Båstad Chamber Music Society...

... was founded on the 9th of June, 1992, with the principal purpose to arrange an annual festival of chamber music in Båstad.

Photo: © Örjan Kristenson

The idea and the initiative came from the oboist Helén Jahren, since many years a "summer resident" of Båstad. Making use of her well established good contacts in the Swedish and European music world, she wanted to enrich Båstad with such an event, whose quality she would herself vouch for as Artistic Director. In contact with the cultural management of Båstad municipality Helén Jahren met with positive response. It was, however, deemed that such a project would best be realized by means of voluntary work, with financial support from the municipality, but also from private sponsoring sources. Båstad Chamber Music Society was founded, with membership open to "private persons, organisations, associations and enterprises".

An early task for the Society was the creation of a suitable concert hall. A suitable barn was located, beautifully situated with a stunning view over the Laholm Bay, and restauration was quickly carried out. An enthusiastic member, building engineer Gösta Sundquist, made the necessary drawings and led the voluntary hands in the reconstruction. The result was a charming music temple with superb acoustics. The Båstad Chamber Music Festival had received a home, reasonably well instated in time for the first Festival in late June 1993, and continually improved and enlarged since then. Given the very rich programme of the festival week, also other venues such as churches on the Bjäre peninsula, restaurants, galleries etc are used for concerts.

Båstad Chamber Music Festival became an instant success. The Artistic Director, Helén Jahren, created a diversified programme comprising traditional chamber music, interspersed with modern and contemporary works. The formula was well received by the public who came, year by year, in growing numbers. Artists of the highest international standard gave Båstad Chamber Music Festival a prominent place on the Swedish music scene. The public in Båstad is impressed, not only by the enchanting musical offer of the Festival, but also by the charmingly "local" services of Society members in the Barn's café, strawberry-and-wine bar etc etc.

Photo: © Örjan Kristenson

Thus Båstad Chamber Music Society has succeeded in its main objective. New members have joined - the membeship today is around 350 - but still to this day many of the original members continue to fulfill their now fifteen years long tradition to create every year the necessary conditions for a Festival, ever growing in importance and estimation among lovers of art music.

From the year 2006 Helén Jahren handed over the role of Artistic Director to the Swedish clarinetist Karin Dornbusch, educated in Stockholm, Berlin and Basle, now resident in Basle and active on the Central European scene as well as in Sweden, where she tours fairly frequently. She has also made several acclaimed recordings.

With Karin Dornbusch continuing the general programme line started and developed by her predecessor - also with a keen eye to the contemporary and the "historic-educational" - and with the Society members continually refining the organisational work, the Båstad Chamber Music Festival has established a prosperous formula, clearly answering to the demand of an appreciative audience.

The next very concrete task of the Society will be the enlargement of the Apelryd Barn, to create better facilities around the stage - artists' boxes, rehearsal facilities etc. This very substantial work will take a year or two to complete.

It should also be mentioned that the Båstad Chamber Music Society enjoys an ever closer cooperation with the regional music promotion agency for Southern Sweden, Musik i Syd. The work on organizing a small number of concerts in Båstad, also during the winter season, is being intensified.