Hulda Jónsdóttir

My Education: I started violin lessons at the age of 4 in Reykjavík and completed a Diploma from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2009 with Guðný Guðmundsdóttir. Then I moved to New York to study at The Juilliard School where my teachers were Robert Mann, Nicholas Mann, David Chan and Laurie Smukler. I completed a Bachelor of Music degree in 2013 and a Master of Music degree in 2015.

My favorite musical composition: It’s impossible to answer this question but if I were stuck on a desert island with one piece of music I would choose Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

My greatest musical experience:So many and thankfully many more to come! Playing my first Mahler symphony in Texas the summer of 2007 and realizing during the the performance that I wanted to play in an orchestra for a living, the sheer rush of the first time playing a solo concerto with an orchestra…but maybe the best of them all was my very first time playing a “real” violin. I started playing in a Suzuki program where at the very beginning you are given a paper violin while becoming comfortable with the playing position. I was so excited to finally have a violin that produced a sound that I played (on open strings only!) for two hours without stopping.

My most memorable/funny/unusual experience in the Kapel: My very first concert with the Kapel and Bertrand de Billy in February 2018 was an outstandingly rewarding musical experience, and even better, an introduction to the wonderful cast of characters that now are my colleagues.

When I’m not playing in the Kapel: I play as much chamber music as possible, among others with my string quintet Wooden Elephant that specialises in our original acoustic arrangements of complete albums by non classical artists. So far our repertoire consists of Björk, Radiohead and Beyoncé. Non-musically I love reading and being outside as much as possible - whether on a hike, a bike, a jog or just a walk, eating good food and talking about food! After starting in the Kapel I’ve started practicing yoga and karate, both keep my body and mind sharp and calm, and I find that they complement the type of concentration needed to play in an orchestra from a different perspective.