Niklas Eklund (born 1969) is a Swedish trumpeter. He was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

into a musical family; his father, Bengt, was a noted trumpeter and conductor. Eklund studied with his father, as well as at the School of Music and Musicology of the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

. Further studies took place under the tutelage of Edward H. Tarr at the

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that have ...

. After five years as solo trumpeter with the

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eklund left the orchestra in the autumn of 1996 to pursue a solo career. Since then he has appeared with many leading musicians and conductors, including

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for her ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss virtuoso oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classic ...

András Schiff Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Musi ...

, John Foster,

Iván Fischer Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a musical family of Jewish heritage, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest. His older brother, Ádám Fis ...

and

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

. In 1996, Eklund won first prize at the first

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

International Baroque Trumpet competition, held in

Bad Säckingen Bad Säckingen (High Alemannic: ''Bad Säckinge'') is a rural town in the administrative district of Waldshut in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is famous as the "Trumpeteer's City" because of the book ''Der Trompeter von Säcking ...

, Germany. As a specialist on the notoriously difficult

baroque trumpet The baroque trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. Smithers, Don L. 1988 ''The Music and History of the Baroque Trumpet before 1721''. 2nd edition. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Invented in the mid-20th century, ...

, he demonstrates exceptional interpretive skill coupled with a high degree of control and precision. Christopher Martin, Principal Trumpet of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, says: "Niklas Eklund's Art of the Baroque Trumpet series

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

], is the most lyrically gorgeous trumpet playing you'll ever hear." Eklund has played an extensive part in the "Bach Pilgrimage" series of performances and recordings directed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (available on

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

Archiv Archiv Produktion is a classical music record label of German origin. It originated in 1949 as a classical label for the Deutsche Grammophon, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft (DGG), and in 1958 Archiv was established as a subsidiary of DGG, spec ...

CDs), beginning in the year 2000. Besides giving concerts in Sweden and Europe, Eklund has appeared as a guest performer and teacher in the USA, Australia, the Ukraine, Russia and New Zealand (condensed from the artist's website).

References

Article
in the ''International Trumpet Guild Journal'' about Eklund's performance at the First International Altenburg Competition in May 1996

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eklund, Niklas Swedish trumpeters Classical trumpeters Male trumpeters 1969 births Living people Musicians from Gothenburg Natural trumpet players 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century Swedish male musicians