Event info

Björn Steinar Sólbergsson, organist in Hallgrímskirkja and Guja Sandholt, singer, will perform music by J.S. Bach and Johann Crüger at a lunch time recital in Hallgrímskirkja on the 2nd of October.

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 – 1750
Schafe können sicher weiden, aría úr kantötu BWV 208

Johann Crüger 1598 – 1662
Þú sem líf af lífi gefur (texti: Hjálmar Jónsson)

Johann Sebastian Bach
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele BWV 654

Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, aria úr Kantötu BWV 170

Toccata in F- Major BWV 540/I

Björn Steinar Sólbergsson, organist of Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík was born in Akranes, western Iceland in 1961. In 1981 he completed his studies at the National Church School of Music, majoring the organ, before studying for a year in Rome with James E. Goëttsche. Björn Steinar then moved to France where he studied with Susan Landale at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Rueil Malmaison and received the Prix de Virtuosité in summer of 1986.

The same year he was appointeded organist in Akureyri Church, north Iceland, where he became very active in the musiclife of Akureyri.

In atumn 2006 he was appointed organist in Hallgrímschurch in Reykjavík. He is also headmaster of the National Church School of Music in Reykjavík.

Björn Steinar plays organ-music from all periods as well as Icelandic organ- music and arrangements of Scandinavican folk-songs and dances.

His recordings of organ and choirmusic have been released on several CD´s and broadcasted on Icelandic State Radio and TV.  

He received the DV- Cultural-prize for the year 1999, Icelandic Optimism-prize in 2001 and he is The Akureyri Artist of the year 2002. Artist honorar salary in 1999 and 2015.

Björn Steinar has given concerts all over Europe, in USA, Canada and all Scandinavian countries and performed as a soloist with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, the Akureyri Chamber Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony orchestra and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra.

Icelandic singer Guja Sandholt lives in Utrecht and Reykjavík and performs regularly in the Netherlands, Iceland and internationally. She is also the Artistic Director of a new opera/music theatre festival in Iceland, Óperudagar,  which was chosen Music Festival of the Year 2018 at the Icelandic Music Awards.

Recently, she participated in performances of David Lang's The Little Match Girl Passion in Iceland and Beethoven's Fidelio (Leonore) in Iceland and Estonia. In 2022, she will sing one of the Valkyries in Die Walküre at Reykjavík Art Festival.

Recently, Guja portrayed Julia Child in Lee Hoiby's Bon Appétit! in Reykjavík and Estonia; Popova in William Walton's The Bear at the Cycle Art and Music Festival in Iceland and Sweden and participated as a resident artist in the Nieuwe Stemmen project at the Operadagen Rotterdam. She appeared as the alto soloist in various oratorios, such as the St. Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach; Mozart’s Requiem and Stabat mater by Pergolesi Dvorak and Arvo Pärt.