West Lane News Veneta, OR Sept. 12, 2002

Yodelers win fair prize written by Christena Hansen - edited by Wayne Hanson

EUGENE -- Captured in the warm light of the setting sun, the performers walked to stage center. He's wearing a tuxedo. She's wearing a black dress with red roses stitched to the skirt. The music begins with the whine of a dobro. She lifts the microphone to her lips, and begins to sing. After the first verse, he joins in perfect harmony.
Meet the Hansons -- Theresa, 10, and Daniel, 8, -- part of a talented Elmira family, winners of the Lane County Fair's talent show and finalists in the Oregon State Fair's talent competition. Last month, they won high honors when their young voices danced through "The Man in the Moon is a Yodeler," a western style yodeling tune tranformed from a solo into duet by their father.
The Lane County Fair Show was Theresa's and Daniel's first competition, so they weren't sure how their listeners would rate their performance. They needn't have worried. The answer came, first, in audience applause and, second, in high marks from the judges, high enough to sweep the show's 15 -and-under catagory.
"We screamed a little bit," Daniel says, nodding shyly.
"Oh, Daniel was grinning and grinning," says his 17-year-old sister, Christa.
After their local showing, the yodelers were off to the State Fair. Twenty-three performers, each representing his or her county, strutted their stuff before an audience of 1,200 in Salem. Theresa and Daniel performed twice, earning a spot as finalists before the night was over.
"I knew they had the potentiel to do well," says their father. "They worked really hard, and I was very pleased with their performances.
Music has always been a family affair in the Hanson household. For years, parents Wayne and Leslie have been singing together with their seven children. They've grown used to being compared to the von Trapp family, the musical Austrians featured in the movie The Sound of Music.
The Hanson children are Tanya, 27, Gina, 24, Michael, 21, Christa, 17, Lisa, 13, Theresa, 10 and Daniel, 8. Together they can perform all four parts -- soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The three oldest no longer live at home, but they still sing with the family during visits and on special occasions. Tanya, who plans to be married this month, lives in Portland. Gina, who is married and a mother, lives in Wisconsin. Michael lives in Eugene and works as a computer programmer.
"From the time that our children were little kids, I'd sing to them as I tucked them into bed," Wayne says in a soft tone that belies his powerful bass singing voice. "they all learned to harmonize at a young age."
"We'd sing in choir, and the kids would listen," Leslie adds. "They got all this harmony education by osmosis."
More than 30 years ago, music was the icebreaker that brought Wayne and Leslie together. Committed Roman Catholics, they met each other at the Newman Center on the University of Oregon campus. After standing next to Wayne and listening to him sing, Leslie couldn't help but comment.
"My first words to Wayne were, ' Do you sing in a barbershop quartet?" she says.
He didn't, but not long after that, Wayne and Leslie were singing "The Wedding Prayer" at their own wedding. They kept singing as they started to have children. In 1983, Wayne helped form One in Spirit, a men's gospel quartet that included both Catholic and Protestant singers. Over seven years, they sang at various churches and made several recordings.
Eighteen years ago, the Hansons began performing as a family. Tanya and Gina were in elementary school; Michael was a preschooler. Along with teaching their children to sing, Wayne and Leslie became their children's academic instructors by joining the fledgling home school movement.
Instead of sending their children to youth activities, the elder Hansons made a point of including children in many adult church activities. They were the youngest members of the church choir, an example that Theresa and Daniel are following by singing in the St. Mary Catholic Church choir.
On the side, the family recorded a CD, sang carols at the Campbell House, a bed-and-breakfast in Eugene, and was hired to stroll and sing at the Fifth Street Market.
In their hours of home school instruction, the younger Hansons have learned to do much more than sing. They all play piano, and many have developed proficiency on other instruments. The family's country home is filled with more than a dozen instruments, ranging from guitars to an accordion.
The Hansons added yodeling to their repertoire several years ago when they heard it live for the first time at a festival in Wisconsin. Immediately, the children were fascinated. Thirteen-year-old Lisa was the first to try the difficult singing style. It requires a huge amount of control, as singers purposefully "break" their voices and skip through intervals at high speed.
"It's really hard to keep your voice from sticking," Lisa says.
"Normally, it's what you don't want to happen when you sing," Wayne adds.
Yodeling was a new challenge, something that the kids wanted to master. The family was given a tape, "How to yodel country style," by Shirley Field, International yodeling champion, and Rudy Robins. This was how they began learning tunes to mix in with their regular play list.
The thought of competition hadn't crossed Wayne's mind until he was shopping at Bi-Mart and noticed entry forms for the first annual talent show at the Lane County Fair. He decided to enter the whole family. Together they sang "Back to God America," and "This is my Song." Christa, Lisa and Theresa sang several barbershop arrangements, and Lisa sang a yodeling piece that was technically the most difficult song.
In the end, "The Man in the Moon is a Yodeler" won the judge's hearts and landed Theresa and Daniel a shared $300 cash prize. The pair's sibblings were quick to congratulate the winners and accompany them to state.
"I think our whole family was more nervous than they were, "Christa says.

