KARIN HELLQVIST

Swedish violinist, researcher, and educator Karin Hellqvistworks at the forefront of contemporary music. Deeply engaged in the music of today, she is a sought-after soloist and a dedicated chamber musician whose artistry combines curiosity, precision, and an openness to collaboration. Through active dialogue with composers and fellow artists, her work seeks to explore, understand, and contribute to the creation of new music while also challenging traditional concert formats and established modes of artistic collaboration.

Karin is a member of several leading Scandinavian ensembles for contemporary music, including Cikada, Oslo Sinfonietta, neon, KammarensembleN, and Duo Hellqvist/Amaral. With these ensembles, she devotes her practice to commissioning and performing new works as well as championing the established repertoire of modern and contemporary music. In her solo projects, she regularly commissions new works that expand the violin repertoire—often exploring the instrument in combination with electronics, objects, and sound-based practices.

She is a frequent guest at renowned international venues and festivals such as Warsaw Autumn, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Münchener Biennale, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, La Biennale di Venezia, Milano Musica, Ultraschall Berlin, Harvard University, Berliner Philharmonie, Pan Music Festival Seoul, and the International Summer Course for New Music Darmstadt.

Karin’s performances have been broadcast internationally, and she has contributed to several award-winning recordings. Her collaboration with the Norwegian label LAWO Classicshas resulted in two solo albums: flock(2019) and Palette(2024).

Educated at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Universität der Künste Berlin, Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and the Royal College of Music in London—where she earned an Artist Diploma in Performance in 2011—Karin combines a broad European perspective with a strong artistic identity. She received the Interpreter’s Prizefrom the Society of Swedish Composers in 2016 and was elected Honorary Memberof the same society in 2020.

From 2018 to 2024, Karin was a PhD artistic research fellowat the Norwegian Academy of Music, where she explored how the classical musician’s role can be expanded through collaborative and interdisciplinary practices. As a researcher, she has published several articles on artistic collaboration and creative processes within contemporary music.