Alumna Barbara Hannigan to lead Iceland Symphony Orchestra
On May 15, 2024, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra announced that they have selected Faculty of Music graduate Barbara Hannigan as their as chief conductor and artistic director. Hannigan holds three degrees from the University of Toronto: a Bachelor of Music in Performance, 1993, a Master of Music, 1999, and Honorary Doctor of Laws, 2017, the latter awarded for her outstanding contributions to music. She is slated to begin her appointment at the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2026.
Born in Nova Scotia, Hannigan moved to Toronto for her final year of high school, and began taking private singing lessons from Faculty of Music professor Mary Morrison. Though Morrison told her that at 17 she may be considered too young to get into the Faculty of Music to study voice, Hannigan was accepted and began her first degree program in 1989. While at the university, Hannigan participated in many ensembles, and on at least one occasion while only 19, led the Jazz Choir in concert.
Since completing her Master of Music in 1999, Hannigan has specialised in performing contemporary and modern compositions as a professional soprano, singing the premieres of over 90 works. In 2010, she made her professional conducting debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, leading Stravinsky's opera-ballet Renard. Since then, Hannigan has performed simultaneously as singer/conductor and as conductor for the Gothenburg Symphony, the Julliard Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Hannigan stated that she never intended to become a conductor full-time, and this appointment at the ISO willl enable her to continue to take on engagements singing with orchestras and in recital. She will be on visiting Toronto in November 2024 to perform Scriabin, Messiaen, and John Zorn with pianist Bertrand Chamayou, and is slated to lead a masterclass for University of Toronto students.
