Yann Besson, luthier Yann Besson, violin and viola maker

Elina Nygren

Elina Nygren is a freelance viola player from Malmö, Sweden. She was educated at the Malmö Music Academy, where she studied with Markus Falkbring and Henrik Frendin. Elina has a passion for chamber music and improvisation and is a member of both the string quartet Vindla and cabaret group Cure-a-Phobia. She loves unexpected meetings and to explore both sound and expression with other musicians, dancers and performance artists.

The Vindla String Quartet are a diverse ensemble that fearlessly explore everything from jazz, pop, folk and world music to classical composers such as Schubert and Debussy. They believe a string quartet fits almost anywhere and can be enjoyed by anybody. Their creativity in choice of venues, collaborations and repertoire reflects their on-going mission to make their music accessible for people of all kinds, from children to the hipster set, young to old. Vindla have through the years collaborated with a great number of Sweden’s finest artists and musicians including Tingsek, Moto Boy, Miriam Aïda, Nina Persson, Linnea Henriksson, Albin Gromer, and Emilia Amper. They also work frequently as studio musicians.

Cure-a-Phobia consists of four musicians with different musical backgrounds ranging from jazz to folk to musicals and classical music, but with a mutual love of experimentation and improvisation. With bass clarinet, viola, piano, accordion and musical saw they produce a unique sound with a touch of jazz, pop and what one may call cabaret, with their very own signature. Cure-a-Phobia have released two albums – “Water” (2012) and “What’s kind about Mankind” (2014). In spring 2012, they produced the music and dance show “Under the boat” in collaboration with two contemporary dancers, based on their first album.

Vindla String Quartet
Cure-a-Phobia