Halldór Hansen's Music Day

Every spring, the Iceland Academy of the Arts awards a scholarship from the Halldór Hansen Scholarship Fund to outstanding music students at the school. This time, singer BryndísÁsta Magnúsdóttir received the award, which was presented at a ceremony in Skriða, the hall of the Icelandic Academy of the Arts in Stakkahlíð. On this occasion, Kristín Eysteinsdóttir, Rector, addressed the guests and told about the unique man, Halldór Hansen, who donated his belongings to the Iceland Academy of the Arts with various conditions, including that the school would select an outstanding graduate student each year in the field of classical music performance (singing or instrumental playing) and that the same person would receive a cash prize. 

"Halldór was a remarkable man, he completed his medical degree from the University of Iceland and then went to New York to study for a doctorate where he specialized in pediatrics and child psychiatry. He moved to Reykjavík where he worked at the Reykjavík Health Protection Center and took over the position of chief physician of the infant health department there in 1961, a position he held for the rest of his working life." 

Music was the great passion in Halldór's life, and he always had a great interest in music, especially singing, and had an enormous collection of classical music records. From childhood, it was his passion to attend concerts and opera performances, in Iceland and around the world.  

Singers who sang from the heart were always held in high esteem by Halldór, and several of the very best became his good friends. He wrote extensively about singing and music in newspapers and magazines alike. He taught at the Reykjavík Singing School for years and was artistic advisor to the Reykjavík Music Society and the Icelandic Opera.” 

After the rector's address, Ólafur Freyr Birkisson, the fund's 2023 grantee, took the stage with his co-star, Matthilda Anna Gísladóttir.  

After a beautiful song, Magnús Lyngdal gave the talk The Original School of Classical Music. Pétur Jónsson, Dean of the Faculty of Music, also remembered Halldór, who recalled that when he himself was young and had just graduated from college, he discovered that there were individuals around him who created a network of support, encouragement and safety. In this network, he listed several names, including the name of Halldór Hansen. He remembered Halldór with beautiful words, "what one remembers most is that he radiated great warmth, his presence and encouragement were both good and nourishing." 

"Bryndís Ásta is an exceptionally promising singer with great charisma and a good connection to music. It is our great pleasure to provide her with a grant from the Halldór Hansen Scholarship Fund and thus support her in continuing her magnificent musical journey," said Hanna Dóra Sturludóttir, Director of Singing at the Icelandic Academy of Music. The grant from the Halldór Hansen Scholarship Fund is an important recognition of the talent and enthusiasm of a young artist and an important contribution to the continued study and development of classical singing. 

Bryndís Ásta began her classical singing studies at the age of fifteen under the guidance of Guðrún Jóhanna Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Dalia Salómonsdóttir and Þóra Björnsdóttir at the Garðabær Music School and completed her advanced degree there. She began her studies at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in the fall of 2022, where she has benefited from the guidance of experienced teachers such as Hanna Dóra Sturludóttir, Kristinn Sigmundsson, Dísella Lárusdóttir, Kolbein Ketilsson and Matthild Anna Gísladóttir. In addition, she spent last fall on an exchange program at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. 

"This fall, Bryndís Ásta will return to the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm where she will begin her master's degree in singing, but it should be noted that only two individuals from a large group of applicants were admitted this time," says Hanna Dóra. "She has attracted attention for her powerful stage presence and diverse projects, including roles in operas by Mozart, Strauss and Caccini, the premiere of a new opera by Ea Wiimh and a performance of Schumann's poetry collections. She has also participated in music festivals in Iceland and abroad and is the organizer of the town and arts festival Rökkvan in Garðabær. This summer she is singing with the Young Nordic Opera Choir at opera festivals in Denmark, Sweden and at the Opera Days in Iceland." 

Below are pictures from the ceremony.