Iceland Symphony Orchestra

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of Iceland and one of the leading institutions in the country’s cultural scene. The orchestra’s home is the award-winning Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík. Widely praised for its performances and recordings, the orchestra presents a full season of subscription series each year, school and family concerts, and concerts devoted to modern music.

Eva Ollikainen is the Chief Conductor of the orchestra, a role previously held by conductors such as Osmo Vänskä, Petri Sakari, Jean-Pierre Jacquillat, Ilan Volkov and most recently Yan Pascal Tortelier. Vladimir Ashkenazy holds the position of Conductor Laureate.

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra offers a variety of programmes, spanning everything from well-known classics to world premiere performances of new works by Icelandic and international composers. A commitment to performing new Icelandic music has been widely praised and recordings by Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, Chandos, Naxos and Sono Luminus include accolades such as MIDEM Awards and GRAMMY Award nominations for Best Orchestral Performance. The majority of the orchestra’s concerts are broadcast live on radio by the National Broadcasting Service and selected concerts are televised on national TV. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has appeared widely throughout Europe and beyond, including performances at the BBC Proms, the Wiener Musikverein, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.