DMD Warm-up - Fundraising - Works for Guitar
26 January 2012
 The Music Festival Dark Music Days began this year with a fundraising concert here at the Culture House. The concert was held on 26 January at 12:15 pm. The proceeds go to the guitarist Kristján Eldjárn´s Memorial Fund for Outstanding Musicians. The programme solely held works for classical guitar:
Hróðmar Sigurbjörnsson: Variation for two guitars (Tilbrigði fyrir tvo gítara) (1982) 6´
Kjartan Ólafsson: Variation of a virgin (Tilbrigði við jómfrú) (1984) 9´ / Variation of twenty years (Tilbrigði við tuttugu ár) (2004) 7´
Mateu Malondra Flaquer: Café Noir at Grave´s (2008 ) 5´30
Jón Gunnar Biering Margeirsson: Rondode (Rondóður) (2010) 4´ / May you dream of everything and everything (Dreymi þig um allt og allt) (2011) 4´
Elín Gunnlaugsdóttir: El Viento for soprano and guitar (2011) 4´
Performers: Grétar Geir Kristinsson, Jón Gunnar Biering Margeirsson, Kristinn H. Árnason, Kristinn Freyr Kristinsson, Páll Eyjólfsson and Svanur Vilbergsson, guitarists, and Marta Guðrún Halldórsdóttir, soprano.
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Video presentation of the Culture House
21 December 2011
 The Icelandic Times publication company has made a video presentation of the Culture House. It shares the video on YouTube along with similar presentations of other cultural institutions in Iceland. To watch the video click on the following link: The Culture House. To watch the Icelandic version, click here: Þjóðmenningarhúsið.
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Christmas concert with the group ADHD
18 December 2011
 The group’s ADHD annual Christmas concert was held on Sunday 18 December. The group issued its second album last summer, entitled ADHD2. The album has been awarded the Kraumur Music Fund prize for the best albums of 2011.
ADHD band members are: Óskar Guðjónsson saxophones, Ómar Guðjónsson guitars and basses, Davíð Þór Jónsson Hammond organ, Moogs, Rhodes, piano, bass, and Magnús Trygvason Eliassen drums.
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The Heavy Experience, Sudden Weather Change and Muck in Christmas concert
15 December 2011
 The bands The Heavy Experience, Sudden Weather Change and Muck, which are all under the wing of Kimi records, played in Christmas concert at the Culture House on Thursday evening 15 December.
Sudden Weather Change is a loud and playful band of four boys from Reykjavík. The band issued the record Stop! Handgrenade In The Name of Crib Death ‘nderstand? in 2009. The same year the group was designated “the brightest hope” at the Icelandic Music Awards. SWC has loads of new material and is working hard preparing its next record with the help of Ben Frost, with whom the boys have published the four song cd Varrior.
MUCK is a group of four souls pursuing a path of dissonance and metallic clank. Since the group’s emergence in 2007, its members have worked hard to elevate the standard of extreme music in Iceland, and succeeded. The release of the supreme record; Slave, is anticipated with great enthusiasm.
The band The Heavy Experience plays dynamic, undefined music, where saxophone powered buzz, cowboy music and river side blues merge. Divine judgement day blues! The members of the band are five renowned individuals from the Reykjavík grass root scene. With one record behind it and another in the making, The Heavy Experience has received unanimous acclaim by audiences, listeners and the media alike.
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CD release concert: Kristjana and Svavar Knútur
2 December 2011
 Singers Kristjana Stefáns and Svavar Knútur performed in concert at the Culture House on 2 December, on the occasion of the release of their CD Glæður (Embers). The CD holds 14 pleasant songs, thereof three original ones. The other songs are cover versions of classical Icelandic popular songs and international hits, such as Abba songs and the Styx timeless classic; Boat on the River.
The CD was released by Dimma publishing company.
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Oil paintings and watercolours by Edda Heiðrún Backman
1 December 2011
 Edda Heiðrún Backman is a nationally renowned actress and director. In late 2008 she decided to take on a new branch of art, and eagerly and with growing artistry began to paint holding the brush in her mouth. Edda Heiðrún is currently featured at the art exhibition series in the Culture House shop and café. She displays oil paintings and watercolours while she also paints on glass and ceramics. She usually produces her works at the MS centre and at Grensás rehabilitation facility.
Birds have always been a fascination to Edda Heiðrún. They are a part of creation at large, and specifically of the skies, and symbolise freedom and independence. Birds have been the subject of the arts and literature ever since mankind began expressing itself through artistic means.
At Edda Heiðrún’s exhibition at the Culture House, the whimbrel plays the leading role. With its curved bill, long neck and high legs, it even appears to Edda Heiðrún in a dream as a plaid being she interprets in her piece Dream Play. In other paintings she shows the tending mother watching over her eggs, attending to her young and guiding them. Edda Heiðrún’s watercolours are often humorous, as the medium accentuates surprise and spontaneity. One of her pictures thus shows cormorants that seem to be singing together in a quire, and another shows a whimbrel that appears to be enjoying himself as an actor on stage.
