Daníel Bjarnason

Daníel Bjarnason (born 26 February 1979[1]) is a composer and conductor from Iceland. Daníel studied composition, piano and conducting in Reykjavik, before going on to further study orchestral conducting at the University of Music, Freiburg.[2] He has had a number of works commissioned and debuted by Los Angeles Philharmonic.[3][4][5]

He has garnered widespread acclaim for his debut album, Processions (2010), with Time Out NY declaring that Daníel "create(s) a sound that comes eerily close to defining classical music's undefinable brave new world".[6]

Daníel is currently composer-in-residence at the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, Eindhoven[7] and was artist in residence with Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2018. He has also collaborated with respected artists from many different genres, including Ben Frost,[8] Sigur Ros[9] and Brian Eno.[10]

Various conductors have also performed Daníel's work, including Gustavo Dudamel,[11] John Adams,[12] André de Ridder,[13] James Conlon,[14] Louis Langrée[15] and Ilan Volkov.[16]

Daníel's recent work has included collaborations with the Los Angeles Philharmonic,[17] Rambert Dance Company,[18] Britten Sinfonia,[19] Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,[20] So Percussion[21] and the Calder Quartet.[22] In August 2017, he acted as a co-curator, composer and conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Reykjavik Festival.[23]