Niklas Almgren grew up in Arboga in Sweden. He studied at Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, at Interlochen Arts Academy and atEastman School of Music, USA. He started his work in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1997, currently as co-principal. Earlier he played with Helsingborg Symphony Orcestra, Sweden Niklas’ favorite composer is Anton Bruckner, and his favorite work is the seventh symphony.
Sverre Riise studied with professor Ingemar Roos at the Norwegian State academy of Music and graduated in 1996. Riise holds the position as principal trombone in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and he has formerly been the principal trombone in the the Norwegian Opera Orchestra and co principal trombone in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Sverre Riise has appeared as a soloist with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ensemble Ernst and Oslo Sinfonietta on several occasions. He has recorded CDs appearing as a soloist with Oslo Sinfonietta and The Norwegian Radio Orchestra. In 2002 he played J.Ø.Ness’ trombone Concerto The Dangerous Kitten in Kammermusiksaal in Philharmonie in Berlin with the Oslo Sinfonietta. In 2011 he was soloist in Arne Nordheim’s “The Hunting of the Snark” under the Bergen Festival. He played Nordheims “Vevnad” on 9 performances under Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany in 2012. Sverre Riise is currently a teacher at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo.
Ole Kristian works in the southern parts of Sweden, in Helsingborg. He also travels around the world playing all sorts of instruments, from early dark ages, via authentic baroque, renaissance and classical instruments, to the modern trombone in leading early music ensembles in Europe. Ole Kristian is fluent in many European languages, and (nearly) voluntarily shares the task of charming our audience with anecdotes from music history.
Jens Kristian Søgaard was born in Denmark in 1971. As an eight-year-old he started playing the baritone. After some years the trombone became even more interesting, so since the age of 10 it has been his instrument. From 1989 untill 1995 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Musicwith the teachers Torbjörn Kroon and Mogens Andresen. Jens Kristian has worked in the trombone section of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1993, first as tenor trombonist, and from 2011 on bass trombone. Since 1995 he has been a member of the ensemble for modern music – Gageego! – and since 2004 a member of Göteborg Baroque. In september 2007 JK started teaching at the Acadamy of Music in Göteborg. Playing the bass-trombone with the Nordic Brass makes him very happy …. as you all can see.
Johan Wiklund started his trombone playing career as a student at the Gothenburg university of music, where he studied 1999-2004 for professor Ingemar Roos. After playing one season in the Gothenburg Opera orchestra, left Scandinavia to play with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur. In 2010, after five humid years in the MPO, Johan got appointed as bass trombonist of the Norrköping symphony Orchesta, where he plays today. Johan is a member of the Gothenburg based Balkan/Latin band Cerro Esperanza Band.
Hans Petter Vabog grew up in Sandefjord and studied percussion at the Grieg Academy in Bergen with Peter Kates and Tom Vissgren, as well as the Barratt-Due musical institute in Oslo with Eirik Raude and Torbjørn Ottersen. Hans Petter is currently working as a percussionist with the Norwegian Armed Forces’ Band North, and lives in the city of Harstad. In addition to this he is also a very active freelance musician and has amongst others worked with the Norwegian symphony orchestras, Mahler chamber orchestra, Bit20 ensemble and in countless settings as a chamber musician.
