The Icelandic Male Choir Karlakór Hreppamanna, is one of many male choirs in Iceland, where there is a strong tradition of male choirs.
Hreppamanna Male Choir is based in the countryside in the south of Iceland, where many of the the great wonders of Icelandic nature can be found. To name a few, one could mention Geysir, the geothermal hot spring area, Gullfoss, one of the most beautiful waterfalls, Hekla, one of the best known volcanoes in the world, and Langjökull, the second largest glacier in Europe. With the power of this nature surrounding, Hreppamanna Male Choir was founded 1st of April 1997 when a small group of farmers, all with a great interest of singing, got together and decided to give it a try, to found a male choir. The aim was to get a group of men from the communities in the area to meet for the first practice on the 1st of April. Even though it was AprilFool’sDay, 20 men showed up and the history of Hreppamanna Male Choir began.
The Hreppamanna Male Choir is an amateur choir, consisting of around 55 active members, farmers and men working in the small villages in the countryside, where hospitality is greatly known and the people are close with nature.
Today, the choir gives many concerts annually in the communities in the south west and in Reykjavik. It has released one cd with songs written by a famous composer in Iceland, Sigurður Ágústsson, who was born in the same area as the choir, and lived there all his life. The choir has performed on the radio and appeared in concerts with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and many of the most famous soloists in Iceland.
In the year 2010, Hreppamanna Male Choir organized and managed the biannual Icelandic Male Choir Summit where all the Male Choirs in the south of Iceland gather to sing together. The event was attended by more than 2000 guests and 500 Male Choir singers and the Hreppamanna Male Choir impressed their fellow choirs and guests with their organization skills and their close friendship.
The last two years have been very ambitioussince. In 2012 the Choir celebrated the 200thanniversary of Franz Liszt, and in 2013 it celebrated the 200thanniversaries of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, with concerts based on many of their best known operas and songs.
The conductor
Edit Molnár graduated from Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapes with an MA degree in choir directing. Edit has temporarily been in Iceland since 1994 and has become one of the most active choral conductor in the country. Beside leading the KH, which she’s also one of the founding members of, Edit has also a childrens choir, a church choir and a mixed choir under her supervision.
Since the Hreppamanna Male Choir was founded, the choir has been fortunate to have Edit as its conductor.
The accompanist
Miklós Dalmay received his Master and Doctor Diploma as a concert pianist at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He has won several awards in international competitions and has given concerts all over in Europe. He moved to Iceland in 1994, where he has won the Icelandic National Award and became soon one of the leader soloists, giving solo recitals, performing with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, chamer music ensembles and singers.
Since the Hreppamanna Male Choir was founded, the choir has been fortunate to have Miklós as its accompanist.
