hans gurstad-nilsson

composer

UPCOMING EVENTS 2021

G A N Kalmar castle 26 february

GAN is a chamber piece inspired by the imagery of Swedish painter and modernist pioneer Gösta Adrian-Nilsson (GAN). Eventually the piece will be the backbone of a dance performance about facing change. GAN (1884-1965) depicted the dawn of the modern industrial age. Influenced by the dynamic art scenes of Berlin and Paris in the 1910s and 20s he created a personal blend of the modernist styles, with erotic symbolism as a salient feature. His ruptured paintings of urbanity, new technology and athletic men capture a time full of hope and promises of freedom. Today their slightly disturbing dystopic gloom comes to the fore. The images resonate with our own troubled times of transition and uncertainty. This quality is my main source of inpiration for the music. In february 26 pianist Erik Wickström and cellist Zephyrin Rey-Bellet, artistic director of the renowned string orchestra Camerata Nordica, meet in a filmed work in progress presentation of GAN with musical excerpts at Kalmar Castle (see Calendar below).

With support from Helge Ax:on Johnsons foundation, the County Council of Kalmar County, Länsmusiken, Kalmar, Kalmar municipality and Filmregion Southeast.

NEW PIECE FOR SOLO CELLO

A solo piece for renowned Swedish cellist Per Nyström. Per is co-founder and artistic director of the newly started international orchestra Old Ox Chamber Orchestra (formerly Aurora Chamber Orchestra). He has a background in internationally acclaimed orchestras such as Camerata Nordica and the Yggdrasil Quartet, which he also co-founded. Per often plays with other Nordic chamber- and symphony orchestras and performs regularly at international chamber music festivals. Planned premiere in july 2021. Time and venue will be announced here.

Link to Old Ox Chamber Orchestra>

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Since 2018 I work with music, sound design and film within the transdiciplinary project Experimental Heritage. Experimental Heritage is an international collaborative project between Heritage researchers and Artists led by Bodil Petersson, professor of archaeology at The Linnaeus University, Sweden. The project explores the meaning of Cultural Heritage for us living today through Art. During the spring 2021 I will take part in a collaborative film project which will be presented at the Sixteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society. This year the conference is hosted by The University of Western Australia in Perth, Austraila (see Calendar below).

Spring 2021

Gatenhielmska Huset, Gothenburg

Workshop – Making Heritage available through Art

Eight artists, project managers and Heritage researchers meet for a two day workshop on making the Heritage available through art and cultural events. A collaborative project between Experimental Heritage and Historieverket, Gothenburg.

Organizers: Gatenhielmska kulturhuset and Linnaeus University.

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/1700-tals-hus-lever-upp-igen

16-18 June

Perth, Australia/online

Sixteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society. Voices from the Edge. Negotiating the Local in the Global

Appearance, editing and music in a collaboratory filmproject. Together with:

Patricia McKenna, artist (IR)

Deidre Carr, artist (IR)

Anne Hamrin-Simonsen, artist (SWE)

Bodil Petersson, project manager, Linnaeus University (SWE)

Organizer: The University of Western Australia

https://artsinsociety.com/2021-conference

July

Resmo church, Öland

The renowned Swedish cellist Per Nyström performs my new piece for solo cello. Organizer: Musik på Allvar

2020

25 02 2020

Zokker, Mörbylånga

Workshop

Theater of Sounds

A workshop about listening, memory and time. With simple sound tools we explore the relations between different sounds and the experience of time.

Organizer:

Experimental Heritage Öland with support from Mörbylånga Municipality, Region Kalmar County, Ölands museum Himmelsberga and Linnaeus University.

17 03 2020

Linnaeus University, Växjö

(cancelled)

Aesthetics and Science

Faculty seminar

Panel discussion and film

Archaeologist Bodil Petersson and composer Hans Gurstad-Nilsson present transdisciplinary meetings between archeologists and artists in the ongoing Swedish-Irish project Experimental Heritage Explorations.

