A Melodious Evening of Classics and World Premieres

The evening begins with Arvo Pärt’s *Fratres*, arranged for string orchestra and percussion. The work is one of Pärt’s most iconic and represents one of the first clear expressions of his self-developed compositional principle, tintinnabuli—a musical language that has become strongly associated with his personal approach to sound and that rarely leaves anyone unmoved.

The musical journey continues into the present day as a large cell phone orchestra takes the stage. On stage, we encounter virtuosos on this new instrument—a large youth ensemble performing two works by Lind—first in collaboration with a percussion trio and then in dialogue with the Norrlandsoperan’s woodwind and brass sections. Lind, who describes the cell phone orchestra as a new electronic instrumental group within the traditional orchestra, performs himself on an analog synthesizer.

After the intermission, the entire Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra takes the stage. Ravel’s *Boléro* —known for its ingenious orchestration and hypnotic repetition of a melody that few can resist—opens the second act. Although the work is over a century old, it still feels just as fresh and fascinating in the way it gradually reveals the orchestra’s full range of colors. In this arrangement, *Bolero* also takes on a contemporary sonic touch: saxophones, celesta, and harp have been replaced by Lind in favor of electronic sounds, performed by a “cell phone orchestra” and an analog synthesizer.

The evening concludes with the world premiere of a new work by Lind for symphony orchestra, cell phone orchestra, and analog synthesizer. This piece explores the relationship between the soundscape of the symphonic tradition and the possibilities of electronics—electronically generated sounds, combined with recorded and processed sounds from the traditional orchestra, create new soundscapes in collaboration with the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra.

The concert marks the finale of the three-year MAXAT project, which the Norrlands Opera has carried out in close collaboration with Anders Lind and his mobile phone orchestra concept, with support from the Swedish Arts Council and in partnership with Umeå University.