![\"BjossiThor\"](\"https:\/\/hafnarfjordur.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bjossithor-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBj\u00f6rn Thoroddsen, one of the country's most famous and beloved guitarists, is the 2022 Artist in Residence of Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur. He has, in his sincere and beautiful way, stamped himself into the minds and hearts of guitar enthusiasts around the world and enriched the cultural life of his hometown, Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, with his events. Bj\u00f6rn, or Bj\u00f6ssi Thor as he is commonly known, has for the past few decades been one of the country's foremost jazz musicians and has received various accolades as such. A tradition has developed in Hafnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur of celebrating the last day of winter by selecting the town's Artist of the Year.<\/p>\n
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Bj\u00f6rn was 11 years old when he started learning the guitar, studying classical guitar at the Sigursveinn D. Kristinsson School of Music. He then went on to study at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, graduating in 1982. Bj\u00f6rn quickly began to compose and arrange, and works continuously on recordings and concerts both at home and abroad, having played with some of the world's most talented guitarists. He has released over thirty albums under his own name, as well as numerous collaborative projects, and his music has been released internationally. He has composed and arranged music for the trio Guitar Islancio, which has received well-deserved attention for its innovative arrangements of folk songs. Bj\u00f6rn is not only one of the country's most well-known guitarists, but he is also admired worldwide and has performed his music extensively, appearing in the United States, Canada, Russia, Spain, Germany, England, and across the Nordic countries. Bj\u00f6rn has received various accolades for his work throughout his career. In 2003, he was named \u201eJazz Musician of the Year\u201c, the first Icelandic guitarist to do so; Jazz Composer of the Year in 2005, received an award from the International Association for Jazz Education and was awarded the gold medal of the Icelandic Musicians\u201e Association for his contribution to jazz music in 2011. It is now 40 years since his first solo album, \u201cSvif', was released.<\/p>\n