You grew up in Gothenburg, studied at the music conservatory in Malmö, and lived in Berlin for two years to earn your Konzertexamen at HdK. How did you end up in Umeå?
– After I finished my education, I worked as a freelancer for several years in southern Sweden, but eventually I started longing for a permanent position. Then a position opened up with the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra; I applied and got the job, and discovered that I really enjoyed living up north. So I stayed.
How did your interest in music begin? Do you come from a musical family?
– Not exactly. My mom played the flute as a hobby, but my brother decided early on that he wanted to play the violin. With a single mom, I just had to put up with being dragged along to his violin lessons, and I guess it kind of stuck with me.
But you didn’t choose to follow in your brother’s footsteps as a violinist?
“That was the only thing I knew: I didn’t want to play the violin. I started playing the cello when I was around eight, and discovered the double bass when I was 16. It was like coming home—this was my instrument.”
What was it about the double bass that caught your attention?
– It has a warm, mellow tone and a wide range. As a bassist, you usually lay the foundation for all the chords; the orchestral sound sort of rests on the bass. Plus, it’s a beautiful instrument.
And now that it’s time to upgrade to a new double bass, can you tell us about the instrument?
– It’s a five-string double bass from Poelman-Krahmer. I traveled down to the instrument workshop in Mittenwald in southern Germany to look at basses and got to meet Michael Kramer. It’s incredibly flattering that he wants to build an instrument for me; he’s a fourth-generation instrument maker and is considered one of the best in the world in his field.
How does the quality of the instrument affect the quality of the music?
– It means the world to me! When I haven’t had access to the right instrument, it’s tough to go to work. It’s a struggle with unruly instruments, and when we performed the opera *The Concubines*, I suffered from repetitive strain injuries. Now I’ve borrowed an instrument from Poelmann-Krahmer, and it responds much better to what I’m doing. It’s simply better and more fun.
What do you think of the Norrlandsoperan Instrument Fund initiative?
– It’s needed!
Text: Jonas Pekkari