Songs of the Season

Carolers sound old-fashioned note

~Hanson Family: With demand for their traditional fare soaring, members have yet to take a breather this holiday season.

By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard -- Dec. 23, 2002

Wayne Hanson and his family have been so busy spreading holiday cheer this month that they still haven't found time to pick out a Christmas tree for their own Elmira home.
Instead of spending most of December decking their own halls, The Hanson Family
Singers have used the holiday season to perform Christmas carols at about 30 gigs at churches, parties and fund-raising events.
"We've been doing so much lately that we just haven't been able to get a tree yet," said Leslie Hanson, the mother of seven children who have sung alongside her at various venues for about 15 years now.
The group's present lineup includes Mom, Dad, and five of their children between the ages of 8 and 21. Two older daughters who already have left the nest still chime in when they're in town.
"For us, singing is an opportunity to make others' Christmases that much better," said Wayne Hanson, the family patriarch and group leader. "It's our way of sharing the gifts that God gave us."
On Sunday, the family shared those gifts with a full house of guests who listened to carols while sipping midday tea and snacking on goodies at the Campbell House Inn, a bed and breakfast in Eugene.
Later in the day they played at a pizzeria and at a hospital, and they will head to Portland on Tuesday for a series of events that will conclude with a formal church concert Jan. 5. The family says they'll be back with plenty of Eugene performances again next year.
Dressed in "Dickens-style" regalia reminiscent of the apparel worn in the fictional days of Jacob Marley and Tiny Tim, the group on Sunday offered up a capella versions of everything from "Jingle Bells" to "Angels We Have Heard On High."
"It's almost like they've been taken out of another time and brought back here to sing," said Campbell House proprietor Myra Plant. "They bring that traditional Christmas feeling with them that everyone loves to hear."
Plant, who booked the singers for a total of eight daytime performances this month, said customers are unfailingly enthusiastic about The Hanson Family Singers.
The family hears simular compliments, but responds with humility.
"It just does our hearts good to know our music touches their hearts," said Wayne Hanson, who ended Sunday's performance by telling the applauding crowd, "Merry Christmas, everyone. Enjoy your tea."
Although everyone in the family seems to know that little brother Daniel, 8, is usually the house favorite, the group is much more about sibling harmony that sibling rivalry.
"I really like the way our voices sound together when we're singing," said daughter Christa, 17. "We call it relative harmony, because all of our voices are pretty similar."
On their own, Christa and her two younger sisters, Lisa, 13, and Theresa, 11, performed a stirring rendition of "White Christmas" that hushed the crowd Sunday.
The trio has talked about forming their own group, which is just fine with Dad.
"I'm encouraging them," said Wayne Hanson. "They remind me of the Lennon Sisters."
Oldest brother Michael, 21, is a student at Lane Community College and the only current member who lives away from the family home. He said he was recruited into the singing group when he was about 7 years old. "As soon as they knew that I knew the songs, they started making me sing with them," he said. "There's always been music at our house."
While the family performs throughout the year, December is when it matters most, Leslie Hanson said. "A lot of people tell us how they see so few families doing this type of thing together, and that's unfortunate," she said. "The idea of having family together is the most important thing this time of year."
More important, even, than having a Christmas tree inside the house on Dec. 23.