The hottest you never heard of

And he comes from Brattvåg, which is right next fjord over from the closest thing I have to roots!

New York Times describes Arild Remmereit as "the hottest conductor you've never heard of," and devotes an extraordinary amount of words to describing his style and the way his career has taken off in the United States in just the last few weeks. He is described in glowing terms:

"He's quite a fantastic conductor," said Richard Mackey, the executive director of the Madison Symphony. "He's exuberant but completely musical. And at the first rehearsal, he knew the name of every musician in our orchestra."

When the paper claimed he came from a Village between Bergen and Trondheim, I got really curious, and thought I had to check where he really comes from. And they were right. Brattvåg is exactly that, a village between Bergen and Trondheim, although it's just north of Ålesund, which I think is worth mention. I think that's worth mention because I can understand how a good, personal and enthusiastic conductor can grow out of the amateur brass- and janitsjar bands of the area - but at the same time I think it's a small miracle, as it's even further from the global bellybutton than Volda (but only by a hair's width, I admit).

Brattvåg is where the rough crowd at high-school would go to dance and fight. They build boats, farm, and play in the brass Band. Did you see Brassed Off? Brattvåg is that kind of place, with that kind of bands, and that kind of enthusiasts. It's just much further from Royal Albert Hall - or any other significant concert halls worth mention - and instead of being coloured grey by coaldust, it smells of fish.

But Arild Remmereit is from Sunnmøre, and of course, there's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't aim for the stars and get there. Now he conducts in Vienna, Paris, at La Scala. The boy the next fjord over. Isn't life amazing?