swiss Ladies Chorus of Tacoma, Washington, was the latest chorus to become a member in 1990. While there were only 105 singers in the Tacoma Festival in 1935, there were 427 singers in Long Beach California, 1984 (the largest) and 406 in San Diego in 1990. The Swiss Festival held in Portland Oregon was the 26th Festival since their modest beginning in 1935.
The 27th Pacific Coast Swiss Singing & Yodeling Festival is being held in Vancouver. It will take place in the Chan Shun Concert Hall and the Student Union Building at the University of British Columbia. The performances will include accordion music, Swiss bell music, Talerschwingen (Swiss coin-rolling), alphorn music, and yodeling. The current President of the USSSPC is Rolf Brulhart from the Swiss Society, who also sings in the choir. Swiss singing choruses have every reason to be proud of their accomplishments in perpetuating the songs, customs and costumes of their native homeland.
USSSPC Flag
The USSSPC flag is an extremely fine example of a rare Swiss folk art called needle-painting embroidery. The flag represents the last echoes of this art form, which is traceable to the High Renaissance. Once it flourished in Switzerland and Northern Italy, but it is now only a memory.
The flag has two sides: one red and one white. The following are logo and pictorial representations: The red side: Arched over a central oval medallion is the inscription "United Swiss Singing Societies of the Pacific Coast, 1934". The scene in the medallion depicts the three men representing the three founding Swiss cantons with their hands raised, their fingers in the oath swearing position and their left hands on the hilt of a centrally located sword at the bottom front of the medallion scene. This oval vignette is wreathed with white edelweiss flowers and blue gentian bellflowers; each of the four corners of this same side has sprigs of these two flowers tied with red and white ribbon.
The white side: In the center is a large golden lyre with sheet music behind it. This is framed with an oak and laurel wreath bound with a red and white ribbon. Centered atop the lyre is a spread-winged eagle with both a Swiss and American shield representing the two countries. Depicted around and below the central lyre motif are the five roundels of the original founding cities' seals: Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Tacoma. An alternating red and white fringe holds the two sides of the flag, both red and white, together.
The flag is mounted on a wooden staff topped with a chrome-plated spike. Hanging from the staff at the top are four two-sided streamers with the logos and devices of each of the next four city societies to join: Salt Lake City Swiss Chorus, Edelweiss; The San Diego Swiss Singers; San Joaquin Valley "Swiss Echoes", Ripon; and Swiss Choir of Vancouver, B.C. The flag itself measures 56 inches square, as in a medieval banner. The two-sided streamers are 6½ inches wide and 44 inches long. The flag was finished by 1934, the streamers by 1940. The flag is mounted to a finial topped wooden shaft as stated and it and the streamers are carefully stored in a hand-tooled zippered leather case of about 5 feet long. Because of its rareness and the extreme difficulty and cost to replace it with an equivalent example of this art form it is considered priceless to the member societies and admirers.
