Togetherness is what it’s all about at Vara Concert Hall

Karin Beckman is the newly appointed CEO of Vara Concert Hall, but Vara itself is not new to her. After many years in other parts of the country, Karin has now moved back home to take on a project close to her heart - to develop Vara Concert Hall.

The town of Vara has about 4,000 residents. The municipality has 16,000. For a municipality of that size to boast a concert hall of the same standard as the one in Vara is highly unusual, to say the least. And that, according to CEO Karin Beckman, is part of the charm of the operation.

“The concert hall is like the bumblebee that shouldn’t be able to fly, but does anyway. My heart truly belongs to this place!”

Karin’s CV reflects a mix of different experiences - she is, for example, both a trained cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) therapist and was involved in developing Örebro’s cultural quarter. Before moving to Örebro, she was the Head of Culture in Vara Municipality.

“These days, I’m a returnee! I was born just outside Vara but moved away from home when I was 16, and after high school I moved to Gothenburg. When I started a family, we settled in Skara. In 2013, I took on the role of Head of Culture in Vara, and when I left that position to take a job in Örebro, I didn’t think I would come back.”

But how often do things in life turn out the way we expect? After five years in Örebro, Karin felt it was time to move on again.

“I’ve realized that I’m not really someone who maintains things - I enjoy building them up, but then I often move on. Just as I started thinking it might be time to do something new, the position as CEO here at the concert hall came up - it was an obvious choice to apply!”

And so she did. Karin applied, got the job, and moved back home. Because that’s how she describes returning to Skaraborg and Vara.

“There is so much value in living and working in the countryside! It’s so beautiful here, I’m close to nature, and I can walk to work. And if I get on the train, I’m in Gothenburg in an hour, so I don’t have to give up access to everything a big city offers. When I moved back, it felt like coming home!”

“Togetherness is what it’s all about”

Today, Karin’s mission is to lead the work and further develop the operations. So what will happen at the concert hall going forward?

“We need to work on developing our audience, just like all cultural institutions. We have fantastic ambassadors in our local audience, but we want more people to discover what we offer. There is incredible creativity in this building, and we have an amazing range of programming, but I see opportunities to develop areas beyond the stage so that our beautiful venue becomes even more of a meeting place. To succeed, we also need to engage other stakeholders in society, such as businesses and associations. What is good today can become even better when we do things together - togetherness is what it’s all about!”

Karin adds that they have also reviewed their internal organization and are currently recruiting an artistic development manager who will help further evolve the operations.

A visit to Vara Concert Hall

If you haven’t yet visited Vara Concert Hall, what should you expect from a visit?

“Visiting us should be a fantastic overall experience! First, you receive a warm and personal welcome. We have a large group of volunteers who act as hosts - they welcome everyone and are there for our guests. If you choose to continue to the restaurant, a great dining experience and a lovely atmosphere await. But most important of all is, of course, what happens on stage - and there I can promise high quality in many different forms!”

The range of genres at Vara Concert Hall is wide, and the audiences are very diverse. Does the CEO have time to take part in everything that’s on offer?

“I wish I had time to see all the performances, but I don’t. I usually say that I do spot checks,” Karin laughs.

This text has been translated with the help of AI.