EMILIA AMPER
Nyckelharpa player, singer, composer
Nordic tradition with an explorer’s vision
Emilia Amper is one of Sweden’s most sought after folk musicians, Swedish and American Grammy nominee, Norwegian Grammy winner, Artist of the Year at the Swedish Folk & World Music Awards, World champion on the nyckelharpa, awarded National fiddler of the realm and winner of the Nordic Composer’s award the NPU Prize. In her music, a deep knowledge and love for traditions meet an endless, open-minded exploration of the nyckelharpa’s possibilities. With her charisma, virtuosity and energy she moves with ease across stylistic boundaries and touches people in both small and big venues across the world.
Emilia Amper Band features her own music for nyckelharpa, vocals, string ensemble (from trio up to full symphony orchestra) and percussion. She also plays with various folk and world music ensembles such as ODE with Olle Linder and Dan Knagg, in bass player Björn Meyer´s Swiss/Swedish/Iranian/Egyptian project Garden of Silence, in Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli’s folk/impro/contemporary classical piece Grenseskogen/The border woods, and in duos with recorder player Anna Petrini, with singer/multiinstrumentalist Nadin Al Khalidi and with fiddler/cellist Anders Löfberg. She has performed as a soloist with classical orchestras such as Västerås Sinfonietta, The Trondheim Soloists, Camerata Nordica, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, with Nidarosdomen's Girls choir, with Swiss flamenco company Flamencos en route and Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf, with Kurdish, Indian, Latin American, West African, Persian and Arabic musicians, as a studio musician and with pop/rock and jazz musicians (including Jon Lord from Deep Purple, who wrote a song for her, featured on the album and live DVD Beyond the notes). She is also a popular teacher and lecturer in Sweden and abroad and has given workshops in nyckelharpa and Swedish folk music all over the world and taught at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. She continuously composes and arranges music for all of her ensembles and has also composed commissioned pieces for Västerås Sinfonietta, Camerata Nordica and The Trondheim Soloists.
The strings on Emilia Amper’s nyckelharpa cut like high voltage lines
through open Swedish landscapes
Jan Gradvall DI Weekend
Brilliantly well-made
PO Tidholm Dagens Nyheter
Guaranteed one of this year’s best folk music albums
Kalle Tiderman, Lira
I have never experienced anyone, anytime, who could so transfix an audience
Robert von Bahr founder and owner of BIS Records
It was everything I want in a gig. If only more orchestral performances were like that!
I enjoyed it more than any I've ever been to
Andrew Cronshaw fRoots