Before these works the spectator forgets that the artist painted them with a brush held in the mouth. They are a testimony to Edda Heiðrún’s talent, perseverance and creativity.
In the fall 2009 Edda Heiðrún was admitted to the international Association of Mouth and Foot Painters. Her assistant and teacher in the field of painting is Derek K. Mundell.
The exhibition is entitled Whimbrel and will be on view until 29 February 2012. The artwork is for sale. |
Nordic Affect’s Chamber Music Concert - Into Italian Chambers
27 November 2011
 Chamber ensemble Nordic Affect held the concert Into Italian Chambers in the Culture House’s Library Room on Sunday 27 November. Baroque violinist Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir and harpsichord player Guðrún Óskarsdóttir played music by the Italian baroque composers Corelli, Uccellini, Bertali, Händel, Vitali and Scarlatti. Halla Steinunn, an established music program director at Rás 1, RÚV, also enlightened the audience on Italian Academies during the baroque era.
This was Nordic Affect’s last concert in 2011. It is worth noting that the ensemble has signed a publishing contract with the Dutch publishing company Brilliant Classics which will, early in 2012, issue Nordic Affect’s album with works by the German composer Abel.
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Beauty Promised concert series: Guitar Trio
27 November 2011
 The third concert in the concert series Beauty Promised (Lofað öllu fögru), held here at the Culture House, was on Sunday, 27 November. Þórarinn Sigurbergsson, Þröstur Þorbjörnsson and Svanur Vilbergsson played music for three classical guitars. The repertoire held works such as Four Moods by S. Rak, Tondo by P. Hindemith, Concert in G major by A. Vivaldi and Fandango by L. Boccherini.
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 Chamber music concert with students at Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music
26 November 2011
Students at Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music played music by Beethoven, Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Weber and other classical masters, at a concert held in the Culture House’s Library Room on Saturday 26 November.
The Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music concert was a true chamber music fiesta. All were welcome to attend and there was no admission fee.
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Once upon a time… - Baroque Concert with Nordic Affect
30 October 2011
 French baroque music sounded and Paris’s private parties were visited in Nordic Affect’s concert on Sunday 30 October. The concert was entitled Once upon a time… and entailed music by the viol genius Marais, the violinist, dancer and bobbin lace maker Leclair, and one of the giants in the French music scene in the 18th century; Rameau. Tales of the French Salons of the 17th and 18th centuries were intertwined with the music.
Performers at the concert were three of Nordic Affects members: Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir, violinist, Hanna Loftsdóttir, viol player, and Guðrún Óskarsdóttir, who played the harpsichord. Narrator was Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir, an experienced program director at Iceland’s National Broadcasting Service: Rás1. The group newly returned home from a tour to Copenhagen where it performed at the Early Monday concert series.
The Chamber Group Nordic Affect was established in 2005 and has performed at the Culture House since 2007. This concert is the former of two held this autumn at the Culture House. The latter will be held in late November and then Italy will be the destination. |
The concert series Lofað öllu fögru / Beauty promised continued
30 October 2011
 The second concert in the series Lofað öllu fögru / Beauty promised, here at the Culture House, was held on Sunday 30 October. Classical guitarist Svanur Vilbergsson played music from his forthcoming CD; Four Works, such as Sonata by Antonio José and Variations by Giulio Regondi.
Svanur Vilbergsson has performed as solo artist around the world; in USA, Holland, Spain, England, Belgium and Ireland, and other countries. He is regularly invited to play at Casa Eulalia concert series in Mallorca and at the contemporary music festival Klanken Festival in Maastricht. He recently debuted a piece by the Spanish composer Mateau Malondra Flaquer, especially dedicated to Vilbergsson. He has performed in television in USA and Spain and was chosen to represent Iceland at the Norwegian-Icelandic culture project The Golf Stream.
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The concert series Lofað öllu fögru / Beauty promised has begun
25 september 2011
 25 September a new concert series named Lofað öllu fögru or Beauty promised began here at The Culture House. The series consists of four concerts that focus on music written for classical guitar in combination with other instruments. Artists appearing at the series are flutist Karen Erla Karólínudóttir, guitarists Þórarinn Sigurbergsson, Þröstur Þorbjörnsson and Svanur Vilbergsson and mezzo soprano Erla Dóra Vogler. Artistic director is classical guitarist Svanur Vilbergsson.
Music from the Mediterranean and South America is prominent on the programmes but traditional classical works will also have their place. Among the works performed are the songs Siete Canciones by Manuel de Falla, Histoire du Tango for flute and guitar by Astor Piazzolla and Baiao de Gude by Bellinati for three guitars.
The first concert took place on Sunday 25 September, when Karen Erla Karólínudóttir and Svanur Vilbergsson performed music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Ibert, Bartok and Piazzolla.