Film: Moving the Ship.

Organizer:

Linnaeus University

Departement of Film and Literature

Spring 2020

Je suis ta soeur

Original music for author and playwright Emeli Bergman's debut film Je suis ta soeur (I am your sister), about love between siblings. The film is a collaboration between filmmakers and actors from France, Denmark and Sweden. The lead roles are played by Mathilde Weil and Adrien Simion, both students at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique in Paris.

Emeli Bergman (b. 1988) is educated at Forfatterskolen in Copenhagen.

24 06 2020

National University of Ireland, Galway/online

Fifteenth International Conference The Arts in Society. Against the Grain: Arts and the Crisis of Democracy

Experimental Heritage-Translocal Art and Archaeology Practice in Communities in Ireland and Sweden

Editor, appearance and sound design in

filmed Project presentation:

Bodil Petersson: Professor Archaeology, Linnaeus University (SWE)

Maria Kerin: Choreographer/Curator (IR)

Hans Gurstad-Nilsson: Composer (SWE)

Organizers:

National University of Ireland, Galway and Linnaeus University

08 07 2020

World Heritage Week

The World Heritage Southern Öland

The Oufield. A short film portrait of the desterted village Dröstorp on the Great Alvar of Öland. The film is created for World Heritage week 2020. Here you can see the film:

Cissi Svärdström: Concept, paintings and sculpture

Hans Gurstad-Nilsson: Film, music and sound design

Organizers: World Heritage Southern Öland and Experimental Heritage Öland

10 10 - 01 11 2020

Ölands museum Himmelsberga

Memory Portals

Experimental Heritage exhibition. Participation with two short films:

1. The Outfield, a shortfilm portrait of the deserted village of Dröstorp on Öland´s Great Alvar. In collaboration with Swedish artist Cissi Svärdström. 2. A work in progress presentation of Amber, an installation/EAM piece in collaboration with irish artist Patricia McKenna.

Memory Portals online:

www.experimentalheritageexhibition.com

patriciamckenna.ie

Organizers:

Experimental Heritage Öland

Ölands museum Himmelsberga

Linnaeus University

2019

EXPERIMENTAL HERITAGE EXPLORATIONS

Sweden-Ireland

Film premiere: Moving the Ship

17 09 2019

Solevi, Kivik

19 09 2019

Kalmar art museum

21 09 2019

Ölands Museum Himmelsberga

24 09 2019

Burren Storehouse, Lisdoonvarna. Co. Clare, Irland

Premiere for the short film Experimental Heritage Explorations #1. Moving the Ship.

The Stone ship Noah's Ark on the grave field at Karum, Öland stems out on a Journey to the West Coast of Ireland. Archeologists and artists from two islands meet to explore the significance of Cultural Heritage for us living today. A collaboration with Irish choreographer Maria Kerin, Linnaeus University and Experimental Heritage Öland.

Concept and project management: Bodil Petersson, Linnaeus University.

Choreography: Maria Kerin

Drone footage: Jan Hagelin

Film, music and sound design:

Hans Gurstad-Nilsson

Additional music: Danny Burke

Organizers: Linnaeus University, Kalmar art museum, Ölands museum, Himmelsberga, and Experimental Heritage Ireland.

With support from Riksbankens jubileumsfond and Hainska Stiftelsen

Watch film

17/07 2019

EXPERIMENTAL HERITAGE

Sound expedition in Eketorp's ringfort, Öland.

What did Eketorp's ringfort sound like 1500 years ago? How does it sound on a summer day in 2019? Create a time capsule of sound together with composer Hans Gurstad-Nilsson and Heritage pedagogue Lotta Karlsson. Children and adults together.

Organizer: Experimental Heritage Öland

13/06 2019

EXPERIMENTAL HERITAGE Preview of the short film Experimental Heritage Explorations #1. Moving the Ship. Kilshanny House, Kilshanny, Co. Clare, Ireland

Concept and project management: Bodil Petersson, Linnaeus University (SWE).

