Gísli Magnússon

Gísli Magnússon is a composer and music theory teacher from Reykjavík, Iceland. He studied composition at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and at Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he finished his master's studies in 2017. His main composition teacher's were Gunnar A. Kristinsson, Hróðmar I. Sigurbjörnsson, Atli Ingólfsson, Joël Bons, Willem Jeths and Wim Henderickx. 

Gísli has participated in various workshops and festivals, including Dark Music Days (IS), Ung Nordisk Musik (SE and NO) and Musiikin Aika (FI), were he had composition lessons with Kaija Saariaho in the summer of 2019. In 2017, Gísli was selected for Yrkja, a workshop for young composers with the Iceland Symphony Orchestrra, which led to the premiere of his piece "Akvocirkulado" on Dark Music Days in January 2018. Gísli’s compositions have been performed in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, USA and Brazil, by various musicians and ensembles, including Duo Harpverk, Score Collective, Elja Ensemble, Sjøforsvarets musikkorps, Uusinta Ensemble, Kompass Ensemble, Jökla Ensemble, Orquestra Filarmônica da UFPR and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

In his music, Gísli frequently seeks inspiration in the nature of his home country, Iceland, and in some of his works he deliberately depicts natural phenomena, such as waterfalls, lava-fields and geysers. A recurring element in Gísli’s music are diverse and colourful sound textures which he creates by combining various instrumental effects and extended techniques.