Daníel Bjarnason was announced today as the new Principal Guest Conductor of Iceland Symphony Orchestra, starting in September 2019 for a tenure of two years. This follows on from his role with the orchestra as Artist-in-Residence where he was featured as composer and conductor. He will join the Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s conducting team of Yan Pascal Tortelier (Principal Conductor), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Conductor Laureate), Osmo Vänskä (Honorary Conductor) and Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason (Assistant Conductor).
 
As Principal Guest Conductor, Daníel will conduct several concerts over the season at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, complete three albums of Icelandic music for the Sono Luminus label, and lead the Orchestra on their highly anticipated European tour in November 2019.
 
​“It is a great honour to be appointed principal guest conductor of the Iceland Symphony from the autumn of 2019. In recent years I have enjoyed a very close and wonderful relationship with the Orchestra and I look forward to continuing to work with the great people that make up the ISO — both the players on stage and the people behind the scenes” says Daníel Bjarnason.
 
​“Daníel is an unusually versatile artist with a deep understanding – both as a composer and as a conductor – of the symphony orchestra as a musical instrument,” said Arna Kristín Einarsdóttir, Managing Director of the ISO. ​“He has achieved great international success and has worked with some of the best and most respected orchestras and conductors in the world. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra has enjoyed a prosperous partnership with Daníel and co-commissioned works of his with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Danish National Opera. We are extremely happy about the fact that Daníel has become the first Icelandic conductor to be appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. We are proud of Daníel and his artistic achievements and expect wonderful things from our collaboration with him.”