My story
I was born in Iceland and had my first life-changing experience in the garage with my dad when I was six years old listening to the radio. I heard the slow movement of the Pathetique sonata by Beethoven and felt overwhelmed by its magnificent beauty and magic. When it was finished I looked at my dad and said, “this is what I want to do when I grow up.” My dad answered, “yes, of course”! and my fate was decided. A week later I had my first piano lesson. Fortunately I had some musical talent and spent the first half of my professional life as a performing pianist. It took me four years to learn the sonata well enough to perform in a concert, which was one of my proudest moments. This was my first experience in long-term goal setting and training in discipline and resilience.
I moved back to Iceland after spending a decade in the US and Spain, where I gained broad experience working with extraordinary people. When I returned to Iceland, I founded the Reykholt Music Festival, which I am very proud of. In 2010, I took on the position of Artistic Director of Harpa Concert Hall, the first Concert hall in Iceland. I was appointed CEO and Artistic Director of the Icelandic Opera five years later.
These leadership roles have given me invaluable experience in management and leadership that is the foundation for my current collaboration with creative leaders and general managers in various fields.
Empowering others to succeed gives me energy and joy and I am passionate about the importance of the arts and culture in the wellbeing of individuals and communities.
I focus on my clients’ strengths as the foundation for their success. They have shared with me that our work together has led to realistic and effective solutions. I value that feedback very much.
Reviews
“Not only does Steinunn Ragnarsdóttir bring decades of artistic and managerial expertise to the table, she has a unique ability to infuse joy and energy into everything she does. As an executive coach for New Opera Dialogues, Steinunn transformed our strategic planning process into an inspiring and creative journey. Her unique blend of vision, insight, and positivity has been invaluable in advancing our organization’s goals.”
—
Steinunn Ragnarsdóttir is a remarkable arts leader who has worked wonders in her career. She has a rare combination of intelligence, insight and entrepreneurial spirit. She has much to teach us all.
—
Michael M. Kaiser
Chairman, DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland
President Emeritus, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
One of Steinunn Ragnarsdóttir’s many strengths is her perspective. She comes to every challenge with insights that reflect her background as an artist, an administrator, and most significantly, that of a leader. Steinunn is able to bring a practiced approach to develop solutions in concert with a team or independently. I would not hesitate to provide the highest of recommendations to Steinunn’s work and would gladly collaborate with her again!
—
David Baile
Chief Executive Officer
International Society for the Performing Arts
I had a pleasure to cooperate with Steinunn Ragnarsdottir on several occasions: as moderator in discussions about the future of young people in culture, also as an advisor to the Minister of Culture of Latvia and participant in discussions about Concert halls in Europe. The cooperation always has been a pure pleasure. Steinunn has an amazing talent to bring very deep perspectives, share great ideas in a light, friendly and inspiring manner. She is a great professional dedicated to culture and creative leadership and a great representative of her beautiful country.
Jānis Jenzis
president of the Society of Restaurants of Latvia General manager of the Opera Hotel Riga consultant and professor
Steinunn is a vastly experienced leader and an excellent speaker about leadership in the creative field. She participated in our international Creative Leaders Forum as a panelist in Helsinki and Tallinn in 2024. Her way of communicating as a creative leader, and interacting with the other participants, as well as the audience was extraordinary. As well as being very experienced as a leader and inspiring as a speaker, she is also very warm and delightful as a human being. It was an absolute bliss to collaborate together with Steinunn. Looking so much forward to our next collaboration together.”
Virpi Haavisto
Founder & Director of Creative Leaders Forum
Executive & Team Coach at Advantage
Steinunn is a person of many talents. She is an accomplished performer who also has very strong organizational and leadership qualities. In addition to her creative and organizational talents she has a warm personality, an ability to work well with other people and a profound experience in culture. The cooperation with Steinunn Ragnarsdóttir had an extremely beneficial effect on Lithuanian culture.
Donatas Katkus PhD
Founder and Director of Kristoforo Kamerinis Orkestras 1994- Conductor – Musicologist – Professor
Steinunn has been instrumental for Iceland becoming a global force in music and creativity. Her passion and joyous personality as the CEO and Artistic Director of the Icelandic Opera have led to the company gaining a global audience and international recognition. Under her leadership Steinunn has always weighed the balance between tradition and innovation. She has fostered international collaborations with outstanding performers as well as leading institutions and organizations. Her positivity and openness to new ideas and technologies make Steinunn an inspiration to all who work with her.
Edward Arenius
Associate Principal|Venue Consulting
Arup
Education
MSc Diploma in Positive Psychology at the University of Iceland.
Chief Executive Program at Harvard Business School – National Arts Strategies.
University of Maryland – DeVos Institute for Arts Management. Three year Fellowship Program.
Master’s Degree – Piano Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, USA.
Reykjavík College of Music – Piano Performance and Pedagogy.
Certified Facilitator of the the LEGO ®SERIOUS PLAY® method.
Various workshops, and masterclasses in Arts management, leadership, coaching, music, creative entrepreneurship, marketing, positive psychology, and strategic planning.
Experience
CEO and Artistic Director of the Icelandic Opera.
Artistic Director of Harpa Concert Hall.
Founder and CEO of Confirma ehf.
Founder of the Upbeat – Composition Award for young composers.
Founder and Artistic Director of the Reykholt Music Festival.
Concert pianist – Performing artist and recordings of various CDs.
Consultant for the Minstry of Culture in Ireland re. the Irish National Opera.
International expert panels regarding various cultural grants.
Consultation for the Icelandic government and the City of Reykjavík re. Arts policies and strategies.
Boards and committees
Board Member of ISPA (International Society of the Performing Arts).
Chair of the ISPA Governance Committee.
Co-chair of the ISPA Congress Transitions in New York 2019.
Member of the Board of the Icelandic Performing Arts Society (SAVÍST).
Board Chair of the Arts Council of Harpa Concert Hall.
Vice Board Chair of the Cultural Committee of the City of Reykjavík.
Member of the Program Committee of the Iceland Symphony.
Founder and Board Member of the Nordic-Baltic Festival Association.
© Steinunn Ragnarsdottir. All rights reserved.