The players in Camerata Nordica have yet to be told officially that their orchestra has been suspended, and why. The website names two responsible officials: Peter Högberg. President. Kjell Lindstrom. County Music Manager. 

This morning, the musicians issued the following puzzled and regretful letter:

Wednesday, December 14th, 2016

To the Board and Administration of Camerata Nordica,

As members of Camerata Nordica it is simply impossible to imagine what could possibly have sparked your actions of the past week. At this moment we musicians are watching our orchestra crumble around us without a single comment from any of you on the meeting that took place last week or what precipitated the actions of which we have yet to be officially informed. As it stands now, this locally loved, nationally celebrated and internationally acclaimed ensemble is being blown up by a board and administration who show no respect towards its musicians who have devoted themselves to this ensemble through years of service, performing incredible productions and making internationally celebrated recordings.

On December 5th our February and March productions were cancelled without warning or justification. For the musicians who give their lives and careers to this orchestra this is a blatant violation of trust and creates an unworkable environment that no musician can be part of. As of today we have yet to be officially informed of the cancellation of these tours, and no justification or compensation has been offered. This gross negligence of management and communication is simply incomprehensible. A lack of management ability is not a reason to cancel productions and to do so without officially informing the musicians and without any dialogue whatsoever is indefensible.

On December 9th, Terje Tønnesen, our beloved artistic director and the visionary behind many of our most spectacular productions and acclaimed recordings resigned from his position. Shortly thereafter, Per Nyström, our principal cellist, the administrator responsible for our players, and the source of many if not all our great musicians and leaders over the last years, likewise resigned from his duties at Camerata Nordica. It must be clearly understood by the board and administration that these two individuals have been the driving force and the only reason for the success and acclaim of Camerata Nordica in the past decades.

To think that this orchestra can exist without either Terje or Per is to completely and fundamentally misunderstand what this orchestra is and how it evolved to be what it was until this week. The complete disappearance of the board and administration and their refusal to justify their actions or react to the resignation of their most important assets is impossible for any of us to understand.

We sincerely hope that these unwarranted decisions will be reversed immediately and that we can resume the hopeful path that has been years in the making.

Signed,

Willem Stam

Torbjörn Westman

Ulla Raukola

Guy Ben-Ziony

Barbro Lennstam

Mihkel Kerem

Sadie Fields

Eleonora Matsuno

Sophie Rosa

Brusk Zanganeh

Vashti Hunter

Catherine Bullock

Max Mandel

Daniel Bard

Simona Bonfiglioli

Dinara Mansurova

Abigail Fenna

Pål Solbakk

Sergej Bolkhovets

Claudia Ajmone-Marsan

Nikolay Shugaev

Jonian Ilias Kadesh

Natasa Grujic

Robert Mende