Autumn is almost over. A period full of events going into more peaceful times. I’ve sung, taught, travelled, had adventures and  tried to be calm in the middle of it.

Tired and unhappy vocal chords have forced me to stop for a while and look beyond the obvious: why I sing, with whom, for whom, for what reason?

The first thing is easy: I sing because I do. I sing ergo sum.

With whom? With the very best musicians. Or, really, the ones who let the music and the interaction between the music and their fellow musicians shine brighter than our ego, and who pay greater respect to the music than the printed score.

For whom do I sing? I really don’t know and I really don’t care. Yes, I do care, but do they? For everyone who will listen. It always surprises me when someone mentions that the music I sing can sometimes be ”difficult” or advanced. My goal is certainly not to appear more complex than I am, or that I’ve understood some things that others haven’t. As simple and annoyingly sympathetic as it may sound, my goal is to reach people’s hearts, to find or give some peace.

For what reason? Because music and art is my religion. Because everything is equally important when making music- the score, the instruments, the room, the time of the day and the audience- and when it  all works together we can all feel as big as we really are.

That’s why. Maybe.

 

To see what I have done, if you’re interested, go to  ”After this summer…”. I’ve done it all and it was every bit as good as it sounded before I did it.

Among the upcoming projects this year are a concert in my home town Gothenburg, with the dream team  ”Holmertz-Bock-Høxbro” and music from our CD ”Sounds, Sweet Airs and the Art of Longing”, and two concerts with the new ensemble Odd Size. Our first mission is The Messiah. Did I mention that we are four?

 

The future? Music I hope. And I’ll be teaching (which I do all the time and which I love) and Kenneth Karlsson and I will be working with composition students in Visby, Gotland. Wonderfully exciting!

And I’ll keep moving. Keep falling in and out of place. Keep trying to find peace.