DanÃÂel Bjarnason (born 26 February 1979) is an Icelandic composer and conductor. He has garnered widespread acclaim for his debut album, Processions (2010), with TimeOut NY writing he "create(s) a sound that comes eerily close to defining classical music's undefinable brave new world".
Born on 26 February 1979, DanÃÂel studied composition, piano and conducting in Reykjavik, before going on to further study orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He has had a number of works commissioned and debuted by Los Angeles Philharmonic.
DanÃÂel is currently composer-in-residence at the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands and was artist-in-residence with Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2018. He has also collaborated with artists from many different genres, including Ben Frost, Sigur Rós and Brian Eno.
Various conductors have also performed DanÃÂel's work, including Gustavo Dudamel, John Adams, André de Ridder, James Conlon, Louis Langrée and Ilan Volkov.
DanÃÂel's recent work has included collaborations with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rambert Dance Company, Britten Sinfonia, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, So Percussion and the Calder Quartet. In August 2017, he acted as a co-curator, composer and conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Reykjavik Festival.
DanÃÂel has won numerous awards at the Icelandic Music Awards, including Song of the Year (2015) for "Ek ken di nag" and Composer of the Year, 2013 for his works The Isle Is Full of Noises and Over Light Earth. Over Light Earth (2013) won the Icelandic Music Award for the best classical CD of the year in 2013. Also in 2013, he and Ben Frost won the Edda Award for best soundtrack for their score to film The Deep, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. In 2010, DanÃÂel nominated for the prestigious Nordic Council's Music Prize, and won the Kraumur Music Award. DanÃÂel has also been awarded a grant from the Kristján Eldjárn Memorial Fund.