Sometimes things happen which you did not expect. Especially on the Faroe Islands. Mostly, those things are rather negative. Like “The ferry won’t go today, the weather is too bad”. Or “The Ferry won’t go today, the engine broke down.”. But sometimes there is also a pleasant surprise. When I had finished my interview with Heri Joensen and was just about to leave, Heri came back running to me and asked me: “Can you interview the CEO of the orchestra as well? You asked me some questions you should have asked him, so can you do that as well?” Oh well, of course I said yes and had like 2 minutes to prepare for the interview. But when there is one thing you learn on the Faroe Islands, it is to improvise and take things as they come. And so I did my most spontaneous interview ever with Poul Jákup Thomsen, the CEO of the Faroese Symphony Orchestra, a very nice and down to earth man who didn’t care at all that I was more or less unprepared. I also met him several times during the week, when I picked up my tickets, and at all three concerts and he always took the time to chat a bit with me. So here we go:

Anne: I haven’t prepared anything, because Heri just said: “You have to interview him as well, do that!” So I just do that. You have to know that I write for a mainly metal-related magazine, so my readers don’t know you. Could you maybe just give a short introduction of yourself?

Poul Jákup: My name is Poul Jákup and everybody here in the symphony orchestra calls me PJ. I was one of the few people who started this symphony orchestra in 1983. At the same time as we got this fantastic hall here we started the symphony orchestra. We had a chamber orchestra and for the last 27 years I’ve been the boss or director for the symphony orchestra and I live in a very little place. One of the smallest villages in the Faroe Islands, called Skarvanes and that is where Heri [Joensen] comes from. I live there now with my wife and in the same village where Heri is born. So I talked to him 5 years ago - I had this idea about TÝR and I talked to the conductor and so on and when I got the idea I talked to the Nordic House, talked to the radio and television and now we finally had a project. So that’s the very short introduction to why we are sitting here today.

Anne: How long did it take from the vague idea to making concrete plans?

Poul Jákup: It took 3 years. I had a meeting with Heri after I had the idea for 2 years. First I talked to the conductor and then I talked to Heri and then I had to go to prepare the Nordic house and the radio and find money and it takes time because it’s a big project in the Faroe Islands. So last year we had debating and everything and now we’re here. Then I of course sent all the music to Iceland and this man standing over there [points to Haraldur V. Sveinbjörnson], he is the man who was writing all the music for the symphony orchestra and then we decided “Now we want a choir.” “I want a harp.” And I always talked to the conductor and now I think we have a good project here.

Anne: How long took the preparations for the concert?

Poul Jákup: Since the first idea 5 years. When we got the idea and then just worked on it and now 5 years later we’re sitting here with this fantastic project and hopefully we can take this project to Denmark or maybe we can take it to Germany. I have to talk to some people to take it into a festival in St. Petersburg, so now we are here, we have the music, we have everything ready, so we can show it to other people. Then we should reassure to take it further out and into the world. We also have a video record of the television who broadcast it, so everybody can see it so that is probably a good idea for a festival in Germany.

Anne: So it’s live in TV?

Poul Jákup: I don’t know if they send it live. Sometimes they send live, but at least you can go in on the homepage and see it over there. But they will also send it. But when, I don’t know. When it’s a new year’s concert, they send it directly. You can see it on the homepage.

Anne: Do you know if there will be a CD or DVD of this?

Poul Jákup: No, it’s not decided yet, but if, it’s fantastic. I don’t know how you sell things like that, but why not sell it on the internet? That would be fine.

Anne: Do you have already concrete plans to which towns in like Germany you will bring it?

Poul Jákup: No, no, no, we’ve been talking about to take it to Denmark, and we are working on that and we have talked to some people in St. Petersburg. I want them to see the recordings, the television recordings, so they can see what it is so we can make a final decision, but hopefully it is so interesting for a group of people that they say “Wow, that is something we want to see!”.

Anne: Can you tell me how much work it was to arrange the songs for the orchestra? I mean, you didn’t do it, it was Haraldur V. Sveinbjörnson.

Poul Jákup: Yes, Haraldur V. Sveinbjörnson. He’s a professional musician in Iceland and he is also writing a lot of music for other rock groups and that’s his job and he is very good at his job and so it took some weeks for him to write it out. Fourteen melodies for the choir, rock orchestra, symphony orchestra and then I put in the harp, so I’m very excited. I think this is a concert everybody will be happy to see and listen to, also the people who normally only come to classical music, I think they have also bought tickets, it’s so special.

Anne: I, personally, think there is not so much difference between classical music and metal because they have the same power and they are both epic. What is your opinion?

Poul Jákup: I completely agree. The classical music is the ground and then you can perform different things but for me everything is more or less classical music. So that fits very good together.

Anne: What instrument do you play?

Poul Jákup: I play violin. And trumpet. And Saxophone. And Piano. And Oboe. And several others but in the symphony orchestra I played the violin for many years. I don’t know. And I played double bass. And then I played trumpet in a brass band, we won the European brass band championships with my orchestra in 2004 in Glasgow.

Anne: I’m afraid those were my questions. I was so unprepared, Heri just came running and said “Do you want to interview him as well?”

Poul Jákup: Just relax! You’re in a special moment.

Anne: Is there something you want to tell?

Poul Jákup: No, no. I’m just happy to be here with you and that you two are here and interview me about what comes.

Anne: Thank you!

Poul Jákup: What I am hoping for is that this project here, when other people can see it, see the television production, that they say “Wow, that is something that would be fine to take to Germany or wherever.”. And lift it on a higher level with the symphony orchestra and the choirs.

Anne: I would come see it again in Germany.

Poul Jákup: Have you seen the poster we made? We made a poster.

Anne: Yes, we want to buy it.

Poul Jákup: That is made by a friend of mine, an artist from Klaksvík [Edward Fuglø] and you can see at the bottom of the poster, where you have the black and white here at the neck of the dragon and that symbolizes a bird we call Lomvigi [Guillemot in English], so when you see the poster, that black and white neck of the dragon that is representing the Symphony Orchestra. Because we play in black and white and then inside, you have all this heavy metal inside and you can see the piano is the teeth and the horn is the eye and it’s fantastic.

Anne: We’re going to buy it right now.

Poul Jákup: There should be a few left. You have to hurry up. They have only printed 500 so tomorrow they will be sold old.

Anne: Thank you very much!

Poul Jákup: Yes, I’m gonna be around, so see you! And you come to the concert as well?

Anne: Yes, I’ll come to all three concerts.

Poul Jákup: We’ll run into each other.

Picture: Poul Jákup Thomsen, picture of Poul Jákup and me: Andrea H.