Johannes Thorell, saxophone

Johannes Thorell (1976) is one of Scandinavia´s leading saxophonists. He made his soloist debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 2002 performing the hugely demanding saxophone concerto by Edison Denisov. Since then Thorell has received numeral prizes and grants, including a first prize in the Wolfgang Jacobi competition in Munich (Germany) Rosenborg/Gehrmans grant and was a prizewinner at the Biel/Bienne (Switzerland) competition for contemporary music.

​Johannes is, together with his colleague and fellow saxophonist Claus Olesen, creator of the Nordic Saxophone Festival. Thorell is currently a saxophone teacher at The Royal Academy of music in Aarhus/Aalborg and performs regularly with pianist Magnus Sköld, the Swedish Wind Ensemble and the Nordic Saxophone Quartet. Johannes has studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm as well as at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In 2011 Johannes released his debut CD the forbidden saxophone together with pianist Magnus Sköld and in 2012 his album Far North was released.