composer
UPCOMING EVENTS 2021-22
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. On february 26 pianist Erik Wickström and cellist Zéphyrin 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). Arranger: Länsmusiken, Camerata Nordica and Byteatern, Kalmar läns teater.
With support from Helge Ax:on Johnsons foundation, the County Council of Kalmar County, Länsmusiken, Kalmar, Kalmar municipality and Filmregion Southeast.
Johan August Gustafsson (1852-1932) better known as J.A.G.S, lived all his life in Segerstad parish on the southeastern coast of Öland. Besides subsistence farming and fishing, he devoted his life to carving furniture and sculpting quaint figures from salvaged wreckage and beach timber. Johan´s artistic work was met with skepticism. He never received any recognition and died after being chilled while looking for wood for his figures. His last wish was that his work should be cared for and shown in his home area for a small fee. And so it was.
In this requiem for solo cello and mixed choir, we interpret the fate of J.A.G.S. It´s a piece about a man who, despite the ridicule of those around him, followed his vision and dared to dream beyond the horizon of village norms. Together with cellist Per Nyström and twelve singers, we continue to dream with J.A.G.S. First perfomance, Segerstads church, august 2022.
With support from Musikverket (Swedish Performing Arts Agency). Organizers: Musik på Allvar and JAGS Museum & Café.
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).
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. Premiere in september 2021. See calendar below.
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
Avantgarde 101
Program