{"id":22038,"date":"2024-03-20T08:33:08","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T06:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T13:13:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:13:19","slug":"asa-hjelm","status":"publish","type":"musician","link":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00c5sa Hjelm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\u201cMozart called and asked if I wanted to join him in playing\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viola: \u00c5sa Hjelm<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Meet the Musicians<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was little<\/strong>, but ever since I graduated from music college in 1988, I\u2019ve worked exclusively as a musician. Before studying music, I worked for two years as an assistant at a special education school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The violin was my primary instrument throughout my studies at the Ingesund School of Music, but even then I began playing the viola in chamber music settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started playing the violin when I was 8 years old.<\/strong> I remember that I had been playing for two semesters when it was time for my very first performance on the violin. It was in Ludvika, together with my teacher, who accompanied me on guitar as we played \u201cFj\u00e4riln vingad syns p\u00e5 Haga\u201d on the main stage at Folkets hus. When I returned there 17 years later, during a tour with the V\u00e4rmland Opera, and looked up at the walls from the ditch below, I recognized the place and immediately remembered just how special it had felt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating in 1988 from the Ingesund School of Music, I worked as a freelancer for a couple of years. \u201cMozart\u201d\u2014as the stage manager here at the Norrlands Opera was called back then (his real name was Gunnar)\u2014called me while I was at a gig in Falun during Christmas \u201988. They were planning to stage *Faust* in the spring of \u201989 in Ume\u00e5. Could I join them? I said yes. I liked the atmosphere in the orchestra right away. And I felt so well taken care of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity to perform opera, symphonic music, and chamber music all in one place was appealing. Plus, Ume\u00e5 felt just the right size as a city. I accepted everything that was offered here after that spring. And a year later, when \u201cMozart\u201d was replaced by a younger stage manager, Stefan Thysk, I was even happier. He turned out to be \u201cthe man of my life.\u201d I auditioned when the Sinfonietta expanded into a symphony orchestra in 1991 and needed more violinists. I got a permanent position and have stayed ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I especially remember the concert when we inaugurated the concert hall in 2002\u2014it was truly special. Finally, we didn\u2019t have to tour our own city anymore and had a stage of our own! It felt so incredibly good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When there was a shortage of violists in the orchestra here, I offered to fill in on that part. For many years, I switched back and forth between the violin and the viola, but since the spring of 2020, I\u2019ve been playing the viola full-time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I like best about my job is the variety<\/strong>. I\u2019d love to have something new on the music stand every week! But at home in my room, I can really get into Bach\u2019s Six Suites for Solo Cello. They work perfectly well on the viola, too. I\u2019m so fascinated by the fact that it\u2019s even possible to bring all the components of a symphony orchestra together at all! From the audience, I\u2019ve felt both smug and proud that \u201cmy\u201d orchestra sounds so good! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to my position in the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra, I play with my colleagues Kersti Wilhelmsson, Per-Erik Andersson, and Kerstin Isakson in the \u201cAvatar Quartet,\u201d which has done lots of fun projects and tours. I\u2019ve also occasionally filled in and played some Irish pub music with my husband Stefan\u2019s band. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my dreams is to play in some kind of performance with Bj\u00f6rn Skifs. I’ve been dreaming about that ever since I was a child and he bought his first trumpet from my dad in Ludvika. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n\"\"<\/picture>\n\n\n\n
\n
Personal<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my dog. I especially like being outdoors and having coffee with other dog owners. I enjoy taking long walks, which then give me the chance to spend a long time reading a good book. I\u2019m also very fond of pickling cucumbers, making preserves, juicing, baking, and cooking\u2026 In other words\u2014spending hours in the kitchen. Preferably in silence. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4047,"menu_order":75,"template":"","meta":{"musician_role":"Viola"},"class_list":["post-22038","musician","type-musician","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\u00c5sa Hjelm - Norrlandsoperan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00c5sa Hjelm - Norrlandsoperan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Norrlandsoperan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-03T11:13:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u00c5sa Hjelm - Norrlandsoperan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-20T06:33:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-03T11:13:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":2560},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/musikerna\\\/asa-hjelm\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u00c5sa Hjelm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Norrlandsoperan\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norrlandsoperan.se\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u00c5sa Hjelm - Norrlandsoperan","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u00c5sa Hjelm - Norrlandsoperan","og_url":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/","og_site_name":"Norrlandsoperan","article_modified_time":"2026-09-03T11:13:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/","url":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/","name":"\u00c5sa Hjelm - Norrlandsoperan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-20T06:33:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-03T11:13:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/asa_hjelm_2X5A4667_webb.jpg","width":2048,"height":2560},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/musikerna\/asa-hjelm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u00c5sa Hjelm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/","name":"Norrlandsoperan","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/musician\/22038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/musician"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/musician"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/norrlandsoperan.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}