Simon Arlasjö

About Simon Arlasjö

Simon Arlasjö is a Swedish choral conductor, church musician, and educator based in Oslo. He was educated at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He has studied conducting with, among others, Grete Pedersen, Mats Nilsson, and Fredrik Malmberg. Through his participation in the Dirigentforum in Oslo, he has taken part in masterclasses with a number of internationally renowned conductors, including Yuval Weinberg, Martina Batič, Krista Audere, Nigel Short, and Kaspars Putniņš.

At the Academy of Music and Drama, Simon teaches conducting in the Master’s Programme in Choral Conducting, the Bachelor’s Programme in Church Music, as well as in independent courses. He also conducts the Chamber Choir. In his teaching, he emphasizes solid craftsmanship and musical knowledge, combined with the importance of an artistic vision and the ability to communicate it. Encouraging singers and musicians to strive to perform at their very best is also central to Simon’s work. As a conductor, he is passionate about music-making characterized by honesty and vulnerability, and about finding new ways to make classical music more relevant to a wider audience.

In addition to his position in Gothenburg, he is a church musician at the Swedish Margaret Church in Oslo, where he leads both amateur singers and a professional vocal ensemble. Since 2019, he has taught choral singing at the Music Conservatory in Falun, where many of Sweden’s professional musicians receive their foundational training.

In 2024, Simon was one of eight semifinalists out of 90 participants in the Eric Ericson Award 2024 — a prestigious international competition for choral conductors. Today, he regularly works as a conductor and rehearsal director with professional ensembles such as the Swedish Radio Choir, the Norwegian Women’s Choir, and Dalasinfoniettan.