Barbara Helsingius

Barbara Helsingius competed as a fencer at the 1960 Roma Olympics. She trained as a gym teacher but then did graduate studies in teaching at Stanford. While there she became interested in American folk music and, on her return to Finland, began to sing and record American folk songs, usually translated into Finnish. She and her husband, Hank Koski, a diplomat, lived in Norway. She was a member of Visens Venner and NordVisa in Noway, Visans Vänner in Finland, and Yrkestrubadurernas Forening in Sweden.