Erik Mikael Arvinder, born in 1984 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, is a Swedish violinist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, orchestrator and conductor. He is known for his work across

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and the

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, and for collaborations with international artists such as

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

, Ariana Grande,

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

, Childish Gambino and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

. Arvinder has worked as creative director for Leksand's Chamber Music Festival, concertmaster for several Nordic ensembles and founding member of the Vamlingbo Quartet. He is also the founder, conductor and creative director of Stockholm Studio Orchestra, a session orchestra of over 80 musicians, that has recorded music for over 2,500 songs as well as films, TV productions and video games with around 200 annual releases spanning genres.

Early life and education

Arvinder grew up in a musical family where both parents worked as musicians in Sweden's leading orchestras - his mother in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and his father in the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He attended choir schools throughout his education, first Adolf Fredrik's Music School (elementary school), followed by Stockholms Musikgymnasium (high school). At the age of 13 he began performing as a violinist in the Stockholm Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Royal College of Music

Arvinder studied violin at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He completed a seven-year music education that included a bachelor's degree, a master's degree and a diploma program. Since graduating, he has returned to the Royal College of Music as an alumnus to participate in the panel discussion series 'Möt Musiklivet'.

Career

Throughout his career, Arvinder has participated in a vast range of projects spanning

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

, scoring for film and television and commercial production. He is experienced with the many stages of classical and popular music production as a musician, arranger, orchestrator, composer and conductor.

Recorded Productions

Since 2010, Arvinder has been part of the band in the Swedish TV program ''Så'' ''mycket bättre'', where he participates as a multi-instrumentalist. Arvinder has worked with numerous international music artists, including

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

, Ariana Grande, Avicii,

, Childish Gambino and

. His work in the film industry includes orchestration for films such as ''Creed'' (2015), and the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

musical comedy ''The Prom'' (2020). He has also contributed to '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015) and television productions such as NBC's comedy ''Community'' and

documentary series '' Chef's Table''. At the Nobel Banquet in 2024, Arvinder participated as conductor and string composer. The arrangement consisted of four acts of newly composed music by Bo Wastesson, Laleh and Gustaf Thörn. Arvinder contributed with string arrangements and conducted recordings of songs such as "When Good Ain't Good" and "Many Lights".

Live engagements

In 2008, at age 23, Arvinder became the youngest violinist to secure a permanent position with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Described as his “dream job”, he remained with the orchestra for two years before relocating to the

in 2010. Arvinder left the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. There he initially planned to continue his studies, but quickly became busy with professional music projects with, among others, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO). Between 2011 and 2013, Arvinder toured as a multi-instrumentalist with Childish Gambino playing violin, keyboard and percussion during the ''I Am Donald'' and ''Camp'' tours. In 2014, Arvinder toured as a violinist with

during the ''All Of Me'' tour. In 2017, together with Anthony Gonzalez ( M83) and Chris Hartz ( Passion Pit), Arvinder arranged and orchestrated the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

show '' Volta''. In January and February 2025, Arvinder conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a collaboration with the Swedish duo

First Aid Kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give First aid, immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents o ...

at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. The concerts received positive reviews for Arvinder's balanced and "ambitious" arrangements.

Awards

In April 2025, Arvinder received the Gold Award in the category "Artistry of the Year" at the Gyllene Hjulet gala, organized by Sponsrings- och Eventsverige (SES). The award was presented jointly with New Progress, LIWLIG, Arvid Svenugsson, and Aron Mellergårdh, in recognition of their work on the opening event for Forskaren, a new life science center in Stockholm. According to the jury, the team was honored "for creating an experience where artistry and creative precision interacted in perfect harmony with the space. Through skillful execution and inventive composition, every detail elevated the whole, demonstrating that masterful event production is truly a craft."