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Sunna Gunnlaugs Quartet played a concert
16 September 2011
 Jazz pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs heated up for a tour to Germany and Austria with a concert at the Culture House on Friday 16 Septembe. Accompanying her were: Óskar Guðjónsson, on saxophone, Þorgrímur Jónsson, on bass, and Scott McLemore, on drums.
The quartet played songs from Sunna’s latest CD, The Dream, along with Icelandic songs and Sunna’s earlier compositions.
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Lokal International Theatre Festival: Aude Busson: Soil for the Soul
4 September 2011
 Patriotism -
bugger that posh bullshit
said the young fisherman
and filled his glass...
(Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir)
Based on Euripides´ Electra, Before/After by Roland Schimmelpfennig and texts by Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir, Benedict Anderson and Ernest Renan Soil for the Soul is a musical, examining the relationship of the individual with his „home“ and his urge to become a part of a nation and create national identity.
This was the author’s, Aude Busson, graduation project at the Department for Theatre and Dance at the Iceland Academy of the Arts (Theory&Practise) in spring 2011 and now performed as part of the Lokal International Theatre Festival, in the category Up and Coming.
Director: Aude Busson
Ass. director: Viktoría Birgísdóttir
Performers: Anna Kolfinna Kuran, Gígja Jónsdóttir, Theódór Sölvi Thomasson, Þorleifur Einarsson, Þór Birgisson
Musicians: Andri Freyr Hilmarsson, Ási Þórðarson, Georg Kári Hilmarsson, Guðný Valborg Guðmundsdóttir, Markús Bjarnason
Costumes: Judith Amalía Jóhannsdóttir
Video: Emma Lindhal
Composer: Georg Kári Hilmarsson
Translators: Helgi Sæmundur Helgason, HInrik Þór Svavarsson, Kári Páll Óskarsson, Sigríður Jónsdóttir
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Chamber Music - Kópavogur Chamber Trio
 Wednesday evening, 31 August, Kópavogur Chamber Trio played in concert here at the Culture House. The members of the trio are flutists Martial Nardeau and Guðrún Birgisdóttir, and pianist Peter Máté. The three of them have worked together for many years.
The first half of the programme held two lively English 19th century trios by Samuel Wesley and John Clinton. The Chamber Trio’s cd Tapað fundið (Lost and Found), issued in 2010, includes these two pieces.
In the second half of the concert the trio played light Icelandic music reflecting on the national heritage: Hugleiðing um íslenskt þjóðlag (Contemplation on an Icelandic folk song) by Tryggvi Baldvinsson, five Icelandic folk songs arranged by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson and songs by Emil Thoroddsen and Sigfús Halldórsson arranged by Atli Heimir Sveinsson. In addition the trio played the piece Dropaspil (Play of Drops) by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson.
The concert was both well attended and well received.
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Skúli Sverrisson / The Secret Swing Society and the Djangojazztrio with Sigríður Thorlacius
27 and 28 August 2011
 Two concerts on Reykjavík Jazz Festival’s programme were held here at the Culture House over the weekend 27 – 28 August. The renowned musician and composer, Skúli Sverrisson, performed solo in a concert on Saturday and the day after two golden era swing bands, The Secret Swing Society and the Djangojazztrio, played music by Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt and others. Singer Sigríður Thorlacius accompanied both bands.
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Duet - Óskar Guðjónsson and Skúli Sverrisson
25 August 2011
 The collaboration between bassist Skúli Sverrisson and saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson gave us the memorable cd Eftir þögn (After Silence) in 2002. These two pillars of Icelandic improvised music presented a new cd at a concert here at the Culture House on Thursday evening 25 August. The concert was a part of Reykjavik Jazz Festival’s programme.
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Golden Era Swing with vocalist Ragnheidur Gröndal and the Wolferines
21 August 2011
 Reykjavík Jazz Festival is in full swing and the Culture House hosts a few of the festival’s concerts. The first concert here was held on Sunday 21 August with the versatile singer Ragnheiður Gröndal, who has six albums to her name including folk songs, jazz and pop music. She sang songs of the thirties and forties, prevailing as a favourite among musicians as well as the listening public. She was accompanied by the band Wolferines, led by her brother, the saxophonist Haukur Gröndal. Other members of the band are: Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, guitar, Þorgrímur Jónsson, contra bass and Pétur Grétarsson, drums.
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Bundle of Words – new art display
20 August 2011
 The latest art exhibition in the series in the café and shop at the Culture House has new and older works by artist Ragnhildur Jóhanns on view. Ragnhildur graduated from Iceland Academy of the arts in 2010 and has attracted some attention for the way she uses old texts and poetry books to create her works. Ragnhildur thus interlaces visual art, literature and poetry in an innovative way. The exhibition is entitled Bundle of Words and was opened on Culture Night. The works are for sale.
