Innsetning Bergrúnar Snæbjörnsdóttur byggir á verkinu „Ecognosis”, sem samið var fyrir International Contemporary Ensemble og frumflutt vorið 2021 á vegum Myrkra músíkdaga. Frumflutningurinn fór fram samtímis og í beinu streymi frá Roulette, New York, annars vegar og Norðurljósasal Hörpu hins vegar. Nú verður hægt að upplifa þennan flutning í innsetningarformi, ásamt 10 samómandi gongum, helgina 4. til 6. mars í Hörpu, í Hörpuhorninu.

“Frumefnislegur stíll” (-Steve Smith, New Yorker) Bergrúnar Snæbjörnsdóttur hefur verið fluttur í formi kammer- og hljóðverka víðsvegar um heim af hópum eins og Oslo Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Decibel, Avanti!, Distractfold, Duo Harpverk, Esbjerg Ensemble, Norrbotten NEO, Elja, Pärlor För Svin, Marco Fusi, William Winant, Tøyen Fil og Klafferi, Brák, National Sawdust Ensemble, Nordic Affect og fleirum. Þá hafa verk hennar verið valin til flutnings á virtum tónlistarhátíðum eins og Mostly Mozart Festival í Lincoln Center (US), Tectonics (UK, IS, GR, NO), Nordic Music Days (UK, NO, IS), Only Connect (NO), Classical:NEXT (NDL), SPOR (DK), Cycle (IS), Ultima (NO), Norður og Niður (IS), KLANG (DK), ISCM’s World New Music Days (CN), Sound of Stockholm, Prototype (US) auk annarra viðburða.

Ecognosis was written for the International Contemporary Ensemble and premiered online at two simultaneous locations in the spring of 2021 for Dark Music Days: Roulette, New York, and Norðurljós, Reykjavík. Performers were Rebekah Heller, bassoon, Joshua Rubin, bass clarinet, Josh Modney, violin, Kyle Armbrust, viola and Michael Nicolas, cello, alongside fifteen resonating gongs in total. This performance is presented here in installation form and it will take place in Hörpuhornið, Harpa. Many thanks go to Ross Karre, Maciej Lewandowski, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Dark Music Days and Harpa. 

Hailing from the peripheries of Iceland, Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir follows inner logics when approaching composition, often integrating sound and other phenomena into an indivisible whole. Her “elemental style” (Steve Smith, The New Yorker) has been commissioned and performed widely and by renowned groups such as the Oslo Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Decibel, Avanti!, Distractfold, Duo Harpverk, Esbjerg Ensemble, Norrbotten NEO, Elja, Pärlor för svin, Marco Fusi, William Winant, Tøyen Fil og Klafferi, Brák, National Sawdust Ensemble and Nordic Affect, while featured in major festivals and events such as Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart (US), Tectonics (UK, IS, GR, NO), Nordic Music Days (UK, NO, IS), Only Connect (NO), Classical:NEXT (NDL), SPOR (DK), Cycle (IS), Ultima (NO), Sigur Rós’s Norður og Niður (IS), KLANG (DK), ISCM’s World New Music Days (CN), Sound of Stockholm, Prototype (US) and more. Bergrún holds a master's degree in composition from Mills College where she studied with the likes of Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, Zeena Parkins, and Roscoe Mitchell. As a performer she has a diverse background, having in the past toured extensively and recorded with acts like Sigur Rós and Björk, as well as being a performer of experimental music in various constellations.