Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson (born 24 December 1976 in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

, best known for having composed two

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

entries for

, "

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

" by

Jónsi Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (; born 23 April 1975) is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his falsetto or count ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and " Valentine Lost" by

Eiríkur Hauksson Eiríkur Hauksson (born 4 July 1959) is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007. Career Eiríkur's career as a vocalist began in earnest when the song "Sekur" he wrote and performed with the ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He has also composed music for Chinese action film ''Wings Over Everest''.

Personal life

Sveinn resides in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and also works partly in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He holds a doctorate in medicine and in

stock trading In finance, a trade is an exchange of a security such as stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument for "cash". Such a financial transaction is usually done by participants of an exchange such as a ...

, and is fluent in the Icelandic, English,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, and Hungarian languages.

Career

Sveinn has studied

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

under Ferenc Utassy, Jon Sigurdsson, Pavel Manazek and since the age of 16 has composed music in styles ranging from

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and EDM. His first involvement with

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...

came with his first participation in the Icelandic national final, Söngvakeppnin, in 2003. He composed the song "Með þér" by Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir and Dísella Lárusdóttir, making it to the final, and ever since has been a regular in Söngvakeppnin. He has penned the entries for famous artists such as

Birgitta Haukdal Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir (born 28 July 1979), known mononymously as Birgitta, is an Icelandic singer. She rose to domestic media prominence as the lead singer of pop band Írafár. She represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Con ...

, Magni Ásgeirsson, Jógvan Hansen, among others. He is also the holder of the record for most Söngvakeppnin participations. Since 2017, he uses the pseudonym SiRiS for his

and EDM works. He continued writing for Aron Hannes, after their successful Söngvakeppnin collaboration, releasing two singles, "Sumarnótt

and "Morgunkoss

He also wrote various other tracks using his real name, including

Björgvin Halldórsson Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson (alternate names: Bo Halldórsson, Björgvin Halldórsson or Bo Hall) (born 16 April 1951) is an Icelandic pop singer from Hafnarfjörður. He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song '' ...

's "Hjá mér um jólin

Using the pseudonym SiRiS, he has composed songs for leading artists in Iceland as well as for artists abroad. Among Icelandic artists, he has written for Dísella Lárusdóttir, Steinar (singer), Steinar, Yohanna, Íris Hólm, Ragnheiður Gröndal,

Kalli Bjarni Karl Bjarni Guðmundsson aka Kalli Bjarni (born 6 January 1976 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic singer who rose to popularity after winning '' Idol Stjörnuleit'', the Icelandic version of ''Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music com ...

, Aron Hannes,

, Magni Ásgeirsson, and

. Among foreign artists, he has written for

Eivør Eivor, Eivør or Øyvor is a female given name in the Nordic countries. In Sweden, 4,922 people bear the name. The average age is 78. The name perhaps originated from either the Proto-Norse word ''auja'', which is thought to mean "good luck", o ...

, Kristel Lisberg, Kristina Skoubo Bærendsen, Jógvan Hansen, and Paula Valentaitė. His song "

", which represented Iceland at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2004 The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song " Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European B ...

, was covered in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

by Tobi Jooste as "Kaapstad". The song was well received and in 2006 won the

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...

for "Cover of the Year". Sveinn received his award at a press conference in Finland the following year. He rarely performs in public, but among his performances he has either recorded or played

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

, Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto,

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

's Etudes Op. 25 and various

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

compositions. In an interview in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, he cited Sergei Rachmaninoff as his favorite composer. Besides his involvement in pop and classical music, he has also composed music featuring Kristina Bærendsen for Chinese

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

'' Wings Over Everest'', written and directed by Fay Yu, which will be released on 15 November 2019.

Eurovision Song Contest

Entries in the Eurovision Song Contest

Entries in Eurovision pre-selections

Söngvakeppnin (Iceland)

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: "Með þér" by Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir & Dísella Lárusdóttir, Final *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: "100% hamingja" by Heiða, Final *

: "Útópía" by Dísella Lárusdóttir, 5th *

: "Mynd af þér" by

, 4th *

: "Draumur" by Hreimur Heimisson, Semifinal *

: " Ég les í lófa þínum" by

, 1st *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: "Hugarró" by Magni Ásgeirsson, 3rd *

: "Leyndarmál" by Íris Hólm, Semifinal *

: "Stund með þér" by Rósa Birgitta Ísfeld, Final *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

: "Ekki líta undan" by Magni Ásgeirsson, Final *

: "Til þín" by Jógvan Hansen & Stefanía Svavarsdóttir, Final *

: "Augnablik". by Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, Semifinal *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

: "Augnablik". by Stefania Svavarsdóttir, 6th (Semifinal) *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

: "Tonight". by Aron Hannes, 3rd *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

: "Gold Digger" by Aron Hannes, 4th *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

: "Mama Said" by Kristina Skoubo Bærendsen, 5th *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: "Keep It Cool" by Suncity and Sanna, Semifinal

Eurovizijos (Lithuania)

: "1 2 3" by Paula, 6th *

: "Turn It Up" by Germantė Kinderytė, 12th (Quarterfinal) *

External links

Artist's homepage

Ríkisútvarpið RUV - The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service

Ruv ESC 2013

Oikotimes

Eurovision.tv Icelandic ESC 2013

Eurovision.tv Icelandic ESC 2004

Icelandic ESC 2015, Augnablik
* Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigurdsson, Sveinn Runar 1976 births Living people Icelandic composers Icelandic male musicians 20th-century composers 21st-century composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians