Anders Kjellberg

Meet the Musicians

My name is Anders Kjellberg, and I am a horn player in the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra. I grew up in Arboga but moved to Stockholm in 1979. After completing my studies at the conservatory, I worked as a freelancer for a few years until I eventually got a job with the Sörmland County Music Office. There, I was a horn player in a brass quintet until 2000, when I decided to start freelancing again.

When I was offered the chance to come to the Norrlandsoperan and work there for an extended period, I thought it would be fun to try staying in Umeå “for real” for a while. I’d been here for shorter productions before, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into! No sooner said than done—I’ve been employed here since 2013.

The Norrlands Opera is unique in that it houses both an opera house and a concert hall in the same building, which makes the work very diverse, encompassing both opera and concert productions. It’s hard to say which is more fun—putting on school concerts for enthusiastic children and teenagers—or receiving standing ovations in the opera house and concert hall after a great performance. Once again, it’s probably the variety that brings the greatest joy in this job.