The award is voted on by readers of local newspaper Bæjarins Besta and its website, bb.is. Mugison won with 36 percent of votes cast.

In second place was Guðni Albert Einarsson, a managing director from the town of Suðureyri, with 32 percent of votes. Readers described Guðni variously as: “having worked tirelessly to build up the economy and culture of the Westfjords”, having “continually supported work to give blind Nigerian children sight”, as a “miracle man from Suðureyri”, and as a “child of the land and of the nation”.

Meanwhile Mugison’s star rose to new heights in 2011, selling 28,000 copies of his album Haglél and offering free concerts around the country in thanks for the public support. The tour ended with a three-concert run at Reykjavík’s Harpa concert centre, which sold out and were so popular that the ticketing website crashed. He is also the brain behind the more-popular-every-year Easter music festival in Ísafjörður, called Aldrei Fór Ég Suður – which has become the region’s biggest annual event.

Mugison is the first person to be named Westfjordian of the Year twice – having also won the prize in 2004.

55 people received anonymous online nominations in the poll; but in the end the top three took over 77 percent of the votes.

The Icelandic Sound Poetry Choir was established in 2003. It performs two to three times per year, and the choir has performed various works by Icelandic and foreign composers like Magnús Pálsson, Philip Corner, Eric Andersen, Kristinn G. Harðarson, Rúrí, Harpa Björnsdóttir, Ásta Ólafsdóttir, Eiríksína Ásgrímsdóttir, Áka Ásgeirsson, Magnea Ásmundsdóttir, Þorkell Atlason and Magnús Jensson.

The choir performed at the PPF Polipoetryfestival in Reykjavík 2006, it has performed twice at the Reykjavík Arts Festival and twice at the Sequences Art Festival.

Conductors have been from the beginning Snorri Sigfús Birgisson and Hörður Bragason. Hörður is now the main conductor.

The following works will be performed on Friday:

“Ekið úr bænum“ (for 4 voices).
By Kristinn G. Harðarson. Conductor Snorri Sigfús Birgisson. Premièred by the choir at the festival “Orðið tónlist” in Reykjavík Art Museum in 2005.

“Á strönd og sjó” (for 10 voices and a video).
By Kristinn G. Harðarson. Conductor Snorri Sigfús Birgisson. Premièred by the choir at the Living Art Museum in 2004.

“Samhverfun”
By Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson and Sigtryggur Baldursson, who also conducts.

Free admission.

Skúlagata 28, 101 Reykjavík.

Björk plans to give ten performances in the American city this February.

According to Vísir.is, six shows will take place at the New York Hall of Science and the last four will happen at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. No other shows in the United States of America are planned at the moment, the singer says.

Biophilia has received glowing reviews from critics and fans alike. In the show Björk is supported by a 24-strong girls’ choir and an array of brand new instruments which were invented and made personally by Björk and her friends.

The reason for the free Mugison concerts is to say ‘thank you’ for the great reception his new album Haglél has received over the last two months, the artist says. Over 12,000 copies have been sold so far; which is a lot in such a small country.

In addition to the free concerts in Harpa at 19.30 and 22.00 on 22nd December, for which no more tickets are available; Mugison will also play for free in Akureyri (twice), Bolungarvík, Seyðisfjörður and the Westman Islands (see below).

Friday 16th December
Akureyri – Græni Hatturinn 20.00 and 23.00
Free tickets became available at the venue, in person only, yesterday from 13.00.

Saturday 17th December
Bolungarvík (Westfjords, near to Ísafjörður) – Félagsheimilið (community centre) 20:00
Free tickets will become available at the venue, in person only, on 16th December at 13.00.

Sunday 18th December
Seyðisfjörður (east Iceland, near to Egilsstaðir) – Félagsheimilið (community centre) 20:00
No pre-”sale” of tickets. First-come-first-served.

Monday 19th December
Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) – Höllin 20:00
No pre-”sale” of tickets. First-come-first-served.

Simonon, who now plays with Damon Albarn’s band The Good, the Bad and the Queen, worked as a cook on-board the Esperanza ship and was detained alongside 17 other campaigners in June when they stormed the Leiv Eiriksson oil rig off the coast of Greenland.

The group scaled the platform from speedboats and asked to see the owner’s emergency plans in the event of an oil spill in the Arctic region.”It’s obvious why Cairn [the rig’s owner] won’t tell the world how it would clean up a BP-style oil spill here in the Arctic, and that’s because it can’t be done,” campaigner Ben Ayliffe said at the time.

Speaking to NME music magazine, Simonon said, “We stormed the oil rig. They said if you don’t get off … we’re going to phone the authorities in Greenland and say you’ve hijacked the oil rig, and the police will come and arrest you. And that’s pretty much what happened.”

Simonon was only allowed to join the Greenpeace mission after promising to pose as part of the ship’s crew. Fellow activist Martti Leinonen described “Paul the assistant cook” as a “quiet, humble and funny guy”, adding that he even kept his identity secret while behind bars.

“The food was so bad, we finally got the guards to agree to let Paul cook,” Leinonen said. “He makes excellent vegetarian food.”

Five to six hundred young people met at the Hlemmur bus station and all of them had one thing on their mind: to grab some media attention, and hopefully by extension, the attention of one Justin Bieber — the biggest thing to come out of Canada since sliced maple syrup. IceNews is only too happy to help.

The ‘protesters” message was clear: come and visit Iceland please, Justin.

After meeting, the placard-bearing, chanting mob made their way from the bus station, down Laugavegur shopping street and onward to Laekjatorg square.

The rally was organised by a group of 13-15 year old girls; including Thora Silja Hallsdottir. Visir.is tried to interview her during the march, but the journalist had a hard time hearing her over the pandemonium all around.

