Performers at Sumartonleikar in Skalholt 2009

Carmina

is an Icelandic vocal ensemble that specializes in performing Renaissance polyphony. The group is made up of professional singers who have trained as members of Iceland’s finest choral ensembles. The group gave its first concert, devoted to music by Josquin des Prez, at the Skálholt Music Festival in July 2004. Carmina has performed under the direction of guest conductors Peter Phillips and Andrew Carwood, and has given concerts in Iceland and Scandinavia to critical acclaim. The group has given the first Icelandic performances of several masterworks of the Renaissance, including Josquin’s Missa Pange lingua, Palestrina’s Missa Sicut lilium, and Victoria’s six-part Requiem. Carmina’ first CD, Melódía, with music from a 17th-century Icelandic manuscript, was released in 2007 and won the Icelandic Music Awards for best classical CD of the year. The group has performed at music festivals in Stockholm and Paris and its next project is to record songs from the Icelandic 18th-century manuscript Hymnodia sacra for a CD to be released next year.

Árni Heimir Ingólfsson

began piano studies in Reykjavík with Erla Stefánsdóttir and Jónas Ingimundarson at the Reykjavík School of Music. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in piano performance and music history from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and completed his PhD degree in musicology from Harvard University in 2003. He has appeared in numerous concerts in Europe and the United States as a pianist and conductor, and has written extensively on Icelandic music history. He was associate professor of musicology at the Iceland Academy of the Arts from 2005-2007 and has recently completed a biography of the Icelandic composer Jón Leifs. He is programme director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra as well as founder and artistic director of the Carmina vocal ensemble.

Nordic Affect

is a period instrument chamber group based in Iceland. The Nordic Affect provides a platform for musicians who seek to view familiar musical forms from a different perspective as well as venturing into new terrain. The group performs music from the 17th and 18th centuries and promotes the performance of contemporary music on period instruments. The group takes it name from the Baroque practice of trying to communicate certain affects and to inspire different emotional states through the composition and performance of music.

Each of the musicians in the group is a specialist in historical performance having studied both in Europe and the USA. Members of Nordic Affect perform as soloist and chamber musicians throughout Europe as well as being active orchestral musicians with various well-known European ensembles. Since its debut in 2005 at the Skálholt Summer Festival the group has performed widely in Iceland and on the Continent in addition to launching their own chamber music concert series at the Cultural House in Reykjavík. Their performances, ranging from dance music of the 17th century to the exciting electronic compositions of today have been received with great critical acclaim and the group has been praised for their energetic and stylistic bravure. Nordic Affect’s first CD will be released this summer, the recording consist of Apocrypha, a composition by Hugi Gudmundsson written for the ensemble. The work recently received an Icelandic Music Award for best compostion of 2007.

Skálholt string quartet

The members of the Skálholt string quartet have been since many years part of a group of musicians who participate in the concerts of the summer festival at the cathedral of Skálholt in southwest Iceland.

Their career as a string quartet started in 1996 when they concertized not only in Iceland but also in France (abbaye de la Prée, Bourges).Since then the Skálholt quartet has been invited to play in the Haydn festival which takes place every year in the magnificent Esterhaza palace in Western Hungary. On that occasion they also performed Haydn's Seven last words of Christ on the cross in the nearby church where Haydn had been organist. A concert in Ljubljana, Slovenia, concluded this trip to central Europe.

Their repertoire in the mean time has steadily widened and the present disc has been their first recording project realized in the church at Skàlholt. A second disc with quartets by both the Haydn brothers and Boccherini awaits publication in the near future.

In 2006 the group presented its first concert in Amsterdam. Since then the musicians have returned to Holland for a series of concerts, as well as to France and Italy. After that the quartet was invited to play several concerts in the music festival of Mallorca. In the summer programs at Skàlholt they plan to include quartets by Schubert and Haydn, and later this year they plan to record Schubert’s quintet with two cellos, with ‘cellist Bruno Cocset, as they continue to explore the works of this composer with special attention to the many aspects of the classical performance practice.

The musicians of the Skálholt Quartett are Jaap Schröder and Rut Ingólfsdóttir violins, Svava Bernharðsdóttir viola and Sigurður Halldórsson ‘cello.

Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir

Born in Reykjavik, Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir began her studies with Vincenzo Maria Demetz at 16 years old. She graduated from Reykjavik College of Music in 1998 where her main teacher was Ruth M. Little. That same year she began her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she studied with Theresa M. Goble, graduating with honours in 2001.Hallveig´s roles include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte by W. A. Mozart, Jane in Happy End by Kurt Weill, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito by W. A. Mozart and most recently Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss at the Icelandic Opera. She is an avid baroque and renaissance singer, her oratorio repertoire includes St. John´s Passion, Cantata nr 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen and Magnificat by J. S. Bach, Messiah and Dixit Dominus by G. F. Händel, Exsultate Jubilate and Requiem by W. A. Mozart, Les Nuits d´Été by H. Berlioz and Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. She is a co-founder of the renaissance-group Rinascente which focuses on 15th century Italian oratorios and operas.Hallveig is also an active lieder performer and has given many recitals of German lieder, French melodie and nordic songs. She has focused on contemporary music and has premiered numerous Icelandic pieces. She will soon release her first CD where she sings a repertoire of new Icelandic vocal music.

Jaap Schröder

first came to Iceland in 1993. He directed and performed as soloist with The Skálholt Bach Consort as well as giving a lecture on playing baroque music on period instruments. Every year since then he has been participating in the Skálholt Summer Concerts Festival. Jaap Schröder is also the founder of The Skálholt Quartet.

Jaap Schröder is an expert in the violin repetoire of the 17th , 18th and 19th Century and one of the pioneers in performing music from this period in an authentic way. He was the leader of Quartetto Esterhazy and Smithsonian String Quartet. Both these ensembles performed and recorded an extensive part of the Classical quartet repertoire for the first time on period instruments. He has been a teacher in Basel in Switzerland, and at Yale University and Smithsonian Institute in the US, where he is honorary professor. Jaap Schröder has made countless recordings of early music, both in Europe and America for many record labels. Here in Iceland he has been soloist and leader on 8 CD recordings for “Smekkleysa” label, four of them have already been released. Last year at the 950th anniversary of Skálholt bishopric, he donated a big part of his library to Skálholt.

In the year 2001 Jaap Schröder recived the Icelandic Falcon badge of honour from the President of Iceland.

Steingrímur Þórhallsson

was born in 1974 and grew up in Húsavík, Northern Iceland, where he received his first musical education at the Húsavík Music School. At 17 he moved to Reykjavík and in 1998 graduated with a diploma in piano teaching from the Reykjavík Academy of Music, where he studied with Prof. Anna Thorgrímsdóttir. The same year he received his cantor's diploma from The National Church Music Academy, where he studied with Prof. Marteinn H. Fridriksson, cathedral organist and organ teacher. Steingrímur furthered his studies in Rome in the Church Music School of the Papal State and graduated from there in 2001 as Magistero di organo, where his principal teacher was Prof. Giancarlo Parodi.

In autumn 2002 he was directed organist of church Neskirkja in Reykjavík, after having worked temporarily in Hólmavík Music School as school director. He has given a number of concerts around Iceland, namely in the National Cathedral, Hallgrímskirkja, Neskirkja and in Selfoss, as well as performing regularly at the Skálholt Summer Concerts Festival.

Marta Guðrún Halldórsdóttir

completed her soloist's examination at Reykjavík College of Music and continued her formal education at Munic Academy of Music, Germany. She has performed at numerous art festivals, both in Iceland and abroad, including Skálholt Summer Concerts, Reykjavík Arts Festival and the Spring Festival in Budapest. She has also appeared at the European Culture City 2000 festivals in Reykjavík, Prag and Bologna. While Halldórsdóttir is among Icelands most accomplished interpreters of modern music and has premiered a host of new compositions, she has concentrated on the performance of Baroque and Renaissance music as well. She has sung leading roles in operas and musicals, both at the National Theatre of Iceland and at the Icelandic Opera. Marta Guðrún Halldórsdóttir has made numerous recordings for CD´s with the leading choirs and orchestras of Iceland such as the Motett choir of Hallgrímskirkja and Schola Cantorum as well as with the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra and the Caput Ensemble. She has performed extensively with the pianist Örn Magnússon.

Jóhanna Halldórsdóttir

contralto singer graduated as Music Teacher from Reykjavik College of Music and completed her studies in Trossingen Music Consevatoire in Germany specializing in Baroque performance. Since then she has worked as Baroque singer in Germany, Switzerland and Iceland. She has worked with many renowned musicians and ensembles in the field of Early Music in Europe such as Scola Cantorum and Carmina in Iceland, Lukas Barockenensemble Penqualosa and Ensemble in Stuttgart, Internationale Barockorchester Den Haag, Kammermusik Ensemble Freiburg and Ensemble Officium. Jóhanna is the founder of “Vox-raddbeiting”, an organisation offering courses and workshops in singing and vocal technique for groups and individual students and she regularly holds courses in baroque singing technique both in Germany and Iceland.

