Gudny Valborg Gudmundsdottir

Composer and accordionist Guðný Valborg Guðmundsdóttir was born in Akureyri, Iceland on the 8th of November 1990. From a young age she studied accordion under the guidance of Ingvi Vaclav Alfreðsson at Akureyri Music School along with classes in music theory. In 2010 she began her studies at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík and graduated from the compositional department in 2013 with her graduation project Missa Brevis, a short mass for mixed choir and accordion. Her main composition teachers have been Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Hróðmar Ingi Sigurbjörnsson and Ríharður H. Friðriksson.

Guðný has composed works for choir, ensembles, electronics, dance projects and soundtracks for several short films. In 2012, Duo Harpverk premiered her piece “Milli svefns og vöku” for harp, vibraphone and metal chimes at Dark Music Days festival. The same year “Sólfagri son” for mixed choir was premiered at the Chamber Festival in Kirkjubæjarklaustur by the South Iceland Chamber Choir. In June 2013, Guðný received a Leonardo grant to work as an intern at Edition·S – music¬sound¬art in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Guðný is an accordion teacher and sings alto in the Icelandic Women’s Choir in Copenhagen and the Student Choir of the Royal Danish Academy of Music.