Thurídur Jónsdóttir is one of the most performed Icelandic composers today. Based in Reykjavík, Jónsdóttir receives commissions worldwide, she is currently working on commissions from USA (L.A. Phil.) and Iceland (Iceland Symphony Orchestra).
Her work includes music for orchestra and chamber formats of different type, many of her compositions include electronics, or multimedia, others might include theatrical performances, nature sounds or audience participation.
Among Jónsdóttir’s renowned compositions are Flutter, concerto for flute and field recordings of insect, Flow and Fusion for orchestra and electronic sounds, INNI – musica da camera for baroque violin and sound curtains of infant murmur, Winter for voice and electronic sounds, the accordion concerto Installation Around a Heart, Cylinder 49 for chamber orchestra with an old recording of an Icelandic epic chant and 48 Images of the Moon for solo cello and field recordings from Icelandic highlands. Jónsdóttir has also created the multimedia works Cock’s egg, Seal Maiden and Lusus Naturae in cooperation with the artists Ólöf Nordal and Gunnar Karlsson.
Jónsdóttir explores new soundscapes in her compositions, where the thorough harmonic structure meets the intrinsic sounds in her search for the boundaries and opportunities found in each instrument. The flow and energy of subtle motives and soundsmasses leads to a spectrum of unpredictable and contrasting actions, ranging from the intimate and barely audible to being loud and theatrical. Always starting with a clear concept, her works are defined by a specific preparatory thought progress, which in the end shapes the direction of the compositions.
Compositions by Jónsdóttir have been commissioned and performed by the institutions Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Radio France, Nord-Deutscher Rundfunk, West-Deutscher Rundfunk, The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service and Nomus and by such ensembles as Caput, Ensemble Adapter, FontanaMix and Curious Chamber Players. Her work has been performed at festivals Warshaw Autumn in Warsaw, Présences radio festival in Paris, Dark Music Days in Reykjavik, Klang Festival in Copenhagen, Nordic Music Days, ISCM and New Directions.
Jónsdóttir’s compositions have been nominated for the Icelandic Music Awards and for the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2006, 2010 and 2012. In 2004 her piece Flow and Fusion was selected in “top ten” at the The International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (UNESCO). Jónsdóttir was awarded a Civitella Ranieri Music Fellowship in 2016.
Website:
http://www.thuri.is
