Ljósmynd Guðmundur Kr. Jóhannesson frá 1995 

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Gudmundur Emilsson Ardal

Born: 1951

Dr. Gudmundur Emilsson Ardal has dedicated over five decades to working with orchestral and choral forces worldwide. His most significant contributions in the 1970s were with the orchestras and choirs of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York; the Reykjavik College of Music in Iceland; and the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. During the 1980s, he focused on the Icelandic Chamber Orchestra, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Chorus of Reykjavik, conducting these ensembles in performances of both contemporary and classical repertoires, as well as recordings for radio and television. Since 1990, Dr. Emilsson has expanded his orchestral conducting activities across four continents. Recently, he has collaborated extensively with the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in Riga, Latvia, and has directed various choral forces, including the Riga Dome Boys’ Choir, the Latvian State Radio Choir, and the Latvian State Philharmonic Choir, all of which he has led in world-premiere recordings of classical and contemporary music.

Dr. Emilsson received his early musical education at the Reykjavik College of Music, graduating with high distinction in 1971. He continued his studies in the United States, earning a bachelor’s degree with high distinction in 1975 and a master’s degree in 1981 from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, New York. In 1983, he completed his doctoral concerts and coursework toward a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting, opera, and symphonic choral literature at Indiana University. His DMA dissertation, written upon his return to Iceland, focuses on Krzysztof Penderecki’s Auschwitz Oratorio / Dies Irae, and he was awarded his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1994. In 1982, he founded the Icelandic Chamber Orchestra, specializing in twentieth-century music, particularly the works of Nordic composers. The orchestra premiered numerous pieces under his direction and toured both domestically and internationally. Since 1982, he has also conducted opera performances at the National Theatre of Iceland and across Central Europe. Notably, in 1997, he conducted the first contemporary Western opera ever premiered in Beijing, China: the world premiere of Moonlight Island by Nordic prize-winning composer Atli Heimir Sveinsson.

Emilsson’s principal conducting mentors include the esteemed Maestra Dr. Margaret Hillis, Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Advisor to the President of the United States; British conductor Bryan Balkwill of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; German conductor Dr. Robert Abraham, orchestral conductor in Berlin and Reykjavik; American choir director Robert DeCormier, Director of the New York Choral Society; and German conductor Thomas Baldner, Senior Conductor of Orchestral and Operatic Forces at Indiana University in Bloomington and Head of the Orchestral Conducting Department there. From 1982 to 1988, Emilsson engaged in private post-doctoral studies with the legendary Maestro Leonard Bernstein in New York.

Dr. Emilsson’s administrative activities are extensive. From 1981 to 1991, he served as Director of the Icelandic Chamber Orchestra. In 1989, he was appointed Head of Music at RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, where he oversaw all studio and concert recordings of both foreign and native artists, as well as live international concert broadcasts and recordings of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras, ensembles, and choirs. From 1999 to 2001, he served as Cultural Director of the Grindavík–Blue Lagoon area, a renowned tourist region in Iceland. Since 1996, he has frequently acted as a private advisor to His Excellency Dr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, conducting presidential concerts in Germany, Latvia, Poland, and the United States.

Regarding honors and awards, Dr. Emilsson served for eight years on the board of directors of the Nordic Music Festival and participated in the committee that selected works for performance at the festival. He also held the position of Vice Chairman of the programming committee of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 1997. His involvement extended to attending annual meetings of Heads of Music for Euroradio and the Nordic Heads of Music. He established several festivals in Iceland, including the RuRek Jazz Festival and the Tónvakinn musician competition. Dr. Emilsson received full scholarships to both Indiana University in Bloomington and the Eastman School of Music, as well as the Thor Thorsson Scholarship and the American-Scandinavian Foundation Scholarship. In 1987, he received the Danish Brochste Optimist Prize, an international honor presented by Her Excellency President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.