The scholarship fund

The fund's board consists of three members. The rector of the Iceland Academy of the Arts is the chairman, while the other two are appointed by the board of the Iceland Academy of the Arts for three-year terms. Deputies are appointed in the same way.

The board works accordingly work rules.

Chairman – Kristín Eyjólfsdóttir, rector of the Iceland Academy of the Arts

Knight – Þóra Einarsdóttir, Head of Film, Music and Performing Arts at the Iceland Academy of the Arts

Co-director – Pétur Jónasson, dean of the music department of the Iceland Academy of the Arts – Co-director

Deputy member of the board – Magnús Lyngdal Magnússon

I would like to briefly trace the origin of the fund and its history based on my memory and the data I have at my disposal. I got to know Halldór Hansen well in the mid-1980s and we soon became good friends. Gradually, he became as close to me as if he were one of my family, as he was a frequent guest at my wife Selma's home. Halldór and I had a lot of communication, not least because of our common interest in operas and lyric singing, and Halldór shared his superior experience and knowledge with me - like so many others. After I became the editor of Óperublaðin, Halldór wrote numerous articles for the paper at my request, mainly about singers of the past.

Halldór became seriously ill several times after I met him and I was often ambivalent about his life. He had a large and unique record collection, which was very dear to him, but it was uncertain what would happen to the collection after his death. Around 1990, Halldór agreed, according to my proposal, to name the Icelandic Opera Foundation's record collection, but I was then myself on the board of the association, which agreed to take over Halldór's collection and preserve it after his death.

I retired from the Opera in 1995. A few years later, the matter of the record collection came up again between Halldór and me. At the beginning of 1999, I suggested to him that other parties should be approached to take over the museum after his death. We agreed to approach the Music Society in Reykjavík first, but Halldór had a lot to do with the history of the society. Halldór had told me that he had no direct heirs, and I therefore suggested that he leave his house and other belongings to the museum to ensure a safe future for it, since it would obviously cost a considerable amount of money to preserve the museum and register it. Halldór agreed to this and signed today's declaration of inheritance. March 21, 1999 where he bequeathed the Music Society to the museum. Soon after, however, he changed his mind regarding the building and bequeathed the Children's Hospital of the Circle to it in his will. April 14, 1999.

Some time before, I had talked to Baldvin Tryggvason, the chairman of the Music Association, and I wrote him a letter about this issue on April 15, 1999. I didn't actually know then that Halldór had signed the will the day before. However, he did so on the advice of another good friend of his, Sveinbjarnar Dagfinnsson, who liked Halldór well and was not convinced enough that his legacy would be well taken care of by musicians. I sent Baldvin another letter about the matter on May 20, 1999, but the board of the Music Society was slow to accept Halldór's collection. Baldvin and I had several conversations about this over the next few months, and he suggested that I talk to Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson, rector of the Iceland Academy of the Arts, about the school accepting Halldór's collection.

I talked to Hjálmar that summer and he welcomed the idea and also assured me that the museum would be well taken care of at the school and also Halldór's other belongings, if they were included. I then turned back to Halldór and requested that he let his house and other belongings accompany the museum after his death. Halldór was still very ambivalent as both his options were good, but my reasoning was that the music would care more about getting his money than the hospital. Halldór agreed to this and a new will was written on September 29, 1999, in which Halldór named his LHÍ museum, house and other possessions.

But Babb came in the boat again, - the same good friend of Halldór's as before, still thought this was worrying. Halldór hesitated to go against his will and postponed signing the document. The case did not progress until the summer of 2001, but by then Halldór had become very ill again. We then talked a lot about this matter and the result was that Halldór agreed to bequeath LHÍ to the museum, the house and his other possessions. He signed a document to that effect on July 21, 2001. It was followed by another document that Halldór had written and called "Thoughts" about HJH's will. The will was slightly amended soon after, but its final version was signed on August 27, 2001.

The final document was accompanied by Halldór's new document - "Instructions for a will" - which sets out certain of his conditions towards LHÍ regarding the preservation of the collection and the disposal of the money. Halldór writes there:

"What matters most to me is the record collection, videos and books about musicians. This is what is closest to my heart, close to being like my child…. I would like those who are interested to be able to use the album and video collection, primarily musicians, but also hobbyists...

… This collection needs to be kept separate from the others, ie. that there will be a special department in the study/library of LHÍ....

... In order to secure funds to get the museum up and running and to support its operation for the foreseeable future, I have bequeathed LHÍ to the property at Laufásvegi 24. Its proceeds plus liquid assets, to which I am bequeathing the museum, should then support the museum's operation, registration and other …”

Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson accepted Halldór's conditions by signing the document on August 30, and on December 11, 2001, a formal "Agreement" was signed between Halldór and Hjálmar fh LHÍ, but Árni Tómas Ragnarsson and Björn Bjarnason, Minister of Education, signed for confirmation. The signing took place during a ceremony in the LHÍ building.

In the following months, Halldór's illness worsened and he was in the hospital for months for the rest of his life. He signed the "Charter of Organization" for his endowment fund at Landakotsspítala on December 18, 2002 together with Hjálmar and Karólína Eiríksdóttir, the chairman of the LHÍ school board, while Árni Tómas was present for confirmation. Halldór died on July 21, 2003, and he was buried from the Cathedral in the presence of many people, but many musicians created an elegant and appropriate setting for the ceremony.

During the last months that Halldór lived at home on Laufásvégin, LHÍ's staff had started documenting his record collection. That registration has been continued and it will probably be completed in the fall of 2005. There is still a lot of work to be done in copying the records, but it is estimated that it will be done gradually over the next few years and it will then be made available to all music enthusiasts according to Halldór's wish and will.

In the fall of 2004, the board of the fund was appointed. Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson was self-elected as rector of LHÍ, but the school's board consists of a.ö.l. Árni Tómas Ragnarsson and Mist Þorkelsdóttir, dean of the music department at LHÍ. Árni Heimir Ingólfsson and Þorsteinn Gylfason are deputies on the board.

The first meeting of the fund's board was held on November 26, 2003. Since then, quite a few board meetings have been held. Halldór's house on Laufásvegi was sold in March 2004, and a few months later all his money and music collection had found their way into the hands of the fund management. The total amount that went to the grant fund from Halldór amounted to almost 87 million ISK, which was much more than had been expected. According to the charter, 1/3 of the money will be used in the coming years to set up the fund's activities, while 2/3 will be invested and the yield used for the benefit of the fund.

The first grant from the fund to young musicians took place on January 7, 2005, when the fund's origin and activities were also publicly reported. Furthermore, the fund's board has decided to grant 8 million ISK for the purchase of sheet music for the LHÍ music collection. The foundation's board has also decided to invite Halldór's friend, singer Elly Ameling, together with pianist Gerrit Schuil to hold a masterclass for soloists on behalf of the foundation and in Halldór's name at the end of March. grants according to the foundation's charter.

January 8, 2005
Árni Tómas Ragnarsson

 

• No ordinary music lover
• Music library and scholarships for students
• Festive gathering of the Halldórs Hansen Foundation in the hall
• Encouragement and honor
• A gift becomes a foundation for scholarship in music
• Foresight and ambition in the field of music
• Excited and proud
• Herdís Anna receives a scholarship to study in Berlin