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Konserthuset Stockholm, with SEB as main sponsor, hires young talents every year as summer musicians. During the summer, the musicians perform several concerts every day in the concert hall's foyer. The ensembles are selected through auditions to become SEB Young artists for one year.
One of this year’s participants is the group Odysséas Politis kvintett which consists of pianist Odysséas Politis, trumpeter Samuel Falkner, double bassist Alvin Evrén, drummer Figge Steffen and Lorenzo Martorelli Nilsson who plays both tenor saxophone and bass clarinet.
The quintet plays in connection with the conclusion of this year's Entrepreneur Camp at SEB in Arenastaden.
The quintet makes its own arrangements in modern jazz and Swedish jazz, among other. Some of their role models and sources of inspiration are jazz musicians such as Roy Hargrove, Oscar Peterson, Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis. Other music genres that the group loves to listen to are funk, classical music and techno.
"People in their 80s come forward. They experience great recognition after our gigs," says Lorenzo Martorelli Nilsson, whose father is also a musician. He continues: "I grew up with jazz and classical music and started playing the saxophone when I was ten.
Nowadays he plays both the tenor saxophone and the bass clarinet.
Four of the members study music at high school of Södra Latin and one of the group members attends high school of Musikskolan Lilla Akademien.
"I lived in Greece until I was eleven and started playing the keyboard when I was four. When I came to Sweden, I started playing jazz with a teacher outside school at the same time as I was studying classical piano at school. My teacher is an important reason why I started with jazz," says Odysséas Politis.
Young musicians can build experience through gigs, including drummer Figge Steffen in Odysséas Politi's kvintett.
Samuel Falkner has been playing the trumpet for seven years. Until a year ago, he played classical music.
"Nothing beats playing jazz. It's its own expression, its own sound and its own language. You create in the moment and improvise around chords and tempo. The instruments have different identities or roles," he says.
"It's a matter of taking and giving space," says Lorenzo Martorelli Nilsson.
"Those of us with wind instruments are allowed to play and then we are silent to let other instruments out," adds Samuel Falkner on trumpet.
Odysséas Politis and Samuel Falkner went to secondary school together. Odysséas Politis goes to the same high school as the other four.
Before the audition, they had been playing together for six months and rehearsing at the schools where they attend.
There are several reasons why the group has stuck to jazz as a form of expression.
"I like jazz because it's freedom to play with others. Even though I'm a new bass player, it's worked to jump in after a few rehearsals," says Alvin Evrén.
"And it’s possible to improvise," says Lorenzo Martorelli Nilsson.
Figge Steffen on drums says that he initially forced himself to listen to jazz before he got into it.
"With jazz, you can express yourself much more compared to other genres. It becomes an interaction," he says.
When asked what they want to do in the future, the quintet answers in unison:
"Be musicians."
The group presents its Lean Startup Canvas in connection with the workshop in entrepreneurship, "Become your own boss".
"Become your own boss"
Özge Özen Zink is responsible for SEB's entrepreneurial collaborations in the entrepreneur's staircase.
For a few years, SEB has also offered the young musicians in SEB Young artists a course in entrepreneurship, "Become your own boss". It is Özge Özen Zink from SEB who teaches entrepreneurship for the young musicians on site at the Concert Hall. The two-hour workshop includes elements such as a business plan, marketing and fees.
"Something I haven't thought about is the market. Who we can play for and the goal for the gigs, says Lorenzo Martorelli Nilsson. Now I understand why it is important.
More Facts
The concert hall, Konserthuset Stockholm, hires young summer musicians every year in collaboration with the Region of Stockholm. The ensembles are selected through auditions to play at multiple concerts in the Concert Hall's foyer during the summer season.
In the autumn, the summer musicians will be hired as SEB Young Artists. This means that the musicians will have the opportunity to work at various events and mingle within the framework of SEB Young Artist for a year. Young musicians thus can do many gigs, be seen and build networks.
SEB has been the main sponsor of Concert Hall, Konserthuset Stockholm, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005.