More information on the artist: http://ragga.carbonmade.com/
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Zen Conversations
30 June 2011
 Zen master Jakusho Kwong Roshi and Fríða Björk Ingvarsdóttir, journalist, and Andri Fannar Ottósson, zen student, discussed life in the spirit of Zen Buddhism here at the Culture House on Thursday 30 June. The event was dedicated to the memory of Óskar Daian Ingólfsson.
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Millennium – phase one; the exhibition opened
22 June 2011
 The first phase of the exhibition Millennium, was opened with due ceremony Wednesday, 22 June. Markús Örn Antonsson, director of the Culture House, addressed guests and recounted the change the new exhibition on Icelandic art marks for the operation of the Culture House. Over the coming years the exhibition will extend into all the exhibition spaces in the Culture House, which will then establish itself as the home of the nation’s permanent display on the development of art in Iceland, starting with the illuminations in the manuscripts, tracing the ages and culminating with modern art. Halldór Björn Runólfsson, director of the National Gallery and chairman of the exhibition committee, addressed those present as well and introduced the new exhibition. He hopes it will clarify and heighten general knowledge of the history of fine art in Iceland over the past millennium.
In this first phase of the exhibition a variety of pieces from the collection of the National Gallery, from the 19th century to the present, are displayed. Selected landscape paintings by the pioneers of Icelandic visual arts, abstract paintings and sculptures from the mid 20th century, and contemporary art in all its diversity are presented. Landscape and national heritage are pronounced in Icelandic art, while international trends set their mark on the artwork. When the exhibit is complete it will incorporate works in the custody of the National Museum of Iceland and the Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies.
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Tango Café and Milonga on National Holyday evening
17 June 2011
 Tangoadventure held a Tango Café at the Culture House on 17 June. Argentine tango music was played from CDs and the band Five in Tango presented its new CD. Tango videos were projected on the wall and there was be coffee and cakes and other refreshments for sale. Later in the evening Tangoadventure offered Milonga tangolessons and tangoshow with Matias Facio and Claudia Rogowski.
Further information at: www.tangoadventure.com
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Art Exhibition Series: Nature and Memories
21 May 2011
 Diana Storåsen displays photographs in the current art exhibition in the shop and café here at the Culture House. Diana works with portraits and memories in her photographs. She feels that memories are like coloured emotions, painting images of the past. Diana is also interested in our experiences of nature - can nature show us sides of ourselves that we don't want to see? She attempts to interpret nature physically. Are we humans a part of nature or is nature a part of us?
The exhibition visualizes the contemporary urban man's complex relationship with nature. Our romantic notion of nature as a sanctuary is set up against images of nature as a place of confusion and crisis. In the face of nature, we meet ourselves, but what happens to our experience of nature if we can not face ourselves? Someone with a guilty conscience, will not be seeking refuge in forests, wrote John Burroughs in 1895. Diana updates this statement thus: With a guilty conscience, we go into the forests.
Diana Storåsen graduated with a BA-degree from Iceland School of Arts and Crafts in 1998. She studied at School of Photography and Film at Gothenburg University, Sweden in 2006 – 2008 and in 2001 she studied design at the same university. She has participated in numerous exhibitions, mainly in the Nordic countries.
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A lecture on Aboriginal - Icelandic relations in Canada
21 May 2011
 On Saturday 21 May Lorena Sekwan Fontaine and Dr. Laurie K. Bertram gave a lecture, in the Library Room here at the Culture House, entitled: Moccasin sweaters and moose meat: The history of Aboriginal - Icelandic relations in Canada 1875 – 2000. They specifically discussed the contact between Icelandic settlers in Manitoba and the local native peoples in the areas of fishing, interracial relationships and material culture. The lecture was in English, it was free, open to all and well attended.
Lorena Sekwan Fontaine B.A., LL.B., LL.M. is Cree and Anishnabe from the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. She is Assistant Professor of Aboriginal Governance at University of Winnipeg and a Doctoral Candidate at Osgood, York University, researching Aboriginal language rights in Canada. Lorena thinks that the Aboriginals can learn a lot from Iceland’s language policy. Lorena was, formerly, an Assistant Professor for the First Nations University of Canada. She has worked with Aboriginal political organizations for the past 19 years. Lorena has also acted as a legal consultant to the Toronto law firm Thomson, Rogers for the plaintiffs and their counsel in the Baxter National Residential School Class Action as well as to Mother of Red Nations Women's Council in Manitoba on cultural harm issues. She shared some stories of personal and societal consequences of these issues with the audience. Internationally, Lorena has worked with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States as a legal intern, and has assisted in land rights cases for Indigenous peoples in Belize, and the United States.
Laurie K. Bertram received her doctorate in the Department of History at the University of Toronto in November 2010. Her work on the Icelandic North American community focuses on marginalized forms of immigrant media, with an emphasis on oral, visual, and material culture. She is currently revising her dissertation into a manuscript for submission at University of Toronto Press and is preparing to begin a postdoctoral fellowship on race and Aboriginal - Icelandic relations in North America in September 2011.
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Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music: two concerts
17 May 2011
 Tuesday, 17 May, Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music held two concerts here at the Culture House. At the former, students played varied and lively chamber music pieces by the classical geniuses Telemann, Mozart, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Beethoven and Schumann. The latter was Valdís Þorkelsdóttir’s, trumpeter, graduation concert. The repertoire had works by Benjamin Britten, Halsey Stevens, George Friederic Händel, Giovanni B. Viviani and Victor Ewald. A number of musicians accompagnied Valdís at the concert, along with one singer.
All were welcome to attend and entry was free.
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IAA Graduation concert: Úlfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir, violin
14 May 2011
 Saturday 14 May at 2 pm Úlfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir performed in concert here at the Culture House. She graduates as a violin player from Iceland Academy of the Arts, Department of Music, this spring. There will be free entry to the concert and everyone is welcome to attend.
The repertoire held works by Helgi Pálsson (1899-1964), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904), Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). The following musicians performed with Úlfhildur at the concert: pianists Richard Simm and Jane Ade Sutarjo, and cellist Þórður Þorsteinsson.
Úlfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir (b. 1990) has been playing the violin since the age of three. At first she got private lessons with her grandmother and later she enrolled in the Suzuki Music School. She proceeded to Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music and graduated in 2008. She began her studies at Iceland Academy of the Arts that same year. Úlfhildur has actively participated with orchestras and chamber groups in the schools. She has, furthermore, attended courses with violinists both here in Iceland and abroad. She has been a member of the Symphony Orchestra for the Youth, the youth division of Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Nordic Orchestra.
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IAA Graduation concert: Inga Dóra Stefánsdóttir, mezzo soprano
12 May 2011
 Thursday 12 May at 6 pm Inga Dóra Stefánsdóttir performed in concert here at the Culture House. She graduates as a mezzo soprano from Iceland Academy of the Arts, Department of Music, this spring. There was free entry to the concert and everyone was welcome to attend.
Inga Dóra sang assorted songs by Árni Thorsteinson, Johann Sebastian Bach,
Richard Strauss, Leonard Bernstein, Jacques Offenbach, Fernando Obradors, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Franz Schubert, Gian Carlo Menotti and Modest Mussorgsky. Elísabet Einarsdóttir, soprano, also sang at the concert and Selma Guðmundsdóttir accompanied on piano.
Inga Dóra Stefánsdóttir (b. 1981) began her vocal studies at Hafnarfjörður Music School in 1998. She graduated from advanced level in 2008 and enrolled in Iceland Academy of the Arts that same year. She has, along the way, attended private lessons and master class courses with many great singers.
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IAA Graduation concert: Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir, horn
11 May 2011
 Wednesday 11 May Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir performed in concert here at the Culture House. She graduates as a horn player from Iceland Academy of the Arts, Department of Music, this spring. There was free entry to the concert and everyone was welcome to attend.
The repertoire held works by Richard Strauss, Alfred Rasmussen, Olivier Messiaen and Victor Ewald. In addition a piece by Bergrún herself was premiered. Her work is entitled The Stars and the Cycle and is written for brass quintet. It is based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. The following musicians performed: Richard Simm, piano, Finnbogi Óskarsson, tuba, Harpa Jóhannsdóttir, trombone, Jóhannes Þorleiksson, trumpet, and Valdís Þorkelsdóttir, trumpet.
Bergrún (b. 1987) has been studying music since elementary school. She began playing the horn at the age of ten. Since 2006 she has attended private lessons and master-classes with Ib-Lansky Otto, Froydis Ree Wekre and Radovan Vlatkovic, alongside her regular advanced studies. She has, furthermore, studied with Randall Faust at Interlochen Arts Camp. Since 2008 she has pursued her studies at Iceland Academy of the Arts and now graduates with a BMus-degree.
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IAA Graduation concert: Hafsteinn Þórólfsson, film score
8 May 2011
 Sunday 8 May a concert was held here at the Culture House, with work by Hafsteinn Þórólfsson, who graduates as a composer from Iceland Academy of the Arts, Department of Music, this spring. There was free entry to the concert and everyone was welcome to attend.
The work Folktale (Þjóðsaga) was performed. It is written for an orchestra, quire and two solo singers. Ragnheiður Árnadóttir, soprano, sang the female role and Hafsteinn himself, sang the baritone voice. Hafsteinn wrote the music and the words are by him and his good friend Hannes Páll Pálsson. Conductor was Hörður Áskelsson.
Hafsteinn Þórólfsson completed 8th level of singing from the Reykjavík Academy of Singing and Vocal Arts in spring 2003. He then continued his studies at Guildhall School of Music & Drama and graduated with a MA-degree in singing in spring 2005. He began his studies in composition at Iceland Academy of the Arts in fall 2008 and graduates this spring with special emphasis on film scores.
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Drummer Pétur Östlund presented his handbook and played concerts with Sigurður Flosason’s Quintet
2, 3 and 4 May 2011
 Master drummer Pétur Östlund presented his handbook here at the Culture House on 2 May, and played a concert with Sigurður Flosason’s Quintet on 3 and 4 May.
Drummer Pétur Östlund has, through the years, instructed up and coming drummers in the art of jazz drumming. His comprehensive material is finally available in a handbook with demonstrations on DVD. Icelandic drummer Matthias Hemstock is responsible for bringing us what is probably one of the most in depth studies in the art of jazz drumming. The book is available at Tónastöðin and Hljóðfærahusið in Reykjavik. Pétur launched the publication with an open presentation at the Culture House on 2 May.
ReykjavikJazz presented Pétur Östlund and Sigurður Flosason’s Quintet in two concerts at the Culture House on 3 and 4 May. The programme consisted of a selection of songs from Flosason’s CDs. The Quintet’s members were: Pétur Östlund, drums, Sigurður Flosason, alto-saxophone, Snorri Sigurðarson, trumpet and flugelhorn, Eyþór Gunnarsson, piano, and Þorgrímur Jónsson, contrabass.
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IAA Graduation concert: Vala Gestsdóttir, composition
30 April 2011
 Saturday 30 April a concert was held here at the Culture House, with works by Vala Gestsdóttir, who graduates as a composer from Iceland Academy of the Arts, Department of Music, this spring. There was free entry to the concert and everyone was welcome to attend.
Before the intermission, the programme held several songs by Vala, sung by Þórunn Antonía Magnúsdóttir and Hafsteinn Þórólfsson. After the intermission, her piece Völuspá /Prophesy of the Seeress, for solo singers, quire and orchestra, in three chapters that describe the creation of the Universe, the end of Time and Earth’s resurrection, was premiered. The words are by Þórarinn Eldjárn who has rewritten the ancient Eddic poetry using modern language. Solo singers were Sólveig Samúelsdóttir, mezzo-soprano, and Hafsteinn Þórólfsson, baritone. Conductor was Úlfar Ingi Haraldsson.
There was great interest in Vala’s concert and the concert room was full to capacity. On the occasion of the subject matter of Vala’s piece, the exhibition Medieval Manuscripts was open in the intermission so that guests could view the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda, there on display.
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Benefit Auction for the Icelandic Wetlands
19 April 2011
 i8 Gallery and The Audlind Nature Fund held an art auction to benefit the conservation of Iceland's wetlands, here at The Culture House on 19 April. Work generously donated by 38 contemporary artists was offered in live auction with all proceeds directly funding projects to reclaim and protect wetland habitats throughout the country. The auction proved highly worthwhile and each and every piece was sold.
The Audlind Nature Fund is a non-profit organization established to protect Iceland's natural heritage, maintain its diversity, and strengthen its sustainability. Audlind funds projects with these shared goals and seeks to increase awareness of and participation in nature conservation. Currently, Audlind's main focus is on wetlands restoration. The wetlands provide essential services in the natural environment: sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide, conserving water, circulating nutrients, and in this way protecting the diversity of the land and its living organisms. (From the Auction Catalogue).
Photograph: Hazelnut by Sigurður Guðmundsson
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Trombone and Tuba Concert in the Library Room
16 April 2011
 Saturday 16 April, young and promising trombone and tuba players held a free concert in the Library Room of the Culture House. The repertoire included works by W. A. Mozart, A. Vivaldi and A. C. Jobim, to name a few. Some of them were not at all written for brass instruments, while others were composed specifically for trombone and tuba. The performers were:
Ari Hróðmarsson, trombone
Finnbogi Darri Guðmundsson, trombone
Haraldur Þrastarson, trombone
Harpa Jóhannsdóttir, trombone
Lai Tak Chun, tuba
Li Ming Yeung, trombone
Everyone was welcome to stop by on Saturday to experience this novelty.
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Documents related to Jón Sigurðsson on view
16 April 2011
 The National Archives of Iceland contain a diverse collection of documents connected to Jón Sigurðsson’s life and work. A sample of them is now on view in the Library Room. The oldest is his father’s deed of gift, conveying part of the farm of Gljúfurá in Arnarfjörður (in northwest Iceland) to Jón, which later granted him the right to vote and eligibility to run for Parliament. Then there are documents connected to Jón’s daily life and political activities. The youngest documents concern his estate. Among them is the will of his widow Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir, dated 12 December 1879, with her name at the bottom. The Jón Sigurðsson Fund, still actively pursuing its mission, was founded under the terms of the will.
The exhibition was made in cooperation between the Culture House and the National Archives of Iceland on the occasion of the bicentennial of Jón Sigurðsson’s birth. Sigurðsson’s life and work is the subject matter of another exhibition here at the Culture House: Child of Hope – Youth and Jón Sigurðsson, designed and written to appeal specifically to children.
