Jón Sigurðsson Jónsson

Jón Sigurðsson Jónsson was considered a promising musician from an early age and at the age of seventeen, received awards for his achievements in piano performance and music theory at Tónlistarskóli Ísafjarðar.

In Reykjavík, Jón studied among others with Árni Kristjánsson and Jón Þórarinsson, while also composing music and conducting choirs. In the autumn of 1958 he moved to the United States to study at Northwestern University in Illinois. He completed his master’s degree in the spring of 1958 and then began doctoral studies. Jón received awards in America for his compositions.

After completing his studies, Jón returned to Iceland where he worked as a music critic, choir conductor, and composer, and from 1963 served as the first principal of Tónlistarskóli Kópavogs. In 1965 Jón moved back to the United States, where he worked thereafter as a university professor. From 1974 he taught at Eastern New Mexico University and headed the university’s music theory department until his retirement in 1997. In recognition of his distinguished career, Jón was named Professor Emeritus, and a scholarship fund for promising piano students was established in his name: the Jon S. Jonsson Memorial Piano Scholarship.

It is not known exactly how much Jón composed, but the works for which documentation has been found are listed on his page at musik.is