Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir

Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir is a harpist, performer, lecturer, composer and project manager. During her studies, she specialized in the performance practice of contemporary music. Since then, exploring and expanding the harp as an instrument has been at the core of her diverse career. In 2013, she became the first harpist to earn a doctorate from the doctoral programme at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Her dissertation has become a well-established and widely used encyclopedia of contemporary harp techniques and notation worldwide (www.harpnotation.com). In 2004 she co-founded the Berlin-based ensemble Adapter with percussionist Matthias Engler. Additionally, she has performed with various European ensembles and orchestras, including Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche, and Klangforum Wien. As a lecturer, she has been invited to teach at several universities, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music and the University of Pennsylvania. In 2017/18, she was a harp lecturer at the Lucerne Festival Academy, and since 2014 she has led the harp studio at the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music. Einarsdóttir’s artistic practice is increasingly shifting toward improvisation and composition, both solo and in collaboration with other artists and disciplines. While the harp remains central to her work, she actively expands her artistic vocabulary into other creative fields.