On Friday evening, 4 April, the roof of the Apeln school building will be lifted. Two young big bands will then give a concert brimming with joy of playing and music of the highest calibre.

One of the ensembles taking the stage in the A-hall is the RUM Big Band. The band consists of 19 young musicians, handpicked from the municipal schools of music in Sörmland and from the music course at Åsa Folk High School.

RUM Big Band is led by David Ehrlin, who also teaches music at Åsa, together with Malin Jörtsö and Max Stark.

A love for big bands
David Ehrlin is hoping for a full house and promises both traditional instrumental big band music and more modern sounds with vocals.
Among other things, he highlights a special arrangement of Crystal Silence, written by Theodor Björk, a student at Åsa.

Ehrlin loves big bands because they are the “symphony orchestra of improvised music.”

– A big band can express so much harmony, melody, dynamics, energy, improvisation and swing! Being able to combine older and more recent repertoire adds even more nuance and variety to the concert programme. Putting a big band together requires a great deal of planning, so we are especially pleased that this has been possible again this year, he says.

The importance of exchanges
But RUM Big Band is not the only ensemble the audience will encounter. The concert is arranged in collaboration with a big band from Lunnevads Folk High School.

This band consists of participants from Lunnevad’s jazz course and other music programmes, and is led by Magnus Blom.

Both big bands will also perform at Lunnevads Folk High School on Saturday, 5 April. Such exchanges are important, Ehrlin believes.

– We get to know each other and let our students experience another school, giving them a broader perspective, quite simply. We’re working towards the same goal. The younger members of RUM Big Band, who are still in secondary school, will visit two different folk high schools this weekend, which will hopefully inspire them to perhaps take a music course at a folk high school in the future.

Text: Henrik Wising

Information about Friday’s concert: