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Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson was born in Reykjavík in 1938. He studied the piano at the Reykjavík College of Music. Graduate studies took him to the United States, where he studied composition, first at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Among his theachers were R.G. Harris, Kenneth Gaburo and Lejaren Hiller. Thorkell attended seminars in composition at Darmstadt in Germany and Nice, France. Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson is one of the best known and prolific of Icelandic composers today and his catalog is extensive. Besides composing, he is a theacher of therory and composition at the Reykjavík College of Music. Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson has appeared as a pianist, both in concert and in recordings. He was a music critic for the Morgunblaðið newspaper and has also been a program host the National Broadcasting Service. From 1983-88 Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson was president of the Society of Icelandic Composers. On returning from abroad in 1962, Thorkell participated in Musica Nova, a society for the promotion and perfomance of new music, and played an active role in the creation of modern Icelandic music culture. Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson´s music is extremely varied. In his extensive catalog one finds orchestral works, solo concertos, a variety of chamber works, electronic and computer music, solo pieces, chamber operas, songs and choral music,-both sacred and secular. His hymns are among his best known and most beloved works. Thorkell´s contribution to Icelandic music life is vast. This is clearly confirmed in his output of brilliant music, but also in his influence in many other ways. Since Thorkell Sigurbjörnson came home from his studies abroad, he has been the theacher of the majority of Icelandic composers and professional musicians
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