A close up photo of a white canvas with blue, dark blue and black patterns made with paint — Rashid Johnson, Detail of Bruce Painting “Get in Line”, 2023 Photo: Stephanie Powell. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth © Rashid Johnson.

Previous programme

The concert series “Black and Blue”, in the exhibition “Seven Rooms and a Garden: Rashid Johnson and Moderna Museet Collection”, has been visited by a number of musicians from different genres.

Laura Stephenson

Friday 10 May

Laura Stephenson has been a solo harpist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm since 1992. She has performed as a soloist with the Orchestra and given chamber concerts on many occasions. Born and educated in Canada, she was a solo harpist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Chamber Ensemble before moving to Sweden.

Stephenson is passionate about contemporary music and is a long-standing member of the KammarensembleN, Sweden’s foremost modern art music ensemble, and has performed with them at numerous international contemporary music festivals, and on many of their albums. She has also been active as a chamber musician beyond the Stockholm Concert Hall, with appearances at the Gotland Music Festival, the Lapland Festival, the Saxå Chamber Music Festival and the Turku Music Festival.

Alongside her career as a performer, Laura Stephenson also teaches at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and offers private tuition.

Rubem Farias

Friday 12 April 2024

Rubem Farias is a renowned bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and music producer. He was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2015. Farias is recognized as one of the best bassists of our time and has performed at various festivals, jazz clubs, universities, and music conservatories around the world. He has had the opportunity to collaborate with renowned artists such as Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Ale Möller, Babak Amini, Bohuslan Big Band, Vince Mendonza, Ulf Wakenius, Luciana Souza, Malena Ernman, Nils Landgren, Leny Andrade, Raul de Souza, Filó Machado, Jair Oliveira, Flávio Venturini, Gilberto Gil, Bocato, among others.

In 2023, he had the honor of participating in the Nobel Prize ceremony. Farias has also released several albums, including “Rubem Farias Big Band”, “Resposta”, “Habitabilidade Líquida”, “Festa do Sol”, “Amassuno”, “Black Angel”, and “Aos Mestres Da Bossa Nova I (João Gilberto Tribute)”. In addition, he is the musical director of Brazilian Day Stockholm, the curator of Snickeriet Jazz Club in Stockholm, and the international programming curator of the Amazon Jazz Festival in Belém do Pará, Brazil.

Currently, Farias is releasing his new album, “Black Angel”, which is available on all digital platforms. He is also preparing for the release of his next album, titled “The Seeds of the Freedom Tree”, which features collaboration with great musicians from the Swedish and international music scene.

KATARINA WIDELL

Friday 27 October 2023

Katarina Widell was born in South Korea and grew up in Sweden. She is known for her great stage presence and press reviews describe her as “a recorder tamer” and ”master of the recorder”.

With a special affnity for solo repertoire, Widell performs mostly on her own when not playing together with Woodpeckers.

Widell has also been teaching recorder and stage performance at Framnäs folkhögskola and Luleå University.

Katarina Widell holding two flutes with a plain background — Katarina Widell

SVANTE HENRYSON

Saturday 30 September 2023

Swedish composer, cellist, bass guitarist and double bassist, internationally active within jazz, classical music and rock.

He was Northern Norway’s Artist-in-Residence 2010–2012, composing and performing with the Sámi community, and was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2015.

Henryson is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and Artistic Director of the Umeå Chamber Music Festival.