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Two phenomena have accompanied Tobias Granmo through life: water and music. He grew up on an island in the archipelago at Fiskebäckskil, a genuine idyl before the old fishing communities were discovered by tourists.

– It was an amazing childhood environment. Not least the proximity to the water has had an effect on me, this beautiful, inviting but also frightening element that can suddenly turn on you and flip the shipping forecast. That was why I became interested in sailing, which lets me be close to the elements, allowing me to relax and let the winds decide whether to take me north or south.

His father was an associate professor of marine ecology at the Kristineberg Marine Research Station. But both parents were also committed amateur musicians and Tobias Granmo grew up with the violin under his chin without really giving it much thought.

– I studied economics in upper secondary school but went every other weekend to Copenhagen for lessons with the famous violinist and music teacher Milan Vitek. He was short and stout and had an incredible presence, he crossed the streets without caring about traffic lights and spoke his own home-made mix of Czech and Danish. He taught me that it is what you don’t know that is truly fun and that you have to bring out the playful elements of the music; if something doesn’t work, you try something else. After upper secondary school I studied for a year at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm but when I heard that Milan Vitek became a visiting professor at the Academy of Music here in Gothenburg, I applied because I really wanted him to teach me.

After Tobias Granmo received his master’s degree in 1995, he continued his studies at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. The training resulted in a soloist diploma.

– Vienna has always been an international melting pot, of course, but then, a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the city was particularly packed with people from all corners of the earth, not least Eastern Europeans. My teacher, the world famous Dora Schwarzberg, came from Odessa and I was actually involved in organising her fiftieth birthday celebrations which were held at the Russian embassy.

In Vienna he also had the opportunity to take fencing classes.

– It is important to be nimble and quick, which means that it doesn’t matter if you are fencing against a man or a woman. And you partially use the same terms as in music, such as fifth, fourth and octave, and wrist mobility is important, just as for a violinist.

Tobias Granmo met his wife to be, pianist and organist Helena, during his studies in Gothenburg. She was now studying in Lyon, which involved a couple of years of commuting between two cultural cities before Helena also moved to Vienna.

– At that time, I played with the Wiener Kammerorchester and went touring to lots of different places. It was a lot of fun of course. But after close to 10 years in Vienna it was time to move back home.

 During a couple of years the couple lived in Värmland where Tobias Granmo got a job as a violin teacher at the Ingesund School of Music, Karlstad University. But in 2006 they moved back to the west coast. Tobias Granmo was then employed as a teacher at the Academy of Music and Drama where he was also director of studies for the classical music programme from 2011–2017.

As a teacher as well as a practicing musician, chamber music is closest to Tobias Granmo's heart.

– Playing in a large orchestra and carry a part with perhaps 18 other violinists is of course also a fantastic experience. But in a smaller ensemble, each instrumentalist is alone in their part and need to more clearly produce their own musical ideas. It is like a conversation with the other musicians where you slip into and out of your roles. The smaller format also makes for a more intimate interaction with the audience that might be sitting only a few metres away. And I enjoy talking to the audience, introducing the piece we are about to play and perhaps pointing out something in particular to listen for. 

Tobias Granmo has played in many different constellations with many different musicians. The most prominent and perhaps somewhat unusual instrument combo is probably the one he has with marimba player and professor Daniel Berg in Duo Granmo-Berg.

– When we started playing together around 15 years ago there was barely any music at all written for our kind of constellation. So we had to rearrange works by everyone from Vivaldi to Bartók, making it work with Daniel’s marimba. Since then, Daniel has written many of the pieces we perform but we also collaborate with composers like Bengt Lundin, Carl-Axel Hall, Paula af Malmborg Ward, Ann-Sofi Söderqvist and Áskell Másson. We perform in all kinds of settings, sometimes even at concerts at the Academy of music and Drama. We are hoping to inspire our students to also try out unexpected combinations of instruments.

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Getting students to be open to new experiments and new ways of thinking is an important part of the education at the Academy of Music and Drama, Tobias Granmo argues.

– We accept students from around the world and some of them have had a very authoritarian education. So we need to encourage them to explore what they themselves want so that they do not just do what the teacher tells them. This enables us to help them grow as musicians as well as individuals.

The importance of international collaborations was something that was driven home to Tobias Granmo during his time in Vienna, and he has kept in touch with several of his contacts from that time. 

Among other things, he has been a visiting lecturer in a number of countries, often together with Daniel Berg. They give lectures during the day and perform concerts in the evening.

– I see the  exchange as personal skill development while also acting as an ambassador for the Academy of Music and Drama. Of course, in Naples, Málaga or Zagreb they are not very familiar with the University 91̽��, but when I am there I take the opportunity to invite lecturers to come to us. Using EU grants mean that the exchange will cost nothing for the department. At the same time, I encourage students to come here. This will engender an even more international environment that promotes learning and provides new energy to the education.

And cross-border partnerships are also important, argues Tobias Granmo.

– At the Chalmers AHA Festival and at the Jonsered Manor, Daniel and myself have been able to work together with other art forms but also with different scientific disciplines. For example, we investigated how the acoustics of different rooms affect our playing.

And the Jonsered seminary series, The Four Elements, a few years ago included participation of several different disciplines. At the Water Seminar, for example, the Granmo-Berg duo collaborated with an architect, an artist, an underwater photographer and an investigator at the Agency for Marine and Water Management. 

– And churches in and outside 91̽�� are also important partners. For the past 15 years I have held a series of concerts with my violin students. Our students need to get out of the protected zone offered by the department and meet a different audience.

Tobias Granmo has now been appointed Professor of Musical Performance and Interpretation specialising in the violin. He sees the appointment as something more than just personal success.

– It is about recognising the role of classical music within academia. but also an appreciation of art in general. The redeeming power of music is perhaps of particular importance in today’s uncertain world. At the moment, for example, I have an Ukrainian student who has started playing together with a student from Riga who turned out to belong to the Russian minority. But their different backgrounds are of no importance, they enjoy playing together and are united by their love of music.

Text: Eva Lundgren