Choreography: Maria Kerin (IR)

Drone footage: Jan Hagelin (SWE)

Film, music, and sound design:

Hans Gurstad-Nilsson

Organizers: Linnaeus University and Experimental Heritage Ireland

April 2018

BØLGERNE

MUSIC TO BØLGERNE - A PODCAST ABOUT NEW AND NEWLY TRANSLATED LITERATURE IN DENMARK, SWEDEN AND NORWAY

BØLGERNE is a podcast about new and newly translated literature published in Denmark, Norway and Sweden with a growing number of listeners. Permanent hosts are the authors Ida Holmegaard and Emeli Bergman. In their podcast they discuss language, characters, themes, plot, imagery and political implications of the books, as well as their relation to other literature - in short, all that gives the literature meaning.

To the podcast

26/08 2017

LECTURE

OLD TONES - NEW MUSIC

ÖLANDS MUSEUM, HIMMELSBERGA

The driving force behind the artistic revolutions of the twentieth century were the tension between the past and the present. What are the conditions for contemporary musical creation today? How can memories be a starting point for creating the new? I highlight the question with examples from my own creative processes.

The event is part of the Linnaeus University project: Experimental

Heritage.

24/07 2017

DEBATE

OPEN EARS TO NEW SOUNDSCAPES

SVENSKA DAGBLADET

Different kinds of music have different contexts and different functions. That´s the main argument in Hans Gurstad-Nilsson's and Ken Friedman's answer to Sofia Lilly Jönsson's text about John Cage in SvD's article series "The revaluation"

Read the article

06/10 2016

MY WAY

(EVERYBODY IS A REFUGEE)

PETER BRYNGELSSON

NORRKÖPING SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH SOLOISTS

DE GEER HALL, NORRKÖPING

Orchestral arrangements for three songs in Peter Bryngelsson's orchestral suite My Road. Singer Soher Choukair from Syria, violinist Mukryan Abubakr, Kurdistan and the oud virtuoso Mousa Elias, Syria meets the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in ten songs about alienation. A collaboration with Peter Bryngelsson, Henrik Strindberg, Pelle Halvarsson and Peter Lindroth.

Listen to interview in Swedish Radio P1

14/05 2016

THE EARTH BOOK

AN ORATORIO OF THE CHANGING CITY

GOTHENBURG OPERA

MAY 14-15

The Earth Book is a dream play for chamber choir, song soloists, piano, percussion, double bass and live electronics. Based on archeological remains and ongoing urban changes in Gothenburg I explore the timeless dream of the city. A collaboration with Varberg Chamber Choir, soprano Karolina Andersson, tenor Tore Sunesson, pianist Jonas Olsson, percussionist Daniel Berg and bassist Adrian Eriksson. Conductor: Professor Gunno Palmquist. Direction and light design: Joakim Engstrand.

In collaboration with Gothenburg Opera, Museum of Gothenburg and support from the Västra Götaland Region, Frispel and Gothenburg city.

See and listen

2016

BACH IN FLUX

A COLLABORATION WITH FLUXUS ARTIST KEN FRIEDMAN ON BACHS UNFINISHED FUGUE

The artist Ken Friedman (born 1949 in New London, Connecticut) is one of the main figures in Fluxus, an international laboratory for experimental art, architecture, design, literature and music. He has worked closely with other Fluxus artists and composers such as George Maciunas, Dick Higgins and Nam June Paik, as well as with legends such as John Cage and Joseph Beuys. In the early 1970s, he was chief editor of Dick Higgins Something Else Press.

Press

Fruitful meeting between Heritage and Art at Himmelsberga

”Cissi Svärdström's and Hans Gurstad-Nilsson's impressions from the deserted village Dröstorp presented through Cissi Svärdströms bronze sculptures and Hans Gurstad-Nilssons music, don´t resurrect the village in physical form but conveyes a strong feeling of a unique location.”

Gunilla Petri, Barometern 2020 10 13