Lukas Arvidsson
Lukas Arvidsson (born 1984) is an international concert organist, early keyboard musician, folk musician (national folk musician), and World Champion of the Wooden Shoe Fiddle (träskofiol) 2025. His artistic work moves fluently between early music, folk traditions, dance, and interdisciplinary performance. Since 2023, Lukas Arvidsson has served as Artistic Director of ECHO - European Cities of Historical Organs.
He studied church music at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, Sweden, and continued with diploma studies at the Department of Early Music at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany.
Since 2020, Arvidsson has been organist of the historic Cahman organ in Lövstabruk (The Pastorate of Tierp, Church of Sweden) and Artistic Director of the Leufsta Cahman Academy, a newly established platform for local, national, and international artistic activity centered around the Cahman organ.
His work is documented on numerous video and audio recordings, and he has appeared on Swedish television and radio.
Alongside his collaborative work, Lukas Arvidsson regularly appears as a solo recitalist on the organ. His solo concerts most often focus on baroque repertoire, frequently combined with improvisation rooted in historical performance practice. These programs emphasize the organ as a living, expressive instrument, where composed works and spontaneous creation form an integrated musical narrative.
A defining feature of Arvidsson’s artistic profile is his close collaboration with musicians, dancers, and actors, constantly seeking new modes of expression. Central to this work is the dialogue between early music and Scandinavian folk music—often explored through historically informed performance, improvisation, and physical movement.
Duo and Ensemble Projects
A particularly significant artistic partnership is the duo with violinist Greger Siljebo, where folk fiddling, baroque idioms, improvisation, and historical instruments meet on equal terms. Their collaboration has developed into a distinctive artistic platform, characterized by rhythmic vitality, expressive freedom, and a strong sense of shared musical storytelling. In 2021, they released a critically acclaimed CD featuring folk and baroque music recorded on the Schiörlin organ (1801) in Gammalkil.
This collaboration has also expanded into the DANSO Quartet, featuring Greger Siljebo, Lukas Arvidsson, and dancers Gabriel Davidsson and Natalie Ogonek—an interdisciplinary format in which music and dance interact as equal narrative forces.
Another long-standing collaboration is the duo with nyckelharpa player Torbjörn Näsbom. Together they present the program Bach to the Roots, where the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is placed in dialogue with Scandinavian folk traditions. Through shared dance rhythms, ornamentation, improvisation, and harmonic language, the program highlights the common musical roots of baroque art music and living folk traditions.
Arvidsson also performs in a duo with riksspelman Karin Wallin, where he plays pump organ and violin/wooden shoe fiddle. Their work explores the borderlands between folk music, historical keyboard traditions, and embodied rhythm, often blurring the lines between concert performance and dance music.
He is a member of the ensemble Vox Cordis, which presents J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations in a staged version with dancers Natalie Ogonek and Kaho Yanagisawa. Vox Cordis consists of the viol players Mime Brinkmann, Olof Larsson, and Malin Larson, with Lukas Arvidsson on harpsichord and organ. The ensemble is closely associated with the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, where Arvidsson has regularly appeared as continuo player since 2022.
Further interdisciplinary projects include performances of Biber’s Rosary Sonatas together with violinist Eva Lindal, with Arvidsson on organ and harpsichord, as well as Vintergatan, a staged project based on Zacharias Topelius’ poem of the same name, recited by Stina Ekblad. In Vintergatan, dancers Gabriel Davidsson and Natalie Ogonek interact with organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Dieterich Buxtehude, performed by Arvidsson to musically embody and deepen the poetic imagery.
As a violinist, Lukas Arvidsson frequently appears in duo with organist Mattias Wager. This collaboration has included performances with the St. Jacob’s Chamber Choir and the Stockholm Cathedral Chamber Choir, where Arvidsson has appeared as violin soloist with the choirs. He is also an active member of the Leufsta Trio, further expanding his work as a chamber musician.
Teaching and Artistic Leadership
In addition to his concert activity, Arvidsson is regularly engaged as an organ consultant for new instruments and restoration projects. During his tenure as Master of Music at Christ the King Catholic Church in Gothenburg (2003–2014), he served as project manager for the installation of the English Walker organ (55/III).
As a teacher, lecturer, and performer, Arvidsson has been invited to institutions such as the International Organ Academy in Gothenburg, Norddeutsche Orgelakademie, The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Malmö Academy of Music, and Organum Histriae. He currently teaches organ at Mellansel College for Adult Education in Uppsala.
Teachers and Mentors
Among his teachers in organ performance are Harald Vogel, Hans Davidsson, Edoardo Belotti, Mattias Wager, Mikael Wahlin, Birgitta Roslund, Karin Nelson, Mats Hultkvist, as well as Anders Bondeman and Johannes Landgren in improvisation.
In early keyboard instruments, his teachers include Joel Speerstra, Ulrika Davidsson, and Beate Rölleke.
In choral conducting, he studied with Jan Yngwe, Gunno Palmkvist, and Friederike Woebcken.
His classical violin teachers include Ann-Sofie Backman, Rhona Duncan, and Bo Karlsson, alongside numerous inspiring mentors within folk music traditions.
In classical piano, he studied with Inga-Britt Niemand, Helge Antoni, Simon Crawford-Phillips, and Birgitta Roslund, as well as jazz piano with Ronny Johansson and Hans Delander.