Icelandic Symphony off to Nordic Cool

We were given the opportunity to attend the Icelandic Symphony’s last concert before they head out to Washington, D.C., to perform at Nordic Cool--a celebration of Nordic Culture at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The pieces by Edvard Grieg (Norway), Jean Sibelius (Finland), and Icelandic composers Anna Þorvalsdóttir and Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson gave the evening a truly Nordic flavor. The Icelandic Symphony’s excellent performance was punctuated by the virtuoso performance of American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, who will join the symphony in Washington DC. In many ways the Icelandic Symphony is a symbol of the American-Icelandic partnership given that several of its members are Americans who have found a profession in Iceland.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts. Photo: Margot Schulman

Kennedy Center announces Nordic Cool 2013—Iceland has a strong contingent

We were delighted to hear that the Kennedy Center in Washington DC announced Nordic Cool 2013 - “…an international festival of theater, dance, music, visual arts, literature, design, cuisine, and film that brings more than 700 artists to celebrate the diverse cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Åland Islands.” This event has been in the making for at least two years and our Embassy here in Reykjavik gladly supported the Kennedy Center delegations that visited Iceland several times to coordinate Iceland’s participation in the festival.

The Icelandic contingent will include Vesturport, the Iceland Dance Company, Iceland’s Symphony Orchestra, Víkingur Ólafsson, the Sunna Gunlaugs Trio, FM Belfast, Retro Stefson, Sóley, Duo Harpverk, Már Örvarsson, Maximus Musicus, Djupið, Rúri, Knitting Rhythm, Krístin Ómarsdóttir, Gerður Kristný, CCP´s Kristoffer Touborg, and more. As representatives of a multi-cultural nation, we are very proud to highlight the contributions to the arts made by cultures around the world which in many ways constitute the inspiration that some of our artists have drawn from. Readers can find detailed information in the link below.

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/festivals/12-13/nordic/