Selected discography

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

- '' Drive'' (2025) - Violin *

- ''JUPiTER'' (2024) - Violin * Ariana Grande - ''bye'' (2024) - Violin * Ariana Grande - ''imperfect for you'' - acoustic (2024) - Violin * Kate Hudson - ''Glorious'' (2024) - String arranger, conductor * Jennifer Hudson - ''Mary Did You Know'' (2024) - Orchestrator * Sam Smith &

- ''VULGAR'' (2023) - Violin * *NSYNC &

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

- ''Better Place'' ''(From TROLLS Band Together)'' (2023) - Violin *

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

- ''A Beautiful Game'' (2023) - Violin * Loreen - ''Tattoo'' (2023) - String arranger, conductor * Lord Huron - ''Your Other Life'' (2022) - Conductor * FOX - ''

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

'' (2022) - String arranger, conductor *

- ''Chef's Table Pizza'' (2022) - Orchestrator, conductor *

- '' Palomino'' (2022) - String arranger, conductor *

Becky Hill Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of '' The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's " Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and rea ...

& Galantis - '' Run'' (2022) - String arranger, conductor * Lord Huron - '' Long Lost'' (2021) - Conductor * The Knocks &

Dragonette Dragonette is the stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara. Originally an electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005, the band consisted of Sorbara with her then husband Dan Kurtz as bassist and producer (also i ...

- ''Slow Song'' (2021) - String arranger, conductor * Galantis & Years & Years - ''Sweet Talker'' (2021) - String arranger, conductor * Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Ella Tiritiello - ''For A Better Day'' (2021) - Producer, arranger, conductor *

- '' The Prom'' (2020) - Lead orchestrator, conductor * Galantis - ''

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

(with John Newman)'' (2020) - String arranger, conductor * Galantis &

- ''

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

'' (feat. Mr. Probz) (2019) - String arranger, conductor * James Arthur - '' Quite Miss Home'' (2019) - String arranger, conductor * deadmau5 - '' Where's The Drop?'' (2018) - Arranger *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

- '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' - Original motion picture soundtrack (2017) - Violin * Morrisey - '' Low in High School'' (2017) - Viola *

& Mitchell Owens - '' The Book of Love'' - Original motion picture soundtrack (2017) - Violin *

- ''

'' (2017) - Violin * Galantis - '' The Aviary'' (2017) - String arranger, conductor * Lady Antebellum - '' Heart Break'' (2017) - Viola *

- '' Chef's Table'' - (2017-2018) - Orchestrator *

- '' Paramour'' (2016) - Arranger *

- '' Volta'' (2016) - Arranger, orchestrator *

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

- '' Nobody but Me'' (2016) - Violin * Ludwig Göransson - '' Central Intelligence'' - Original motion picture soundtrack - (2016) - Orchestrator, violin * Theodore Shapiro - '' Ghostbusters'' - Original motion picture soundtrack (2016) - Violin * Ludwig Göransson - ''

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

'' - Original motion picture soundtrack (2015) - Orchestrator, violin * Demi Lovato - '' Confident'' (2015) - Violin * Avicii - '' Stories'' (2015) - String arranger, conductor *

- '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' - Original motion picture soundtrack (2015) - Violin * Ellie Goulding - '' Delirium'' (2015), Violin *

Zara Larsson Zara Maria Larsson (; born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and dancer. She first rose to prominence in 2008 after winning the Talang 2008, second season of ''Talang (Swedish TV show), Talang'', the Swedish version of the ''Got T ...

- ''Introducing'' EP (2014), String arranger, conductor * Lupe Fiasco - ''Stellar Light'' (2014) - String arranger, conductor * Lykke Li - '' I Never Learn'' (2014) - Violin * Dirty Loops - '' Loopified'' (2014) - String arranger, conductor * Childish Gambino - '' Because the Internet'' (2013) - String arranger, violin * CeeLo Green - '' Cee Lo's Magic Moment'' (2012), Violin * Ludwig Göransson - ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

'' - Television soundtrack (2011-2015) - Orchestrator, conductor, violin * Childish Gambino - '' Camp'' (2011) - String arranger, violin * Robyn - '' Body Talk'' (2010) - Violin *

- '' The Fame Monster'' (2009) - Violin * Lykke Li - '' Youth Novels'' (2008) - Violin * Peter Bjorn and John - '' Living Thing'' (2009) - Violin * Primal Scream - '' Beautiful Future'' (2008) - Violin

References

External links

Erik Arvinder playing violin in a String Quartet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arvinder, Erik Swedish music arrangers Swedish multi-instrumentalists Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni 1984 births Musicians from Stockholm Living people 21st-century Swedish violinists People of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Concertmasters