Since his recital debut at age 17, Peter Friis Johansson (born 1983) has emerged as one of Scandinavia’s most successful young performers. He has made extensive tours and performed at such venues as the Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Philharmonie in Cologne. In Spring 2009, Peter Friis Johansson became the artist in residence at Swedish Radio (SR) P2, and has as such made a large number of studio recordings and regularly performed as a soloist at the Berwald Hall with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Peter’s performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto was awarded the Solofoni Prize; he won the Yamaha Piano Competition in 2008, the Ljunggrenska Competition 2009, second prize in the Nordic Piano Competition in 2008 and 2010, Liszt Prize of the European Piano Competition 2009, second prize in the Nordic Pianistkonkurrence 2010, and a special prize for the best performance of contemporary music in the Scottish International Piano Competition 2010.

In addition to his solo career, Peter is a passionate chamber musician and has established partnerships with, among others, clarinetist Emil Jonason and cellists Andreas Brantelid and Jakob Koranyi. Together with the latter, Peter Friis Johansson has recorded cello sonatas by Brahms and Britten, a record that was later elected recording of ther year 2006 by MusicWeb International.

Peter is a keen performer of contemporary classical music and has premiered works by Wolfgang Plagge, Jesper Nordin and Christofer Elgh. He is one of the driving forces of the ensemble NordicFusion6 who see as their primary goal to explore the boundaries between modern classical music and experimental improvisation.

Since 2008, Peter has worked with the Russian pianists Konstantin Bogino and Anders Kilström as his mentors. In Spring 2007, Peter completed a Masters Degree at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm where he spent two years with Kilström. He also received a Bachelor’s degree from Edsberg Music Institute where he studied with Mats Widlund.

Mira-Linda Håkanson is one of Sweden’s most promising composers. Formerly a student at University in Piteå, she is now studying at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Her teachers include Jan Sandström, Christofer Elgh and Bill Brunson.

Mira-Linda has composed for a wide range of ensembles and is not afraid of unconventional blends of sounds. She often takes inspiration from diverse literary works and has written music based on poems by Sylvia Plath, on scenes from Jalal al-din Rumi’s ancient Persian poems, and from spiritual Hindu literature.

Though a minimalist in form, Mira-Linda Håkansson is a romantic at heart. Her compositions are usually very short, but contain an immense amount of details and the widest spectrum of emotional colours.