“This is completely insane!” was the main point Hallsdottir was able to convey. She organised the Justin Bieber March with her friends, Lovisa Thora, Gudrun Brynja, Anita Ros Thorsteinsdottir and Audur Ivarsdottir.

The rally seems to have achieved its goal of proving to the pop god Bieber that there are plenty enough fans in Iceland to warrant a concert in the country — if some 600 people are willing to turn out and march for it, he should have no problem filling a concert hall.

Thora says that pictures and videos of the event will be sent to their hero’s Twitter and Facebook pages in the hope that he sees them personally and answers their call.

“We hope he comes!” Thora shouted to the interviewer during the walk, before carrying on chanting slogans such as “We want Bieber!”

(Photo: frim Visir.is)

Gilbertsson starts his new role at the the Maastricht Opera next month and the contract lasts for a year, Pressan.is reported.

This is not the only exciting recent development in the life of the young Icelandic tenor: he has also recently signed a contract with the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam to sing two parts in the Mozart opera The Magic Flute next winter.

“I was invited for an audition this spring for the part of Second Priester and they got in touch afterwards and wanted to give me the part. As it is a small but lyrical part, they said they were also interested in giving me another role in the same production: the role of First Geharnischter, which is a much heavier part and I just decided to go for it and signed up to the contract on the very same day,” Gilbertsson said.

The rehearsals will take place this autumn and there will be a total of ten performances in December 2012. The conductor will be Mark Albrecht, who is the house conductor. The director will be Simon McBurney from the UK; who’s previous productions include A Dog’s Heart (the new opera by Alexander Raskatov) at the Dutch National Opera two years ago. That opera was also performed at the English National Opera last year to rave reviews. Simon McBurney is also an accomplished actor and has been in films including Last King of Scotland and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Elmar Gilbertsson is currently in Iceland, busy preparing his upcoming role for the opera in Maastricht.

“It gives me very little time in the near future to come home and sing, although I gladly would. But I feel I have strong roots in the Icelandic music scene and am very interested in singing more at home if at all possible. I hope I will get that opportunity soon,” the singer states.

(Photo: elmargilbertsson.com)

Finn Martin, 49, who was born in Sweden but has spent most of his successful career working abroad, plunged 20 metres to his death in front of a shocked audience in Leipzig on Friday evening.

In the party trick known as ‘Vertigo’, which Martin had successfully pulled off countless times before, the 49 year-old was due to vertically walk down the facade of a building while playing to cheering fans. He was scheduled to perform four 15-minute sets while images were projected onto the building behind him.

After the musician’s harness suddenly broke and Martin crashed to the ground, a doctor confirmed that he had died from the impact. Police are working on the assumption that the safety equipment failed, but are investigating whether anyone on the team had been working while drunk, The Local reports.

“He was a world-class artist, one of the top-ten saxophone players in the world, but almost unknown in Sweden,” Martin’s cousin Peter Martin told the Aftonbladet newspaper. He added that the daredevil act helped his cousin raise money for music projects in Africa.

“Finn had a passion for African music,” he told Aftonbladet. “His art was his life and he was an artist and musician all the way to his fingertips.”

On his personal website, Martin described Vertigo as “an unusually emotional music aerial performance”. In 2005 he performed the act on a 150-metre tower in Cologne.

Traditionally Reykjavik used to all-but empty for the weekend nearest the 1st August each year: Verslunarmannahelginn. These days the Innipukinn music festival means Reykjavik is part of the fun — but the countryside is still the place to be! Huge numbers of people also take Friday off and will start clogging up the roads today.

Outdoor festivals this year come in all shapes and sizes. The biggest one, as usual, is Thjodhatid on the Westman Islands, where some of the country’s biggest acts will take to the enormous stage to entertain the many thousands of (usually drunk and young) people. Thjodhatid is a right of passage event that everyone should try at least once. But if you don’t have your tickets and ferry place booked already, you will probably want to wait until next year.

The family-orientated Ein Med Ollu festival will take over the northern city of Akureyri this weekend as Verslunarmannahelgi tradition dictates. The same is true of the heavy rock festival, Neistaflug in the eastern town of Neskaupstadur. The Herring Adventure in Siglufjordur and Alfaborgarsens in Borgarfjordur Eystri are also popular events.

There is also plenty to do for those wanting to avoid alcohol this weekend: The National Centre of Addiction Medicine is holding its annual outdoor festival by Hvalfjordur fjord and Saeludagar in Vatnskogur is also a dry event. Then there is the national youth athletics meet taking place in Egilsstadir.

Stokkseyri will celebrate its Faroe Islands festival and Fludir in South Iceland will also have a family-friendly schedule of events.

Last but not least is the annual European Mud Soccer championships in the Westfjords town of Isafjordur. The event has grown every year and has never had more teams registered than this year. Players are coming from all over Europe and Canada; but the parties and live music events make mud soccer as much fun for the many spectators as for players. The Icelandic national football cup semi final match will also be held in Isafjordur this weekend between local side BI Bolungarvik and Reykjavik giants, KR.

Can’t make up your mind where to go in Iceland this weekend, RUV asks. Why not let the weather forecast be your guide?!

The Pacific Lutheran University Choral Union comes from Seattle in Washington state, USA and will begin its Nordic tour at Langholtskirkja church in Reykjavik this evening at 20.00. The free concert will be followed by a coffee reception.

Tonight’s will be the choral union’s only concert in Iceland and the first concert on a tour of Iceland, Sweden and Norway.

“Many of the choir members have close relatives in Sweden and Norway, so this is a bit of a homecoming tour for some,” says tour manager Sean Fagan.

The Langholtskirkja concert will include works by Monteverdi, Grieg, Stenhammar, Mäntyjärv and others. The conductor will be Richard Nance. See more: www.pluchoralunion.org