Við Djúpið () was an annual music festival and a series of summer courses held in the Westfjords of Iceland around

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

. The event offered a series of concerts and master classes. The festival offered master classes and concerts with artists such as the cellist Erling Blöndal Bengtsson and pianist Vovka Ashkenazy with the

Pacifica Quartet The Pacifica Quartet is a professional string quartet based in Bloomington, Indiana. Its members are: Simin Ganatra, first violin; Austin Hartman, second violin; Mark Holloway, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello. Formed in 1994 by Ganatra and Vamos wi ...

. Evan Ziporyn, clarinettist, composer and a member of the renowned band

Bang on a Can Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Called "the cou ...

gave a master class and concert in Ísafjörður during Við Djúpið 2007. Among performers at the 2008 festival were Pekka Kuusisto, violinist with Simon Crawford-Phillips, pianist and Håkon Austbø, pianist. The festival took place in Ísafjörður and surroundings where music has been part of daily life for a long time. Ísafjörður Music School was the main venue of the festival as well as Rögnvaldur Ólafsson's Art School, which offers great new venues in the Edinborg house. The master classes were held in close cooperation with the

Iceland Academy of the Arts History Iceland University of the Arts ( is, Listaháskóli Íslands ) is an Icelandic institution of higher art education, located in Reykjavík, which offers the only university-level degrees in the arts in Iceland.Lisa Z. ValdimarsdottirIcel ...

, and are accredited by its department of music.

Specific years

2006

June 20–25 Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and Anna Guðný Guðmundsdóttir pianist taught a masterclass and gave a concert. Peter Máté, pianist and Guðrún S. Birgisdóttir, flutist taught a master class. Concerts were also given by pianist Tinna Þorsteinsdóttir and the Icelandic jazz-trio Flís.

2007

June 19–24 Erling Blöndal Bengtsson, cellist and Vovka Ashkenazy, pianist held master classes and concerts. A master class in Balinesian music led by Evan Ziporyn, clarinetist, composer, and member of the renowned band "Bang on a Can", and Christine Southworth, gamelan musician. The young and inventive Icelandic jazz pianist Davíð Þór Jónsson taught piano

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. The Icelandic experimental modern music group Aton appeared in two concerts, one of them a special Midsummernight's concert, which was broadcast nationwide by the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service ( RÚV).

2008

June 17–23 In the classical department, the artists who we proudly presented were: Pekka Kuusisto, violinist with Simon Crawford-Phillips, pianist as well as Norwegian pianist Håkon Austbø. There was an opera workshop led by Hanna Dóra Sturludóttir, soprano and conductor/pianist Kurt Kopecky. Violinist Una Sveinbjarnardóttir taught a chamber music course and a violin course. The jazz sector featured jazz pianist Agnar Már Magnússon who led a class in piano improvisation. Other performers were Anna Guðný Guðmunsdóttir, pianist, Berglind María Tómasdóttir, flutist and Tinna Þorsteinsdóttir, pianist.

Management

The festival was first introduced by flutist Guðrún Birgisdóttir and guitarist Pétur Jónasson. They managed the festival – the first 3 years. In 2004 pianist Tinna Þorsteinsdóttir took over the artistic leadership of the festival and Greipur Gíslason joined as managing director. Tinna led 3 festivals but Greipur stayed on.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vid Djupid Music festivals in Iceland Westfjords Annual events in Iceland Classical music festivals in Iceland Summer events in Iceland