Participants

• VoNo

  VoNo is a professional vocal ensemble whose goal is to develop and renew vocal performing arts in a way that affects the listener on an emotional and personal level. The twelve singers and artistic director Lone Larsen have their musical core in the classical choral repertoire and work with improvisation and creative co-creation as a method for creating a unique musical experience. Courage, playfulness and individual dependability in combination with carefully crafted polyphonic choral music provide variety and a strong interaction with the audience. VoNo’s performances, concerts and films focus on culture, society and sustainability. The ensemble is based in Stockholm and tour actively, mostly in Scandinavia and Europe. VoNo was founded in 1999 under the name Voces Nordicae.

  Soprano
  Anna-Kari Frisk
  Emma Fagerström

  Mezzo soprano
  Anna Larsdotter
  Tove Fagius

  Alto
  Janna Vettergren
  Lisa Fagius Hålling

  Tenor
  Martin Åsander
  Peder Curman
  Jonathan von Döbeln

  Barytone
  Adam Jondelius

  Bass
  Anders Butta Börjesson
  André Hasselgren

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• Nassim Al Fakir

  The playful and creative Nassim Al Fakir is well known as a presenter, musician and actor. Al Fakir has appeared frequently on Swedish TV, e.g. in the rhetoric contest Retorikmatchen, the children’s series Bolibompa, the pentathlon-style challenge Femkampen and Bäst i test, based on Taskmaster on Britain’s Channel 4. He’s even danced in Let’s Dance, and has headed up SVT’s streamed programmes for the sports-awards show Idrottsgalan.

  As well as being a presenter, Al Fakir is also a musician. Just like everyone else in his highly musical family, he started playing the piano aged four. He then moved on to drums and percussion, before his TV career took off. Al Fakir is constantly appearing on stages all over the country, with his musical performances for all the family, and has written and released the albums “Ute och cyklar” (Way off track) and “Springer runt & säger hej” (Running around saying Hi) – family albums for all ages in which he shares his musical side as a singer and percussionist. Nassim has also released Christmas music, and other songs such as En rackabajsare (A hard shot).

  The notable prizes Al Fakir has received include the 2020 City of Stockholm Honorary Award for Cultural Work for Children and Young People, awarded with the following justification: “Nassim Al Fakir is the drumming, singing and dancing multitalent who has dedicated his artistry to the dissemination of musical joy amongst Sweden’s children. Families have trekked from all over Greater Stockholm to see the acclaimed concert series Klara, färdiga, konsert (Ready, Steady, Concert), which he developed and for which he was the charismatic host. In the encounter with his young audience magic arises in the form of a collective artwork comprising infectious rhythms and mischief. You can drum, sing and dance about everything!”

  Al Fakir has furthermore received the Alfons-Bokalen award, with the following justification: “With warmth, humour and curiosity he arouses interest in music and rhythm in children aged nine to ninety-nine.” Nassim also takes part in films and stage productions, and his voice has graced numerous TV series and films. He is a voice actor for the Swedish versions of the Paddington films, and he voices Olaf in the Frost films – the Swedish versions of Disney’s Frozen films. In the musical children’s TV series Trazan & Banarne the glorious task of playing Banarne goes to Nassim.

  This man with so many strings to his bow has also written books, including the rollicking children’s book Trudeluttbussen – a musical adventure in which he offers himself as the main character. He has also brought out the recipe book Galet god mat (Crazy delicious food), which offers super-easy snacks, cosy dinners and scrumptious cakes, involving flavours from all over the world.

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• Lone Larsen, conductor

  Lone Larsen is one of Sweden’s most innovative choral conductors, as well as being a professor of choral conducting at the higher-education institute Marie Cederschiöld Högskola. She was born in Denmark in 1973 and trained as a music teacher at Aalborg’s Nordjysk Musikkonservatorium, but has lived in Sweden since 1998. In 2000 she gained a diploma in choral conducting at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music, after which she moved to New York to study at the Juilliard School of Music. Her work in recent years has included being a guest conductor of the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and the Swedish Radio Choir and a visiting teacher of choral art at Canada’s Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, as well as acting as choirmaster, conductor and artistic project manager for a number of productions at Folkoperan in Stockholm. In 2008 she was named Choral Conductor of the Year by the Swedish Choral Conductors’ Association (FSK).

  
  At the core of Lone Larsen’s musical work is creative co-production – a method she has developed with her own professional vocal ensemble VoNo over the course of twenty years. Lone Larsen’s extensive experience of teaching group improvisation, together with her great musical skill, integrity and innovative ability, make her one of Europe’s most sought‑after masterclass coaches and a popular jury member at international choral competitions.
  Humanity and sustainability have been Lone Larsen’s keywords as a musician, not only in her productions and concerts together with VoNo but also as a teacher at Conducting 21C – an international course organised by the Eric Ericson Choral Centre that gives choral conductors the tools for work in social contexts.  
  “I love teamwork, and the interface between choral music as a form of expression and each singer’s individual artistic potential. My constant goal is to move people, and en route there are often experimental and improvisational situations whose result we cannot predict. I feel at home in the creative process.”

   

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• Kristina Junzell, artist