Acclaimed Swedish violinist and conductor Katarina Andreasson attended a week of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra rehearsals in November 2017. Jim Wilson got an interview.
Jim Wilson – Katarina, please tell us a little about your career and how you ended up as concertmaster of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.
Katarina Andreasson – I started my violin studies quite early, graduating with a Diploma from The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen by Prof. Milan Vitek. At the age of 22 I got my first position as 1st Concertmaster of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra. After 10 years in Denmark I was longing back to Sweden, to our wonderful nature. I got the position as 1st Concertmaster of the Gothenburg Opera orchestra in 1995. In 1997 I had my international debut as a soloist, when I played Howard Blake violin concerto “The Leeds” in Royal Festival Hall with the Philharmonia orchestra. The same year I was offered the position as 1st Concertmaster of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (SCO). With the SCO it has really been a journey!