Grants from the Fridrik's Fund awarded

On Friday, 27th November, 140 years had passed since the birth of Friðrik Bjarnason, an organist and composer, whose wife, Guðlaug Pétursdóttir, wrote our local anthem, „You Shining Hafnarfjörður“.

The couple gave the City of Hafnarfjörður almost all of their possessions before they died, and a fund was established from their gift to support and promote the musical life in Hafnarfjörður. Grants from the fund were recently advertised, and the presentation of the grants took place via a remote meeting on Friday, 27 November, where Mayor Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir formally presented the grants.

The Hafnarborg Song Festival received a grant of kr. 445,000, which was accepted by the singer Guðrún Jóhanna Ólafsdóttir, and Andrés Þór Þorvarðarson received a grant of 210,000 kr. for the project. „…On New Notes“, which is about new arrangements and performances of the songs of Friðrik Bjarnason.

Singing Festival at Hafnarborg was founded in 2017 and the fifth festival will take place from 24 June to 4 July 2021. It offers concerts with soloists, choirs and instrumentalists, a masterclass for young singers and vocal students which concludes with a public concert, singing courses for amateurs, and courses for children and teenagers. The singing festival aims to promote the art of the voice and has received well-deserved media attention, good attendance at concerts and courses, very positive reviews from critics and significant viewership on YouTube .

…On new notes: In collaboration with the Friðrik's Department of the Hafnarfjörður Library, Andrés Þór will select and arrange four songs by Friðrik Bjarnason, which are held in the department's collection. The arrangements will be designed to highlight the timelessness of Friðrik's compositions and to present the works in a new light.sion for singing and performance. The performance will take place in the Friðrik's Department, with the piano taking centre stage in the arrangements, in order to celebrate one of Friðrik's greatest gifts to the collection: a grand piano. The Outreach Department of Hafnarfjörður Library will follow the process and produce short web features on the project's progress, with the aim of releasing a short documentary about the project.

Unfortunately, due to the gathering restrictions, several events that had been prepared for this occasion could not go ahead, but on this day, nursery school children sang Fridrik's song to the folk poem „Jólasveinar ganga um gólf“. the children of a nursery sang Fridrik's song to the folk poem 'Jólasveinar ganga um gólf' at the lighting of the Cuxhaven Christmas tree in the Christmas Village in Hafnarfjörður, in front of a small crowd. Then the event concluded. Hafnarfjörður Church for a memorial service for Friðrik Bjarnason, organist and composer on Sunday, 22nd November, which can be accessed on the church's website and social media.