Erik Markus Sandlund (26 April 1975 – 26 December 2004) was a Swedish

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Early life and career

Sandlund was born in

Norrfjärden Norrfjärden is a locality situated in Piteå Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway ...

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 ...

. He began playing cello when he was six years old and studied at the

Royal College of Music, Stockholm The Royal College of Music, Stockholm () is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was made independent of the Academy in 1971, and ...

. He played in several orchestras in Sweden and also played on many studio recordings. He also played with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

on a tour of Sweden. Sandlund appears on Nicolai Dunger's ''Soul Rush'' (2001), Sofia Pettersson's ''That's Amore'' (2004) and Bo Sundström's ''Den lyckliges väg'' (2007). Most notably, he played with the Stockholm Strings n' Horns on

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

's 2004 album ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

'', a newly recorded and completed version of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

' aborted album of the same title from 1967. He was part of the ''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' touring band, who toured

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 2004.

Disappearance

After the ''Smile'' tour was finished in December 2004, Sandlund traveled to

Khao Lak Khao Lak (, ) is a small village in Phang Nga province, located South of the main mountain. Tour operators like to use the popular name as location for a series of other villages, now tourist-oriented, mainly in the Takua Pa District of Phang ...

in Thailand to celebrate Christmas with his girlfriend. The couple were in the pool at the Orchid Beach Resort when the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

hit, sweeping both of them away; while she was later rescued, Sandlund remained missing. Upon hearing of Sandlund's disappearance, Wilson stated that he was "devastated" by the news, adding, "We have sent an agent to see what we can find out, but as of today (Jan. 4) we have been unable to locate Markus in the area. ... My prayers go out to all of the victims and their families, and I would ask you to say a prayer for Markus' safe return."

Death

Sandlund's body was found in late May 2005. According to his girlfriend, Sofia Pettersson, Sandlund was buried on June 16 in his hometown of Norrfjärden.

Legacy

On January 15, 2005, Wilson and his band had appeared on the '' Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope'' telethon and performed Wilson's " Love and Mercy" in honor of Sandlund, who was still missing at that time. The 2005 home video release of ''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' was dedicated to Sandlund's memory.

References

External links

Wilson's Cellist Missing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandlund, Markus 1975 births 2004 deaths Deaths by drowning Swedish cellists Victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Natural disaster deaths in Thailand Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni People from Piteå Municipality 20th-century cellists