08/10/2026
Our hearts are especially heavy as we share the loss of another dear member of our Beaufort Symphony family, our friend and longtime bassist, Nils Egerstrand.
For more than a decade, Nils was a familiar and beloved presence in the Beaufort Symphony. An accomplished musician, he had previously served as principal bass and librarian with the North Carolina Symphony and as principal bass with the Coastal Symphony of Georgia before joining us in Beaufort.
Those of us who played alongside Nils knew him for the unmistakable enthusiasm he brought to making music. After one of our concerts, a young audience member told one of our musicians that Nils was her favorite because he played with so much joy. We can’t think of a better way to describe him.
Music was a tremendous part of Nils’s life, and he brought that passion with him to every rehearsal and performance. He was opinionated, funny, completely himself, and a good friend to so many of us. He was still performing with the Beaufort Symphony last season, which makes it especially difficult to imagine returning to rehearsal without seeing him in the bass section.
We are grateful for all the years of music and friendship we shared with Nils, and we will miss him very much. We will honor his memory at one of our concerts this season.
If you knew Nils or have a favorite memory or photo of him, we’d love for you to share it below as we remember him together.
