Harpa plays along
with the nation's musical life and is the main stage of Icelandic music.
Harpa emphasises its cultural role in promoting Icelandic music and is involved in carefully selected projects to achieve this goal.
Harpa has developed a programme strategy to increase the diversity of concert performances, support innovation in music and facilitate access for young grassroots musicians across music genres to Harpa as a music hall for all citizens.
Upprásin
The Upprásin concert series is part of Harpa's programme strategy to improve grassroots and young people's access to all musical genres and increase diversity. The goal is also for music enthusiasts to hear a variety of new Icelandic music straight from the grassroots of the music scene, performed under ideal conditions in the nation's music hall. Upprásin takes place once a month in the winter from September to May. Applications are open in the spring months.
Sunday Classics
Sunday Classics is an umbrella term for classical concert series and individual events in Norðurljós/Kaldalón on Sundays from September to mid-May each year. The emphasis is on a diverse selection of concerts with classical vocal and instrumental music. The organization is in the hands of the musical groups themselves, but Harpa supports the series with discounts on hall rental, promotion and marketing assistance. Everyone is free to apply, and every effort is made to reach as many people as possible.
The Upbeat
The Upbeat aims to promote the musical creativity of young people and encourage children and young people to compose their own music. Upptaktinn is for children in grades 5-10, and the application process takes place at the beginning of each year. Those who advance participate in a music workshop with students of Creative Music Communication at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, in addition to working on arrangements under the guidance of students of the Faculty of Composition.
