Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Anna Thorvaldsdottir is one of today's most renowned contemporary composers and her distinctive orchestral writing has garnered her awards from the New York Philharmonic, Lincoln Center, the Nordic Council, and the UK's Ivors Academy. Her music is widely performed internationally and has been commissioned by many of the world's leading orchestras, ensembles, and arts organisations – such as the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Intercontemporain, BBC Proms, and Carnegie Hall. Among the many other orchestras that have performed her music include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and – of course – the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Portrait concerts with Anna's music have been featured at various major venues and music festivals, including Wigmore Hall, Spitalfields Music Festival, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Munich Chamber Orchestra's Nachtmusic der Moderne series, the Composer Portraits Series at NYC's Miller Theatre, the Leading International Composers series at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC, and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra's Point Festival. Other prominent venues and festivals include the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, London's Royal Opera House, Southbank Centre, ISCM World Music Days, Nordic Music Days, Ultima Festival, Tectonics, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Helsinki's Musica Nova Festival, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and Lucerne Summer Festival.
Portrait albums with Anna's works have appeared on Deutsche Grammophon, Sono Luminus, and Innova, all to warm critical reception, appearing on various year-end lists, such as at The New York Times, The New Yorker Magazine, Boston Globe, and NPR Classical. Anna holds a PhD from the University of California, San Diego.
Anna was composer-in-residence at the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2018-2023.