Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, cello

Icelandic-American cellist, Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, enjoys a varied career as a performer, collaborator, and educator. She has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Iceland Symphony, among others, and and the press have described her as “charismatic” and “riveting” (NYTimes) and praised her performances for their “emotional intensity” (LATimes). An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated in performance with Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode and members of the Emerson, Guarneri, St. Lawrence and Cavani Quartets and has performed in numerous chamber music festivals, including Santa Fe, Seattle, Stellenbosch, Orcas Island, Bay Chamber, Prussia Cove and Marlboro, with whom she has toured.

Nominated for the 2019 Nordic Music Prize, Sæunn is a champion of music from her native Iceland, premiering and recording prize-winning cello concerti “Bow to String” by Daníel Bjarnason and “Quake” by Páll Ragnar Pálsson. Her solo CD, Vernacular, was released in early 2019 on the Sono Luminus label and includes works for solo cello by Þuríður Jónsdóttir, Halldór Smárason, Páll Ragnar Pálsson and Hafliði Hallgrímsson.
Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Sæunn serves on the faculty of the University of Washington in Seattle, teaching cello and chamber music.