− I feel we have a meaningful profession. It’s not an easy task to measure the value of what we do in financial terms, but we know that it has value to people.
Leif Arne Tangen Pedersen grew up in Porsgrunn in a family where everyone on both sides of the family played an instrument or sang, so it was natural also for him to pursue music. He only started playing the clarinet when he was twelve or thirteen years old, but he made rapid progress:
− I got my first job offer already as a fifteen-year-old, but my parents didn’t let me accept it. I started working at eighteen in Divisjonsmusikken in Kristiansand, and when I was nineteen I started playing in the Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces. I didn’t have time to think about whether I wanted to become a musician, it just turned out that way.
Leif Arne was engaged by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1988. What he loves most about his work is seeing others enjoy the music:
− I feel we have a meaningful profession. It’s not an easy task to measure the value of what we do in financial terms, but we know that it has value to people. Besides, the Oslo Philharmonic is a great orchestra with friendly colleagues.
The clarinetist has experienced many highlights throughout his years with the orchestra, but an occasion he remembers especially well is when the orchestra played at the Bergen Festival with Myung-Whun Chung conducting:
− That was fun! Chung is an incredible musician and conductor. The orchestra played like never before; everything came together. On rare occasions everyone performs at their very best at the same time − it was that kind of day.
Next to his job in the orchestra, Leif Arne does a lot of teaching and conducting, and when he isn’t involved with music, he enjoys spending time at his cabin with his family:
− When I’m at the cabin, I enjoy walking in the mountains, on foot or on skis, or to just relax completely. I also enjoy cooking and good wine.