Thomas is a highly awarded musician who lends his many talents to "Frozen Atlantis".

As a university docent and musicologist, Thomas is one of the leading experts on the traditional tunes of Sweden. As 'rikspelman' and composer, he draws inspiration from rich musical and mythical heritage of the north.

Sharing his passions, Thomas is highly engaged in outreach activities of all kind. As part of these, he has initiated the Edda podcast and frequently engages in public performances and events.


Academic trajectory
Associate Professor (Docent) Thomas von Wachenfeldt, PhD, from Bergsjö, Hälsingland, developed his interests in research during secondary school with a special project on the notorious fiddler Hultkläppen from Hälsingland. This interest deepened during his teacher training in classical violin and composition at the Ingesund College of Music. Through academic essays as well as artistic research in composition and performance practice, he explored various avenues to delve into Swedish traditional music in particular.

Thomas completed his doctoral thesis (”Folkmusikalisk utbildning, förbildning och inbillning") at Luleå University of Technology, where he earned his PhD in 2015. Since then, he has taught and conducted research at the universities of Umeå, Uppsala, and Dalarna. In addition to that, Thomas has continued his musical career by composing music for theatre, symphony orchestras, films, and commercials. He has also toured and taught around the world, focusing particularly on chamber music, Swedish traditional music, and extreme metal. His discography as a musician, composer, arranger, and producer includes around forty recordings.

Through his research, Thomas has primarily explored learning, musical expression, and performance practice within folk music, art music, and heavy metal.

At the moment, Thomas is engaged in research and teaching in sound and music production as well as musicology at Dalarna University and Uppsala University.

Selected publications (in printed form)

• (with Ketil Thorgersen) "The Becomings of Satanist Musicianship: A study of how Black metal musicians describe their learning processes," Nordisk musikkpedagogisk forskning 18 (2017), #–#
• "Folkmusikfältets uppkomst och autonomisering tolkat genom tre kulturfurstars strategier," PULS: Musik- och dansetnologisk tidskrift 3 (2018), #–#.
• (with Ketil Thorgersen) "When hell freezes over," in: Perspectives on Music, Education and Religion: A Critical Inquiry, edd. Alexis Kallio, Philip Alperson, Heidi Westerlund, Helsinki: Sibelius Academy of Music, 2019, #–#.
• (with Ketil Thorgersen) "'You who hate God': Channeling hate through the sound of Lucifer," in: Difference and Division in Music Education, ed. Alexis Kallio, Abingdon-New York: Routledge, 2020, #–#.