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Tango music, Fimm í tangó release concert
13 April 2011
 The band Fimm í tangó (Five in Tango) is releasing its first CD and on that occasion the band held a concert and dance at the Culture House on Wednesday, 13 April.
The members of the band are: Ágúst Ólafsson, singer, Ástríður A. Sigurðardóttir, pianist, Íris Dögg Gísladóttir, violinist, Kristín Lárusdóttir, cellist and Vadim Fedorov, who plays the accordion.
Fimm í tangó started off in 2007 with Finnish tangos, arranged by Haraldur Vignir Sveinbjörnsson and Tatu Kantomaa. The focus of the band has been steadily moving towards original Icelandic tango songs. All the Icelandic tango songs have been specially written for Fimm í tango by Haraldur Vignir, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir, Steingrímur Þórhallsson, Helgi Rafn and others.
There was no entry fee and the CD was for sale for reduced price. The event attracted both music lovers and tango dancers.
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Musical fairytale
10 April 2011
 Sunday 10 April, Birgit Myschi held her graduation concert from Iceland Academy of the Arts, here at the Culture House. She presented a piece for guitars and narrator. Birgit arranged Icelandic folk songs for guitars and Svanlaug Jóhannsdóttir wrote a fairytale that links the songs together.
Birgit Myschi was born in Kiel, Germany in 1964. She began playing the guitar at age 12 but began formal studies two years later, when a guitar teacher moved into town. Birgit has lived in Iceland since 1983. She continued pursuing her studies of guitar playing, as well as double bass playing, here in Iceland and began teaching herself about a decade ago. She graduates from Iceland Academy of the Arts, Department of Music, this spring.
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 Ragnheiður Gröndal in concert
31 March 2011
Singer Ragnheiður Gröndal performed at the Culture House on 31 March. At the concert Ragnheiður, and her band, played songs she will include in a new album scheduled for release in May.
The band members were, in addition to Ragnheiður who sang and played the piano, Guðmundur Pétursson, guitar, Róbert Þórhallsson, bass, and Birgir Baldursson, drums.
Only 100 tickets were available and the concert sold out. |
Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason – clarinet recital
20 March 2011
 Sunday 20 March, Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason, a clarinet student at Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music, took an advanced level examination at a recital held here at the Culture House. Hrefna Eggertsdóttir accompanied on piano. The repertoire held works by Carl Maria von Weber, Paul Jeanjean, Joseph Horovitz and André Messager, among others. Baldvin’s co-students Þórgunnur Anna Örnólfsdóttir and Arnbjörg Arnardóttir sang and played with him a few songs by Louis Spohr. It is noteworthy that Baldvin performed a solo piece for clarinet by his father, Tryggvi M. Baldvinsson, which Baldvin premiered at a concert here at the Culture House in February.
Admission to the recital was free and everyone was welcome to attend.
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Tango Marathon at the Culture House
18 – 20 March 2011
 Open Embrace - Reykjavik Tango Marathon took place here at the Culture House 18 to 20 March. Special marathon DJ was Jörg Haubner fom Dresden in Germany. Other DJs were Þórður, Snorri and Laura of Tango Club Reykjavik. Jörg also gave an open tango class, suitable for dancers of all levels, on Saturday.
The Marathon commenced on Friday evening at 9 pm and the dancing went on until 2 am. Dancing continued from noon on Saturday and into the night. Sunday began with brunch milonga at noon, with coffee and bread buns for everyone. The dancers left the house reluctantly at 5 pm.
Tango Club Reykjavik holds an annual marathon and this was the first time it was held here at the Culture House.
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Conservatorium of Music Day – two free concerts
26 February 2011
 Conservatorium of Music Day was held across Iceland on Saturday 26 February. Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music participated by having two concerts at the Culture House that day:
The former was a concert with music by Icelandic composers. The composers were, among others, Jón Ásgeirsson, Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, Árni Björnsson and Snorri Sigfús Birgisson. A new piece by Tryggvi M. Baldvinsson was premiered at the concert. Furthermore, the centenary of three composers was commemorated. They are Áskell Jónsson, Sigursveinn D. Kristinsson and Oddgeir Kristjánsson. The works were all written for one to five performers, who all were students at the Reykjavík Conservatorium of Music.
The latter concert was a singing examination. Þórgunnur Anna Örnólfsdóttir sang an array of solo songs and arias. Pianist Hrefna U. Eggertsdóttir accompanied her, as did two of her fellow students, Baldvin Tryggvason and Arnbjörg Arnardóttir, on clarinet and piano.
All were welcome to attend and there was no admission fee.
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Paintings by Karl Jóhann Jónsson
25 February 2011
 Karl Jóhann Jónsson displays paintings in the Culture House Shop and Café under the title Inside and outside in the yard.
