Josefina grew up in Västmanland, Sweden, and in 1993, at the age of 9, started to play the nyckelharpa as her first instrument, learning traditional folk music at the local music school in Sala. It was during her studies at the Eric Sahlström Institute in 2005, that Josefina first considered a life as a professional musician. In 2008, she applied and was accepted to study traditional Swedish music at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm.
Josefina became a "riksspelman" in 2008, at the Spelmanstämma in Delsbo, "for playing the nyckelharpa lively and skillfully, in the tradition of Uppland". In 2010, during the "Århundradets spelmanstämma" (the 100th anniversary of the first Zorn spelmansstämma at Skansen in Stockholm), 
she represented Västmanland at the main Festival concert, standing on the same stage as many of her great role models. In 2011 Josefina received the "Bror Hjorth Scholarship" for her "technically brilliant, very committed performance on the nyckelharpa with both the preservation of cultural traditions and a gentle personal and creative rejuvenation"
Josefina teaches regularly at various courses and workshops. In 2009, she was one of the teachers at the summer course at Eric Sahlströms Institute in Tobo, Sweden. She has also held courses and workshops outside Sweden, including France and Australia in 2010 and 2011. Her teaching is coloured by her passion for the instrument as well as for traditional music. 
One of Josefina's greatest passions is the energy and movement in the music. As a result, Josefina has become a popular dance fiddler.
Josefina has performed in public from a very early age, standing on stage for the first time only two years after her first encounter with the nyckelharpa. Her passion for music has taken her to different parts of the world but also to many various events in Sweden, such as in 1995, when she played the Swedish national anthem during the "World Cup" of women's soccer at the game between Japan and Sweden. On several occasions, Josefina has performed in various television programs, most recently to discuss the difference between traditional folk music and folk music of today in Sweden. In 2010, Josefina played with a nyckelharps trio for the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel's banns. A month later, she held solo concerts in Melbourne, Australia including the World Café "The Boite" and gave a small radio concert and interview on "Global Village" PBS, Melbourne. Over the years Josefina has played in several festivals, such as the Stockholm Water Festival at "Teaterskeppet" in 1996. In 2001 she travelled as one of Sweden's representatives to UKM (young culture meet) in Rotterdam in the Netherlands to play at a major European festival. In April 2009, during her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, she toured with KMHfolk, (a big band with folk musicans from different cultures) to Germany, Hungary, and Transylvania. In 2010, she toured with a group of European nyckelharpa players in Sweden, Italy and Germany. Josefina has participated in a number of CD recordings: "KMHfolk 2010!", KMHfolks Christmas CD (2010), and Annika Fehling's "Fireflies" (2010). One of the bands that she plays in currently, "Folke Emma and Josefina", just released their first CD, "Contact". Another of her music groups, "Trio Schedin", plans to release their first CD in May, 2012. Besides her musical activities, Josefina is also a yoga instructor and a licensed mental trainer, the result of a two year education at the Scandinaviska ledarhögskolan in Örebro, which she completed in 2005. During a stay in Granada, Spain in 2008, she developed a passion for the Spanish flamenco tradition. Since then she has returned to Spain twice to continue studying flamenco at "Carmen de las Cuevas". You can learn more about Josefina at: http://josefinapaulson.se/ Photos provided by the artist. Click to enlarge
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