More blue harp repertoire news from Swedish jazz harpist Stina Hellberg. Together with classical composer Patrik Jarlestam, Stina has written a work for blue harp and orchestra, "Some Western Wind", which will be premiered on November 21st as part of the Sandviken Symphony Orchestra's seventy-fifth anniversary celebrations.
Stina Hellberg. Photo: Matts Hellberg
"Some Western Wind" is inspired by the music of Dave Holland, Stina's favourite jazz musician, together with Afro-Cuban and Swedish folk elements. The work also fuses classical concerto and more improvisatory jazz forms. There is an extended harp solo, for example, where the double bass, vibraphone and percussion can form a jazz quartet with the harp and improvise together.
In a manner comparable to Elzbieta Sikora's blue harp concertino "South Shore", Stina and Patrik leave many of the sound processing effects possible on the blue harp up to the performer. Stina uses some delay combined with soft reverb, but other performers are free to choose something else.
Stina Hellberg is the only harpist in Scandinavia holding a degree in
jazz. Classically trained, she
has grown into jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion, with influences from the
traditional music of Sweden.
Stina began her harp studies with Gertrud Schneider in Uppsala, Sweden. She
continued at the Bollnäs Folkhögskola, Sweden, where she
studied with Mattias Windemo (guitar), Gösta Rundqvist (piano) and
Örjan Hulten (saxophone). She was awarded a full scholarship to Trinity College of Music, England, with Gabriella Dall'Olio, Sioned Williams and Imogen Barford. She
left Europe to study at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA, USA, where
her harp teacher was Felice Pomeranz. She also studied with David
Fiuczynski (guitar), Dave Samuels (vibraphone), Bruno Råberg (double
bass) and Fernando Brandau (flute), and holds a degree in jazz from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm.
Stina has performed at the
Polar Prize Awards, The Volvo Ocean Race Awards, Mejeriet Jazz Club in
Lund, Jeriko Jazz Club in Malmö, the Berklee Performance Center, the
Generations Jazz Festival in London, Göransons Arena in Sandviken, the Stockholm Jazz Festival, and
many more. In the 2009 season, she has
performed with Tomas Ledin and Malena Erhnman (the winner of the
Swedish Eurovision Song Contest), participated on Maia Hirasawa's new
album and will appear at the Stockholm Jazz Festival with her own group. She also is
present on Maia Hirasawas newly released album "GBGvsSTHLM" and is
currently working with several recording projects.