Adapter

is a German-Icelandic ensemble for contemporary music based in Berlin. Since 2004 it has been realizing projects around the presentation of contemporary chamber music in small settings (from solo to septet). Next to combinations of the five core instruments (flute, clarinet, harp, piano and percussion) the ensemble is often enlarged by other instrumentalists according to each project. A large part of the ensemble´s work is dedicated to regular and close collaborations with young composers from all over the world. During the past years the ensemble has premiered more than 60 new compositions. Additionally adapter always aims to promote a selected repertoire of contemporary music literature „classics“. The ensemble appears in various contexts – pure concerts, theatre-, dance- or video performances, for example. But regardless of each project´s nature, the intensive reflection of the artistic content is the group's priority. adapter is the co-organizer of the concert series “Klangnetz” in Berlin, collaborating with a collective of young composers. Additionally the concert series „Seitsemän“ in Helsinki and the festival for contemporary music „frum-“ in Reykjavík belong to the ensemble´s regular activities. adapter is working on establishing an independent network of young artists within the northern European region. Apart from its own projects the group also appears in concert series and festivals throughout Europe. Concerts have been played in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Iceland and Finland. The ensemble has appeared at festivals like Maerzmusik, Nordischer Klang, Myrkir Músíkdagar and Crossing Border.

ENSEMBLE U3

the winner of the 11th International Early Music Competition in Berlin, and the prize winner of the Alice-Samter-Competition at the University of Art in Berlin, was founded in 2004 by SUSANNE FRÖHLICH (recorder), SOHYUN SUNG (baroque cello) and PETTERI PITKO (harpsichord). All ensemble members have a successful background in classic/romantic and modern music traditions. In their programs Ensemble U3 often combine early music with contemporary pieces written for historical instruments or free settings. Ensemble U3 has given concerts in the early music concert series “Abendmusik” in the Berlin cathedral and “Alte Musik live” concert series of the Music Instrument Museum in Berlin, as well as in the renowned concert series “Friedenauer Kammerkonzerte” in Berlin. In 2006 the ensemble performed within the fringe concert series at the Early Music Festival in Utrecht in the Netherlands and in the concert series for young early music ensembles organized by the Göttingen Händel Festival. In 2007 Ensemble U3 toured in South Korea and gave concerts in Germany, Finland, and Switzerland. In 2008 the ensemble gave numerous concerts in Germany and in Finland. They also collaborated with the contemporary music ensemble "adapter" and premiered new works written for them. This projects, called "al fresco", will continue in Iceland in July 2009. In 2009 Ensemble U3 will also tour in Finland and give concerts in Berlin and other German cities.

The Long Island Youth Orchestra

was founded by its present director, Martin Dreiwitz 47 years ago. The orchestra held its first rehearsal in the cafeteria of the Willets Road School in Roslyn Heights in September of 1962. The formation of this 57 member ensemble, then known as the North Shore Youth Orchestra, was both an innovation and an experiment. The New York area had no permanent youth orchestras at that time and indeed there were but a handful in the entire nation. Today the nation boasts of over 150. Certainly no one could have predicted then that LIYO membership would have grown to over 100 members - that the orchestra would have made 37 concert tours to the far corners of the globe - that it would have more than 2,000 alumni many whom play in some of the nation's finest orchestras or teach in schools throughout the area and country - or indeed that it would still be serving the talented musical youth of Long Island on a regular basis 47 years later. Today's Long Island Youth Orchestra has been in residence at Long Island University for the past eighteen years.

Sigurður Halldórsson

Sigurður Halldórsson studied in Reykjavík with Gunnar Kvaran and in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with Raphael Sommer. He has appeared as soloist in various festivals in Europe, in films and theatrical performances as well as solo appearances with orchestras. His repertoire includes all the major works for the solo 'cello. For two decades he has been one of the most active chamber music player in Iceland . He is a member of the contemporary music ensemble CAPUT, sextet Camerarctica and a singer with the group Voces Thules, which specialises in Icelandic Mediaeval music. He also collaborates with some of the most acclaimed musicians in the experimental jazz and improvised music sector in Iceland. Since 1983, Sigurður has worked with the pianist Daníel Thorsteinsson, performing many of the major works from the cello and piano repertoire, in Europe, North America as well as in Iceland. He also works on regular bases with contemporary dancer Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir to explore the possibilities of the unity of dance and music on an equal level. Sigurður is an active performer of Early Music both solo and ensemble repertoire and has recorded concertos by Vivaldi with The Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Skalholt Bach Consort. He has worked extensively with the Dutch violinist Jaap Schröder with whom he plays in the Skálholt string quartet. Sigurður was appointed artistic director of Skálholt Summer Concerts Festival in December 2004. He was appointed mentor, teacher and coordinator for Joint Music Masters in New Audiences and Innovative Practise at Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2008.

The Skálholt Bach Consort

was founded in 1986 by Helga Ingólfsdóttir. The group concentrates on the music of the 17 th and 18 th century and is the first one of it's kind in Iceland that uses only period instruments. The leaders have been Laurence Dreyfus, Ann Wallström, Catherine Mackintosh, Stanley Ritchie, Kati Debretzeni and Jaap Schröder who has most often lead the ensemble since 1993.

The Bach Consort has a small collection of period instruments. This was made possible by a National Fund, Þjóðhátíðarsjóður. Also the former priest of Skálholt and patron of the Skálholt Summer Concerts , Guðmundur Óli Ólafsson, contributed to the Church of Skálholt a continuo organ and a harpsichord that the Bach Consort has access to while playing in Skálholt. This collection has proved vital for the ensemble in order to lend to musicians who do not have period instruments of their own. In 1997 the Skálholt Bach Consort went on it´s first tour abroad with their leader Jaap Schröder in central France.

In the summer of 1993 the first recording of the Skálholt Bach Consort was released with Ann Wallström as leader. The ensemble has made four recordings with Jaap Schröder as leader. Vivaldi Concertos was released in 2001 and English 17th century Theatre Music in 2006. A CD with premiere recordings of Italian 17th century music and another one with Boccherini’s Stabat Mater will be released before long.

Peter Spissky

(baroque violin) studied violin at the Music Academy in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Music Academy in Malmö, Sweden, where he received the soloist diploma. He is a concertmaster in Concerto Copenhagen, Malmö BarockOrkester, and plays with leading European ensembles such as Baroque Fever, Tragicomedia, Tirami su and I Fagiolini. He teaches baroque violin at the Academy of Music in Malmö.

Pernille Ebert Spissky

(recorder) studied at the Royal Danish Music Academy in Copenhagen where she received the diploma in 2004. She performes as a soloist and with several Scandinavian groups and orchestras, a.o. Holmens Barokensemble, Esbjerg Ny Opera, Malmö BarockOrkester, Opus 4 og Solamente Naturali in Bratislava. She is also a member of the Recorder Quartet In Consort, the Barock Ensemble Casia and teaches recorder at Rødovre and Ishøj Musikskole.

Musica ad Gaudium

The Czech ensemble Musica ad Gaudium, founded in 1989, has focused on contemporary music and music from the baroque and renaissance periods. The group is highly regarded and has received numerous prices in those genres of the musical repertoire. Musica ad Gaudium has made many recordings for the Czech Republic Radio and toured inland and in the neighbouring countries. The members are Andrea Brožáková soprano, Alena Tichá harpsichordist, Jaromír Tichý flautist and Václav Kapusta bassoonist. Apart from their work together they all are active performers in the musical life of Czech Republic, both as soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral players and teachers. The cooperation with Eydís Franzdóttir has lasted on and off since 1992. She has performed with the group on many occasions in Czech Republic, Germany and Iceland, but this is the third time that Eydís arranges an Iceland tour with Musica ad Gaudium. A CD from the ensemble was released in 2006 with Eydís as guest performer.

The Icelandic Flute Ensemble

was founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2003. It consists of around 20 professional players, all of whom have had extensive training, both in Iceland and, in most cases, in establishments of higher education such as the Conservatories of Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Amsterdam and Paris, Boston University, the Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Most of the players play regularly or full-time with chamber ensembles, the Icelandic Opera or the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, others are full-time teachers.

The Icelandic Flute Ensemble has performed in festivals such as Nordic Music Days (2006) and Dark Music Days in Reykjavík (2003 & 2007).

The repertoire of the Icelandic Flute Ensemble is based on contemporary music. The group has commissioned pieces from several composers including Thuridur Jonsdottir, Steingrimur Rohloff, Malin Bång and Sigurdur Flosason. Besides the pieces that have especially been written for the group, the ensemble has played existing contemporary pieces, most notably Dédés Dida for solo guitar and flute ensemble byAndré Chini which IFE performed with the Swedish guitar virtuoso Stefan Östersjö in the all-Scandinavian festival, Nordic Music Days. The ensemble has on several occasions performed solo pieces where the individual players have each played a part of the piece, one chapter or a variation each.

Since 2006 the principal flute of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Hallfridur Olafsdottir, has directed the ensemble, both at the Nordic Music Days and in recordings.