Translation: Nico Borbély

There's a group on the University of Iceland campus that keeps a low profile. Some of us may not know about them, while others have seen them perform on special occasions, such as graduations: they are the members of the University Choir.

Greipur Garðarsson is the current president of the choir. Previously, he held other positions within the choir, including that of social director. We chatted a bit about the choir and how it has been affected during COVID times. This interview was conducted prior to the introduction of the stricter restrictions which are currently in place.

48 Years of Singing

The University Choir was established in 1972. About a hundred members are active in the choir as things currently stand, though this number often decreases as the semester progresses. As a blended choir, it is divided into soprano, alto, tenor, and bass vocal sections. The sections are fairly balanced this fall, at around 60/40 (S+A/T+B).

Auditions are held at the beginning of every semester, but not just anyone is accepted. “We have a rule that we only accept new members who are at least 18 years old,” says Greipur. Current members range from 18-33 years of age. Greipur says that auditions went a little too well. “It’s awful to try to practice with over 100 members in COVID times, so we had to split the choir into smaller groups in addition to postponing our first practices.”

When I asked Greipur about funding, he explains that the University funds the choir, “since we take part in official university events, celebrations, and things like that. We also get a bit of funding from Student Services (Félagsstofnun stúdenta), and we try to apply for other grants as well. We also charge a membership fee, but it will be much lower now since the things we normally spend the bulk of the fees on are no longer possible.”

Stúdentablaðið/Sædís Harpa Stefánsdóttir

A Diverse Group with Classic Choir Songs

“We repay Neskirkja, the church where we practice, by singing at Mass. People differ greatly in terms of their religious beliefs, but everyone takes part without issue. Skúli, the minister at Neskirkja, is a great speaker and has very modern views on religion, which I very much appreciate,” says Greipur when asked about the choir’s song choices. He adds, “our conductor Gunnsteinn is a very ‘classic’ man. He says we shouldn’t touch gospel music; the one and only time we tried, the choir had to say no. We have also been trying to take song recommendations from choir members.” Greipur says that most of the songs are in Icelandic, with very few of them falling outside this classical circle.

The choir’s members come from many different corners of society, but all share a talent for singing and a love of having fun. “Many people in the choir are already working. It’s definitely not exclusive to university students. Just like me, I’m not a student anymore. Once there was a man who was in the choir for 12 years. He’s a painter and never went to university. So it’s quite open!” But the majority of the choir’s members are University of Iceland students, with a few additional members from the University of Reykjavík and Iceland University of the Arts. Exchange students also make up a good chunk of the group. “We usually get quite a few exchange students in the choir - I’d say normally maybe 30-40% are exchange students - in addition to international students who have moved here longer term. It’s amazing how diverse it is!” says Greipur.

He adds that singing in Icelandic is no problem at all, though a considerable part of the group is comprised of exchange students. “There’s always one member of the choir with the title Master of Pronunciation, who helps the non-Icelandic-speaking exchange and international students with Icelandic pronunciation. Not everyone is interested in learning Icelandic, but those who put in the effort achieve excellent results.” Practices are typically run in Icelandic, but this is no obstacle either. “The exchange students are quick to pick up on the key words Gunnsteinn uses and understand what he’s asking of us.”

To Sing, Live, Have Fun....

Although the conductor helps with organising events and has other management responsibilities, the University Choir is run fundamentally by its own members themselves. Among other things, Greipur guides people’s participation in various projects. “In a normal year, which this one isn’t, we have a big concert in the fall, in addition to smaller, lower-key Christmas and spring concerts. We often travel abroad in the spring to take part in large international choral events and competitions. Before I joined the choir, we traveled abroad every other year, but since I joined it has been every year. We also sing at the University’s graduation ceremonies as well as other, more occasional events.”

Aside from being very active in musical events, social life is also a key aspect of the choir. In fact, it can be said that there is a distinctly student association-like feeling to the choir’s social life. Greipur says that many members have stopped participating in their respective student associations due to the choir’s active and dynamic social atmosphere. “It’s hard to have choir parties this year, but usually we have newbie parties at the beginning of each semester, a Halloween party, two general meetings where we also have a lot of fun, an annual gala in the spring, and a camping trip as well.” Every semester, a choir camp is organized over a specific weekend, where members travel out of town to practice and have fun.

These are Hard Times…

The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively affected all parts of society, and the country’s choirs are no exception. Many choirs have cancelled concerts and rehearsals, often due to the advanced ages of their members. What about the University Choir, with its much younger membership?

“When the pandemic started in the spring, we had to cancel all our practices. When things calmed down, we were able to have a few more practices before graduation in June, and then sang at the ceremony. We had been planning a trip to Scotland over the summer, which was of course cancelled as well.” Recently, the board has tried to split the choir into separate vocal sections for some practices, with Greipur additionally splitting the groups up into two smaller, blended choirs, “where, for example, I’ve grouped family members, people who live together, couples, and so on, in order to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.”

Finally, I asked Greipur about the choir’s plans for the near future, but as expected, they are unclear. “We postponed our plans for a big concert in the fall semester until the end of spring, but we’ll just have to see if it works out or not. We thought about trying to record something this fall instead. Then it could always happen that someone in the group gets infected and we have to go into isolation.”

_________________________________________________________________________

You can learn more about the University Choir at kor.hi.is, as well as on Facebook and Instagram. You can also stream the choir’s music on Spotify.

“It’s Awful Trying to Practice with Over 100 People in COVID Times”