Nils-Erik Sparf was born in 1952 and comes from a family of folk-musicians. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Stockholm and in Prague. In 1993 Nils-Erik Sparf became the leader of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also one of the leaders of the Stockholm Sinfonietta. He has recorded with the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, Uppsala Chamber Soloists and the pianist Bengt Forsberg.