Tommie Haglund is today, without doubt, one of Sweden’s leading composers in the classical genre, but he may not be known to everyone in Halmstad and that is something we want to change.

Joachim Gustafsson, the Festival’s Artistic Director comments “Tommie and I have known each other and worked together since the 1990s.
He is an amazing person with an immense talent, and his music is played all over the world. The idea to focus and concentrate his music in his home town of Halmstad by means of a bi-annual festival, has been in my mind for years.”

In 2015 Anders Wilhelmsson, the Project Manager of the Tommie Haglund Festival, met Joachim and Tommie for the first time.

Anders says “I commissioned an organ piece from Tommie Haglund for the inauguration of the magnificent organ in Saint Nikolai Church
and whilst this work was in preparation Tommie, Joachim and I met at Tommie’s home and we immediately began discussions regarding the idea of a festival featuring Tommie’s music.”

With support from the Swedish Church and Anders Wilhelmsson as initiator, the Festival began to take shape. To have the event in Halmstad was clearly obvious since Tommie has such strong connections with the city. Also for Halmstad this is seen as an excellent opportunity to shows its place as an important cultural centre – something of which it can be proud.

The Tommie Haglund Festival is unique insomuch as being focused on one composer and his music, as well as taking in the compositions of others which have inspired him in his career.

Joachim Gustafsson again, “It is important to bring to the fore the new music, thereby making it available to all. There is a real need for continuity regarding events with so-called ‘classical music,’ to thereby enable it to receive the attention it deserves and to promote greater interest. Not only the music, but also ideas regarding spirituality and philosophy which are so clearly connected to Tommie’s music and his personality.”

Tommie’s music is easy to connect to if you just take time to sit down and let it come to you – there is an immediacy which is striking. Here we have a composer who is not so interested in creating intellectual music – everything comes from the emotion in his mind – he is a true artist in every sense.

This spring the Tommie Haglund Festival makes a great investment through the invitation of the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra , (Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogota,) a very prominent symphony orchestra from Colombia, that will present the orchestral music at the festival.

In addition to this, at home in Colombia, the orchestra will be spending five weeks performing Tommie’s music in a number of concerts in several concert halls throughout the country.
Joachim Gustafsson goes on to comment, “I don’t know of any other Swedish composer who has been given so much attention abroad.”

The Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra’s General Director. David Garcia Rodriguez says that “today it is not possible to only play good music to be a good orchestra.” This means that the orchestra is active in working to create a better society, and therefore involved in various community projects where the music can be used for example to create calm and help in promoting peace. The Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1967 by David’s father Raul Garcia Rodriguez.

Another vitally important and exciting side of the festival are the additional events which run alongside the series of concerts, as Anders Wilhelmsson explains, “There will be a number of seminars and discussions involving celebrated guests from a diversity of genres of music and entertainment.

The festival is not only on a mission for Tommie’s music, but also to create a richer cultural life,

and more widened musical experiences for everybody in Halmstad and surrounding areas. Through the collaboration with Sturegymnasiet and Kulturskolan, young people will be actively involved in concerts, meetings with musicians, participating in workshops etc. This in a broad cooperation between council, region, the Swedish Church and local businesses.” The Tommie Haglund Festival will, as always, include music by the great English composer Frederick Delius (1862 – 1934,) who has for the past forty years been one of Tommie’s favourite and most inspirational composers.