Hi, I am Sigrun Edvaldsdottir, born in Reykjavik, Iceland and Concertmaster of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra since 1998.
I went to the United States at the age of 17 to study at the marvelous school "The Curtis institute of Music"in Philadelphia where I studied with Jaimee Laredo and Jascha Brodsky and received my Bachelor of Music in 1988.
Before studying there I went to Interlochen National Music Camp in Michigan where I was Concertmaster of "The worlds youth orchestra"and while there studied with a wonderful teacher Alcestis Perry who then introduced me to Mr.and Mrs.Vamos the renowned dynamic violin teacher duo.They took me under their wings and invited me to stay in their house from january to May in 1984 where they spoiled me with giving me lessons almost every day and prepared me for auditions at Juilliard and Curtis.They became my most important mentors throughout my life. After Curtis I became the founding member of "the Miami string quartet" and was on the faculty at "the New World school of the arts" in Miami for two years. After that I left the quartet to practice my solo pieces and concertos and to take part in International Violin Competitions and won a few prizes including 2.prize in the Leopold Mozart competition in 1987, the 5th prize in the Carl Nielsen Competition in 1988 and received the bronze medal in the 1990 Sibelius competition. And just last December I had the honor of being one of the judges in the Sibelius competition in Helsinki after having been a prize winner there 25 years ago.
While I was practicing a lot and trying my luck as a soloist I was also very lucky to play for Mr. Sandor Vegh in master classes in Cornwall in 1992 and he had a big influence on me. I enjoyed a fun and eventful career, performed all over the world and went on a world tour doing something a little different when I played with Björk the Icelandic pop star. I played in a chamber music festival in Mumbai, India, hosted by friends of mine from my Curtis years, I went to Marlboro Music Festival as a young girl and got to play and study with the greatest and I performed on "Music festivals at sea" with P.O. cruises and travelled with them to the most exotic places. I also went twice to China and got to travel a bit there and gave some master classes where I heard wonderful talents.
I love the violin and feel so lucky with all my teachers who have inspired me and look forward to give back and pass on the knowledge.
Sincerely yours,
Sigrun.