Karl Jóhann (b. 1968) studied art at The Reykjavík School of Visual Arts and the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts. He received a certificate in teaching from Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2007. He has participated in numerous art shows and put up many solo art exhibitions over the past 17 years. He is also known for his illustrations and was awarded the 2010 Icelandic Illustrations Price – Dimmalimm for his book; Sófus og svínið.
Karl Jóhann describes his art as staged diary entries, where he mixes everyday things that interest him in his surroundings, family and friends with his nostalgia for paintings by various artists, such as Johannes Vermeer, Norman Rockwell, and certain Dutch and Spanish still-life painters. He either paints with his subject in front of him or he makes use of photographs he has taken of something he encounters and interests him.
Karl Jóhann Jónsson’s display belongs to a series of art exhibitions in the Culture House Shop and Café. It will be on view for approximately 3 months.
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Museum Night on a Friday night – diverse events at the Culture House
11 February 2011
 The Culture House participated in Museum Night with family-friendly events early in the evening, while the highlight was surely a tango ball in the Library Room, the old reading room of the National Library, later in the evening. The café was open all night, serving light meals, cakes and hot and cold drinks.
Detailed programme was as below:
Inside the exhibition on national hero, Jón Sigurðsson, Child of Hope, children were invited to suggest ways to better today’s society, in the spirit of Jón Sigurðsson’s campaign for independence and human rights. The children wrote their wishes on a piece of paper, folded the paper and sealed with sealing wax. The Culture House’s guide assisted and talked with guests.
ICELAND::FILM exhibition was rolling as was the nature film Nation and Nature by filmmaker Páll Steingrímsson.
The authors of the folk tale children’s book See my Black Ass read from their book inside an exhibition with pictures from the book and odds and ends from Icelandic folk heritage. Brynhildur Heiðar- and Ómarsdóttir selected and retold the folk tales and Þórey Mjallhvít Heiðar- and Ómarsdóttir painted the pictures.
The Scriptorium in the Medieval Manuscripts exhibition was open. Anyone could try their hand at writing with a quill on vellum, using ink boiled from Icelandic herbs. The Árni Magnússon Institution’s educator assisted and explained this ancient art to guests.
Guitar Trio, with Birgit Myschi, Stefán Haukur Gylfason and Jón Gunnar Biering Margeirsson, played folksongs arranged by Birgit Myschi. Her guitar trio arrangements will this spring be published in a book where the songs will be linked together by an original fairy tale.
Jón Sigurðsson, lector and former governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, talked about Jón Sigurðsson, leader of the campaign for independence in the 19th century, on the occasion of the newly opened exhibition on the latter. This was the Culture House’s contribution to the theme of Museum Night this year: the Icelander.
The quintet Fimm í tangó (Five in tango) threw a tango ball in the Library Room. Fimm í tangó are: Ágúst Ólafsson, singing, Ástríður A. Sigurðardóttir, piano, Íris Dögg Gísladóttir, violin, Kristín Lárusdóttir, cello, and Vadim Fedorov, accordion.
Guests of all ages and predilection were sure to find something of their liking at the Culture House this eventful evening.
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The Three “P”s of Icelandic Music History
30 January 2011
 Pianist Nína Margrét Grímsdóttir invited guests to explore aspects of her doctoral research on the Piano Works of Páll Ísólfsson in this unique event at the Culture House. She began the programme with a lecture on the subject and after the intermission she gave a recital.
Ísólfsson was a major figure in Icelandic music history, both as composer and administrator. The programme celebrated his piano music as well as the music of his Icelandic colleagues, It featured premieres and rarely heard performances of Ísólfsson´s piano works and those of other late-Romantic composers such as Guðmundsson, Kristjánsson, Leifs, Sveinbjörnsson, Thoroddsen and Þórðarson as well as Swede Peterson-Berger.
Following the programme light refreshments were served in the Music Room where the original manuscript of Iceland´s National Anthem by Sveinbjörnsson is on display among other rarities from Icelandic music history.
The programme was in English and there was no admission fee.
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Child of Hope – Youth and Jón Sigurðsson; opening of the exhibition
15 January 2011
 Saturday, 15 January, the exhibition Child of Hope – Youth and Jón Sigurðsson was opened with due ceremony here at the Culture House. The exhibition marks the bicentenary of the birth of Icelandic national hero Jón Sigurðsson (1811-79). It is a joint project of the Culture House and the Jón Sigurðsson bicentennial anniversary committee and the first of many events planned for the anniversary celebrations.
Markús Örn Antonsson, director of the Culture House, greeted guests at the opening ceremony and the following addressed the gathering: Salome Þorkelsdóttir, chairman of the board of the Culture House, Sólveig Pétursdóttir, chairman of the Jón Sigurðsson bicentennial anniversary committee, and Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Prime Minister, who also declared the exhibition formally opened.
Bergþór Pálsson sang a few songs befitting the occasion. Kjartan Valdimarsson accompanied on piano. Following the programme the guests had light refreshments and viewed the exhibition.
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