nyckelharpa, fiddle, singing

I play folk music from my home province Upland as well as from the rest of Sweden, but lots of other music too. I sing folk, rock, jazz and other songs. I have a special liking for rock ballads and songs from Scotland. Most of all I like to do programmes where I can mix different genres. I care very much about how I represent myself on stage, and an important part of my musical programmes are the informative and entertaining presentations, which I readily do in English.

This tune, written in 2012 and played by Ditte, is dedicated to rareTunes founder Derek Hoy:

Waltz for Derek

Ditte recalls:

In 1983 I and my fellow students at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm were invited to play at the Shetland Folk Festival, as a result of a study tour there some years earlier, to see the fiddler Tom Anderson. During the festival we met many fantastic musicians, and among them Jock Tamsons Bairns. Some of us kept in the contact with the band, and during a couple of trips to Edinburgh during the 80s we became acquainted with lots of people, both musicians and others.

It felt especially flattering to be invited to the home of Derek Hoy and his family, and it makes me very happy that we’ve stayed in contact over the years.

Derek himself was, as I experienced it, a genuinly good person; how often can you say that about somebody? On the personal sida I really appreciated his subtle humour among other things, and on the musical side I think that he had a unique, warm tone to his playing, that is very rare.