Matias Malmqvist

Meet the Musicians

I am very proud and happy to have a permanent position in a professional symphony orchestra. Having made it through the ever-narrowing eye of the needle that auditions and probationary periods represent is something I try to keep in mind when things get tough at work. The variety in the music-making and the work at the Norrlandsoperan is probably the biggest draw that has made me stay and thrive in Umeå. One moment you’re playing Strauss’s *Elektra* in a gym, and the next you’re going on tour to Vilhelmina with a Baroque ensemble!

The long bus trips have taken us in the orchestra to places in Sweden I didn’t know existed—or still existed. Like a brown aluminum door in Boden that leads to an underground community center with a complete ’60s interior and a concrete orchestra pit. Or that “Nils Karlsson Pyssling” feeling of wriggling through a small hatch from a beer storage room into the orchestra pit in Östersund. These are quirky and unique experiences that add some spice to life in the orchestra!

I’ve been playing the violin since I was four, but I didn’t fully commit to music until I started at the conservatory. As you get better and more involved, your own performance standards and self-criticism rise. At the Norrlands Opera, there’s a supportive and constructive approach to making music that has been—and continues to be—a huge help to me in finding my calm and performing at the level I want without feeling nervous in front of my colleagues and the audience. This is incredibly valuable and rare in the orchestral world, and another major reason why I enjoy being here. Sure, I sometimes miss the bigger and more demanding settings, but for me, it’s been enough to substitute for a few weeks in a larger orchestra to realize that what I have in Umeå is very special.