APPLICATION OPEN FROM JANUARY 10TH. Deadline for applications is February 16th at midnight.
We are very excited to receive your ideas for musical works!

Information

Upptakturinn is a collaborative project between Menningarhúsið Hof and Harpa. The focus is on encouraging children and young people to compose music and supporting them in fully developing their ideas. Participants who are selected will work on arrangements under the guidance of experienced musicians. At the end of this process, new musical works will be created, which will be performed at a concert and preserved through recordings.

Objectives of Upptakturinn

• Creation – To promote musical composition among young people and encourage children and youth to create their own music.
• Documentation – To help children and youth fully develop their ideas in workshops and thereby preserve their music.
• Performance – To give children and youth the opportunity to experience their own music performed by professionals in ideal concert conditions at Menningarhúsið Hof.

How to Participate:

• Eligibility: Upptakturinn is open to children and young people in grades 5–10 in primary schools in North East Iceland.
• Length: The musical work, regardless of style, should be 1–5 minutes long and can be a solo or ensemble piece for up to 6 performers.
• Submission: Submit your composition or idea as either traditional or graphic notation, text, or a recording (recordings must be in MP3 format).

Send the submission electronically to upptakturinn@mak.is, along with:

• Author’s name
• Age
• Email address
• School
• Title of the work
• The work itself
• Name, phone number, and email of a guardian.

Here you can watch videos from the 2024 Upptakturinn concerts, where professional musicians performed works by the 10 young participants selected for that year’s event.

Selection Process

A panel of judges, composed of music professionals, will select participants from the submitted applications. Up to 10 works will be chosen for participation.

Workshops with Professionals

Selected works will be completed with the help of music professionals in composition workshops. Individual workshops will take place in Hof, as well as group workshops, with the applicants chosen to participate.

Concerts

Concerts will follow the workshops as a kind of celebration for participants. The concert will be held on April 27th at 5 PM in Hamraborg, Hof. The concert is part of the Children’s Culture Festival in Akureyri. Everyone is WELCOME, and admission is free.

Composition Awards

All works performed at the concerts will receive the Composition Award: Upptakturinn 2025.

Additional Information

The project manager for Upptakturinn is Kristín Sóley Björnsdóttir, who is happy to provide further information via upptakturinn@mak.is or by phone at 450-1007.

Music Director: Greta Salóme (musician).

Workshop mentors for participants: Greta Salóme and Kristján Edelstein (musician).