'It changed the direction of our lives': Dublin cellist Kate Hearne on moving family to Swedish Lapland

Like the roll of a dice — what sent Dublin recorder player and Baroque cellist Kate Hearne to live 200km above the Arctic Circle with her husband, composer Fredrik Österling, and their two young sons. She tells Helen O’Callaghan about life in a place that sometimes feels 'like she has moved to the moon', about the beauty it has brought, the sense of adventure, and the feeling that anything is possible

Dublin recorder player and Baroque cellist Kate Hearne moved to live 200km above the Arctic Circle with her husband, composer Fredrik Österling, and their two young sons. Picture: Rebecca Lundh.

Some months into covid, my husband and I felt we needed a change. Fredrik was CEO of the concert hall and symphony orchestra in Helsingborg in southern Sweden. 

I had very little work, it had dried up for musicians, so I was home with our two boys, aged one and five. Fredrik applied for two jobs — one in Dublin, the other in Kiruna, 200km north of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland. 

Neither of us had roots or family in Helsingborg and we were keen for the children to grow up immersed in one or other of our cultures and languages. Fredrik was born in Gällivare in Lappland. So, the children were a big part of our deciding for change.

In February 2021, we learned he’d got the job in Kiruna. My initial response — upset, a bit shocked. As a freelance musician, it felt very alien, the whole concept of moving so far away from everything. From Helsingborg, it’s almost as far down to Rome as it is north to Kiruna.

Part of me wanted to take the easy option — stay where we were. My sister said it could be my life’s biggest adventure, the kids’ too. That was a definite turning point. What tweaked it was Frederik saying: “If it doesn’t work out, we can just come back to the life we had.”

You hear stories about the darkness above the Arctic Circle. I was definitely concerned about the very dark winters. People move up there for the skiing and skating. I’m not into winter sports... I worried I was moving somewhere without anything for me.

But at a certain stage, you don’t think your life’s going to change, so that excitement that you can completely change your life from one day to the next. And giving the kids something different and new! 

Fredrik was going to work for the Sami parliament, which meant we’d automatically become involved with Sami culture. 

We took the train with three cellos, about 50 recorders, and our youngest child in a buggy. The journey was 28 hours long. It was September, and when we got off the train, the air was so clear, crisp, and fresh. And the relief — we’d made it!

Kate Hearne: 'When the sky’s clear, we’re in one of the best places to see the Northern Lights. Really gorgeous. Right now, we have five weeks of midnight sun.' Picture: Orla Lavelle

Our older child had his first day of school the day after arriving at an indigenous Sami school. I realised we’re going to become immersed in this close-knit community.

The biggest surprise — how beautiful the winters are, dry, cold, endless days of beautiful skies, quite settled weather. And the spectacular scenery — walk five minutes and you’re out in this amazingly vast scenery.

For five weeks in winter, there’s no sun; it doesn’t rise. But for about four hours a day, the sun’s somewhere below the horizon, like a sunset, so there’s that bit of brightness, kind of a blue light often tinged with red and pink. And then it gets dark. 

When the sky’s clear, we’re in one of the best places to see the Northern Lights. Really gorgeous. Right now, we have five weeks of midnight sun.

Family life... I’m often away on tour. When home in Kiruna, I feel I can be very much more present. Life’s less stressful, the pace slower. The crime rate’s so low we don’t necessarily lock our doors, and the children can be out late. 

They have a lot more freedom. Like when I grew up, parents didn’t hover so much over children. Children have more autonomy here; parents trust their kids. Our now 11-year-old goes out on his bike, and he might call his friend — we don’t worry.

Kate Hearne: 'I’ve built a network here, started projects that have helped me get to know people, like a concert of classical music aimed at babies and their parents.' Picture: Anders Lillebo

Kiruna’s a mining town. That juxtaposition between mining the earth and the negative impact on nature, and the symbiotic relationship people here have with the seasons. There’s huge knowledge of plants and foraging, respect for nature and animals that I love.

I’ve found it isn’t a problem to just observe the winter sports and not get involved. The kids are avid skiers. Cross-country skiing’s part of the school curriculum. They make a ski track in the playground in winter. They go ice-skating too. Their friends are reindeer herders, and we have a traditional Sami reindeer-herding dog.

Musicwise, I’ve built a network here, started projects that have helped me get to know people, like a concert of classical music aimed at babies and their parents. For half an hour they sit in Kiruna’s library and enjoy the music — afterwards, a social gathering with tea and coffee.

Even after five years, it still feels exotic. I’ve the best of both worlds because I’m back in Ireland a lot. Where’s home? In Kiruna, I say ‘I’m going home to Dublin’ and in Dublin, I’m ‘going home to Kiruna’. Friends and family are just a phone call away, so though it sometimes feels like we’ve moved to the moon, it never feels lonely.

Kate Hearne: 'When home in Kiruna, I feel I can be very much more present. Life’s less stressful, the pace slower.' Picture: Rebecca Lundh

It has changed me. I think anything is possible now. I feel it doesn’t matter what life throws at us; I’ll be able to deal with it. I was kind of ready for the move. Being so far away, you have to take control of your own ideas. So I feel some empowerment with creativity.

Fredrik getting the job in Kiruna, I see almost as a sliding doors moment — the decision to give him the job was made by someone else, and it completely changed the direction of our lives.

• Kate Hearne will perform at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, June 26 to July 5. Visit www.westcorkmusic.ie. She’s currently touring with Baby Loves Music. Visit www.babylovesmusic.ie.