School bands shine at the opening of the Reykjavík Arts Festival 2026
Reykjavík City's school bands performed the world premiere of "Loftvægi," a new composition by musician Samúel Jón Samúelsson, to open this year's Reykjavík Arts Festival. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at how the piece came together.
Four of Reykjavík City's school bands, bringing together 600 young people, performed the piece in front of Harpa concert hall, with each band approaching from a different direction before converging at the end. The title "Loftvægi" is an old term for air pressure, representing the equal contribution of every player blowing into an instrument for the piece.
Countless hours of rehearsal and preparation culminated in the performance. The young people who participated deserve high praise for their outstanding performance of Samúel Jón's beautiful composition. Samúel and Lára Sóley Jóhannsdóttir, artistic director of the Reykjavík Arts Festival, provided artistic direction alongside choreographer Valgerður Rúnarsdóttir.
School bands play a vital role in the city's neighborhoods
Reykjavík City's school bands deliver vital music programming throughout the city's neighborhoods, giving young people the opportunity to pursue music education. For decades, they have brought the city to life. The Vesturbær and Austurbær school bands have been active since 1954, the Árbær and Breiðholt school band since 1968, and the Grafarvogur school band since 1992.
The accompanying video takes us behind the scenes to show how preparations unfolded. Visual communications project managers Antonía Lárusdóttir and Erla Stefánsdóttir produced the video, together with photographer Róbert Reynisson.