Hannigan to Helm Iceland Symphony

Barbara Hannigan is to be the next chief conductor and artistic director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra as of August 2026. She succeeds Eva Ollikainen, whose four-season contract commenced in 2020-21.

Hannigan, also an acclaimed soprano, has committed to three seasons of six programs plus touring and recording per year; Ollikainen’s remit calls for eight programs.

ISO Managing Director Lára Sóley Jóhannsdóttir called the new conductor, “one of a kind, …an outstanding artist… renowned for …her unique expression. The frst time she walked on stage to conduct our orchestra, we all felt something exceptional and unique in the air.”  

Hannigan first led the 70-year-old ISO in 2022 at the Reykjavík Arts Festival. The program: Ives’s  Unanswered Question, Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht, Berg’s Suite from Lulu, and Gershwin’s Girl Crazy Suite.

In comments, she called the musicians “curious, courageous and creative….Their technical excellence co-exists alongside their wonderful imagination.” Working with them, she said,  “I have felt the desire and possibility, for the frst time, to consider a position as chief conductor.”

Indeed, Iceland will mark her first time in the position, although she will retain her current affiliations as principal guest conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, associate artist of the London Symphony Orchestra, Première Artiste Invitée with l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and, as of 2024-25, principal guest of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.

She’ll also continue to guest conduct internationally, as in the past, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Munich Philharmonic, among many others. She is the Reinbert de Leeuw Professor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the founder of the mentoring program Equilibrium Young Artists and Momentum: Our Future Now. Committed to contemporary composers, she boasts premiering over 85 new works and past collaborations with composers including Gyo¨rgy Ligeti, Henri Dutilleux, Gerald Barry, Pierre Boulez, John Zorn, George Benjamin, and Hans Abrahamsen.