Borgar Magnason

Borgar Magnason is a double bass player and composer, he readily interprets soundscapes based on visual material, including the visual arts. His practice is closely related to the visual world.

Throughout his career, Borgar Magnason has consistently proven himself to be among the most diverse & innovative artists in music. Classically trained but today unbound by genre, his musical interests span everything from composing music for film, tv and theatre to solo performances of cutting edge contemporary music to multimedia collaborations as well as writing orchestral arrangements for a.o. Andrea Bocelli and adding his signature bass drones to the music of Sigurrós. His music to the National Theater of Iceland production of The Father by Florian Zeller was nominated as the composition of the year at The 2019 Icelandic Music Awards.

Initially trained in classical double bass, Magnason started his career performing with various orchestras and ensembles on both sides of the Atlantic in addition to holding a position as teaching assistant in contemporary performance at both the Juilliard School and Mannes College in New York.

His love for the sonic capabilities of the double bass and composition led him towards collaborations within the realm of contemporary dance and visual arts. His soft spot for the latter medium led to work with a.o. filmmaker Guy Maddin, Dutch video artists 33 1/3, Húbert Nói, the Italian art duo Masbedo and Gabríela Friðriksdóttir. 

He has in his capacity as a performer collaborated, played and recorded with a wide array of other artists including Michel Legrand, Yoko Kanno, Brian Eno, Damien Rice, Howie B, Sigurrós, Nico Muhly, Ane Brun, Björk, Ben Frost, Puzzle Muteson, and Daníel Bjarnason.

In 2013 Magnason served as arranger and music director on The Wasp Factory, an opera by Ben Frost that had its world-premiere at Bregenz Festival in 2013 and subsequent performances at various opera houses around the world, among them an extended run at the Royal Opera House, London.