The 2009-2010 Season
The North Iceland Symphony Orchestra is about to start its 17th season. Since its foundation, much has been achieved, the number of concerts has increased and the orchestra‘s activities widened significantly. Many changes are in the offing for the SN, as this is its last season before moving to a permanent base in HOF, Akureyri‘s new cultural centre. This winter‘s programme is varied and the orchestra will be working in cooperation with various other parties, such as the Akureyri Drama Society, the Ecclesiastical and Cultural Centre for Fjarðabyggð in East Iceland and The Akureyri Music School. There will be three concerts in the first half of the season as well as the annual school concerts which are held in all the elementary schools in the north of Iceland.
School Concerts The school concerts which, as always, play a large part in the season‘s programme will commence at the end of September. This year, a string quartet will visit the schools and introduce music from various eras of the history of music. The orchestra will travel to schools all the way from Siglufjörður to Þórshöfn in the east. In all, the number of performances reaches almost thirty and it is the Eyþing Culture Committee which is the principal sponsor of these concerts.
Soldier‘s Tale in the Akureyri Theatre, 17 October
Soldier‘s Tale by Igor Stravinsky will be performed in cooperation with the Akureyri Drama Society. The work tells us of Joseph, a soldier who is on his way home for his 14 day leave. On his way he meets the devil who appears to him in the guise of an old man. Joseph exchanges his fiddle for a book which the devil says will bring him endless wealth. However, he quickly finds out that this prosperity does not bring him happiness and he wishes for nothing more than to be poor once more. Stravinsky composed this work for three actors, dancers and a small orchestra. Director: María Sigurðardóttir Conductor: Guðmundur Óli Gunnarsson The work had its first performance in Swizerland at the end of WWI and is a story of human greed and the acquisition of wealth – something which has a message for today‘s world as much as that of yesteryear.
A concert of works by Beethoven and Prokofiev, Glerá Church, 15 November
Sunday, 15 November, the orchestra will perform two symphonies, the first being Symphony No. 1 by Sergei Prokofiev which is often referred to as “The Classical Symphony”, and the second, Symphony No. 8, by L. van Beethoven. Also on the programme will be Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner.
The Advent Concert in East Iceland
This year, the North Iceland Symphony Ochestra will travel to Eskifjörður in the east of Iceland to hold their Advent Concert. This will be in cooperation with the Fjarðabyggð Ecclesiastical and Cultural Centre as well as choirs in East Iceland.
Something old, something new, can be found in the concert on 14 February.
This concert is a blend of old and new music. The programme comprises the Violin Concerto by Haukur Tómasson; soloist Sigrún Eðvaldsdóttir and Symphony No. 25 by W. A. Mozart. In this performance, which is a cooperative event between the SN and the Akureyri Music School, the SN will join forces with the string orchestra from that school.
Mendelssohn and Shostakovich, concert on 1 April, Maundy Thursday.
Symphony No. 4 in A Major „The Italian Symphony“ by F. Mendelssohn and the Cello Concerto No. 1 by D. Shostakovich are the works to be performed in the SN‘s Maundy Thursday concert. Soloist, Bryndís Halla Gylfadóttir.
The title of the May concert this year is „Percussion and Strings“. On the programme will be: Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra by Ney Rosauro, the Holberg Suite by E. Grieg and the Chamber Symphony by D. Shostakovich. Soloist on marimba, Hjörleifur Örn Jónsson, percussionist..