1. Do you have any secret talents?
Not sure how much of a talent it is, but I turn old pallets into various pieces of furniture. So far the lockdown has given me time to build a bookcase, a shelf, a wall lamp and a lute peg-turner to match the pallet bed I made a couple of years ago.
2. What's your favourite film/series?
The Shawshank Redemption all day, everyday. The OC may also be a guilty pleasure of mine…
3. What’s your star sign and do you fit the description?
Pisces. We’re supposed to be dreamers and imagineers, highly sensitive, creative and intuitive. I suppose that’s about right, I do definitely day dream... Maybe I can work on my highly sensitive side, at least on the outside.
4. Where in the world would you like to visit and why?
I want to go back to Sweden to meet my nephew who is nearly two months old. I haven’t met him yet and I can’t really commend him on his Skype skills…
5. Which 3 people from past or present would be at your fantasy dinner party?
I’ll start with the nerdy ones: Kapsberger and de Visée - imagine the discussion on music with these two at the table! Add Oscar Wilde to the mix and I think there is scope for a great evening.
6. You have £100 to spend, all of your friends and family are busy, and you have the day to yourself. What do you do?
I’d bring a book, go out for a meal and afterwards go to a musical or show of some sort.
7. Which Hogwarts house are you in?
The Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin. I feel incredibly lost right now…
8. List your favourite composers!
De Visée, Purcell, Shostakovich, Schubert, Marais and lately I’ve discovered Buxtehude as a very promising candidate.
9. Share one of your favourite memories from working with Fair Oriana so far.
When I didn’t register that Emma Kirkby was going to come to our rehearsal in the Fidelo Cafe basement and she suddenly appeared. It was a pleasant surprise.
10. If you could spend a day in any time period, Which would it be and why?
Difficult to choose, maybe February 24 1607 when Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo was premiered. That would have been a cool experience.
11. Who are your major musical influences?
My teachers: Jakob Lindberg, Carlos Bonell, Chris Stell, Bo Hansson… In the lute world I find great inspiration in the recordings of Liz Kenny, Fred Jacobs and Jonas Nordberg. In a more normal world, David Bowie and a band called Billie the Vision and the Dancers give me great musical joy.
12. Favourite thing to do in your spare time?
Running. It’s the one thing that I can count on to always make me happy and help me think straight.
13. Best thing about being a professional musician?
That there is always something new to be learned or discovered.
14. Worst thing about being a professional musician?
There’s no such thing as a weekend.
15. What's you favourite book?
So many to choose from! The Hobbit was my favourite book when I grew up, or at least the one I read the most times. Two recent discoveries are: The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by E.T.A Hoffman and Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking fast and slow.
16. If you had to swap instruments for a day, what would you play?
Viola de gamba. I wish I had heard it a lot sooner in my life!
17. 3 words you associate with Fair Oriana?
Bright, professional and amazing.
18. If you weren’t a musician what would you like to do?
Carpentry of some sort, maybe a luthier.
19. Most embarrassing on stage moment?
Oh I can list a few, but my first trip to the West Sussex Guitar Club with Sam Brown is high up on my list. It was one of my first years in England and probably my first trip south of London. We were heading down to Bognor Regis to take part in their festival as students. Sam had told me it was more or less a performance class with feedback and a free choice of programme. As expected, Southern Railway greeted my maiden voyage with a sizeable delay which meant we had to run straight from the station onto the stage. I introduced my performance (Leo Brouwer’s first Sonata) and gave a generous amount of background information before sitting down to play. Right before my first note, I heard a stern voice from the back of the hall saying: “Ahem, this is a Bach class”. I had just about memorised most of one of Bach’s cello suites which, in panic, I began to play. After a painful 15-20 minutes (I played all the repeats) of nerve-racking playing (I had only started the piece a week or two earlier) I finally left the stage and heard one audience member whispering “I thought they were only allowed to play for 6 minutes in this class!?”.
20. Message to Fair Oriana followers
Hi everyone! I hope everyone stays safe and happy during this period. I feel very blessed to be working with Angie and Penny and I look forward to meeting you all in person when we can get back to live performances again.
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