Barbara Hannigan
Chief Conductor and Artistic Director
Barbara Hannigan is the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from season 2026-27.
Barbara Hannigan takes the helm as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, beginning a new chapter for both the artist and the orchestra. She is an original, moving freely between the multiple roles of conductor, singer and curator. Her work is driven by curiosity, passion, discipline, imagination and an unwavering belief in music as an essential to life.
She is recognized for creating programmes that reveal unexpected connections, bringing established masterpieces into dialogue with rarely heard works and the music of today.
"A concert program is a story. It is a narrative that excites and engages the listener. What intrigues me, is that because each concertgoer experiences music differently, they will each perceive the narrative in their own way, which will be different from anyone else, and also different that what I imagined, in putting the program together. And that's what is so exciting about live music and performance."
At the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan's spirit of discovery will shape an artistic vision rooted in excellence, openness and collaboration, while forging new connections between Iceland and the wider international music community.
The Canadian musician has collaborated closely with many of the world's leading composers, premiered more than 120 new works, and transformed the way contemporary music is experienced by performers and audiences alike. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her artistry, including Grammy and Gramophone awards, Denmark's Sonning Music Prize, and—in 2025— Sweden's prestigious Polar Music Prize. Upon that occasion, the prize jury stated that "Hannigan's unique musical gifts and courage make her one of the foremost interpreters of classical and contemporary music today." She has been appointed to the Order of Canada and is Officier des Arts et des Lettres in France.
Barbara Hannigan also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and is Associate Artist of the London Symphony Orchestra. She conducts an international array of orchestras, including the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala and Czech Philharmonic. Additionally, she holds the Reinbert de Leeuw Professorship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Barbara Hannigan's 8 albums on the Alpha Classics label include An American Dream? with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2026), and her Grammy Award-winning Crazy Girl Crazy (2017). Her other recordings have won numerous accolades including the Diapason d'Or, Edison and Juno awards. Barbara fosters new generations of musicians through the project Equilibrium Young Artists, which she
founded in 2017. She lives in Finistère on the northwest coast of France, facing her childhood home across the Atlantic Ocean, in Waverley, Nova Scotia.
Barbara Hannigan made her debut with Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2022, captivating audiences with works by Berg, Schoenberg, Ives, and Gershwin. "The 2026-27 season with Iceland marks not only a new appointment, but the beginning of our deeply shared artistic adventure - shaped by courage, imagination and the conviction that an orchestra can be both a guardian of musical heritage and a powerful force for the future."