Biography
Thomas Åberg was born in Stockholm on 15th February 1952. He took piano lessons from Märta Söderberg in early years, and sang in the Swedish Radio Boys’ Choir. Since then he has, educationally, gone his own way, with composition lessons from Stig Gustav Schönberg from 1981 to 1983 and organ studies with Tore Nilson. Åberg has been on the staff of the Swedish Performing Rights Society (STIM) from 1981 to 2017 (retired). He is also a concert organist.
Åberg is a pre-eminently occasional composer whose music has achieved widespread currency and come to be played as frequently in concert programmes (all over Sweden, but in various European counctries and Japan as well) and in the liturgical context, where his short, single-movement organ pieces, for example, have been found to make excellent voluntaries.
(Text from SVENSK MUSIK – Swedish Music Information Centre)
Listen to Thomas Åberg playing his St. George Prelude No. 3 at the organ in Washington National Cathedral, 1998 –
Published with license from the Cathedral.
More detailed ”bio” written by Carson Cooman (USA)
Memberships
FST – Society of Swedish Composers
When you use their archive, remember the Swedish alphabet: … w x y z å ä ö = Åberg comes after Z.
STIM – Swedish Performing Rights Society
List of works including biography in Swedish by Stig Jacobsson
Biography 1988, written by Stig Jacobsson. Translation from the book “Swedish Composers of the 20th Century”, (Svensk Musik 1988)
SVENSK MUSIK – Swedish Music Information Centre
List of works sorted by instruments
Guide & Samples
Listen to the music
Clips with various organists playing works by Åberg. Here you can also listen to some of his favorite composers.
Visit abergmusic on Soundcloud
Important collaborations –
CARSON COOMAN
American concert organist and composer
Composer in Residence at The Memorial Church, Harvard University
Link to Carson Cooman’s website
Important collaborations –
JOHN GRACEN BROWN
American Writer, Poet
John Gracen Brown is a contemporary American poet and dramatist, known for his verse and biblical dramas that have been set to music by composers worldwide. His work often explores themes of nature, spirituality, and the human connection to the earth. Living a simple life in West Virginia without modern technology, he remains a source of inspiration for artists like composer Carl Vollrath and is published in collections and musical scores.
Listen to some of the poems set to music by Thomas Åberg
© 2026. Contact the composer: mail (at) abergmusic.com or swedishcomposer (at) gmail.com