Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/04/21
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Categories
Iceland: History. Culture. Environment.
Presented by Amb. Bergdís Ellertsdóttir & Eva Ingolfsdóttir
Presentation from Amb. Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, ambassador of Iceland to the United States, followed by Q&A and then a concert by Eva Ingolfsdóttir, classical violinist from Reykjavik, Iceland.
Amb. Bergdís Ellertsdóttir
Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, the current ambassador of Iceland to the United States and permanent representative of Iceland to the United Nations from 2018-2019. On Sept. 16, 2019, Ellertsdóttir became the 17th Ambassador of Iceland accredited to the U.S. and the first woman to serve in the position.
She was born in Iceland in 1962 and attended the University of Freiburg in Germany from 1982-1985, where she studied German, political science, English and history before going on to graduate from the University of Iceland in 1987, having studied political science and English. She also attended the University of Essex in Britain and graduated with an M.A. in European studies in 1989. She is married with four children.
In 1991, Ellertsdóttir joined Iceland’s Trade Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as first secretary before becoming deputy head of mission at the Icelandic Embassy in Bonn with accreditation to Switzerland, Austria and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1995. From 1998-2000, she served as a political officer at NATO headquarters in Brussels. In 2000, she began serving as the deputy director of the Political Department, where she dealt with security issues, NATO and bilateral relations with the U.S., Canada and Russia. She returned to the Trade Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2003 as head of European affairs and deputy director general. She then served as the foreign affairs advisor to the prime minister of Iceland from 2005-2006, the director general for international security and development cooperation affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007, and the deputy secretary-general with the European Free Trade Association in Brussels from 2007-2012. In 2012, she served as the Directorate for Trade and Economic Affairs’ director of international trade negotiations and chief negotiator for the Iceland-China Free Trade Agreement in 2012. From 2014-2018, she served as head of the Icelandic Mission to the European Union and also as ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and San Marino before being appointed Iceland’s permanent representative to the United Nations in August 2018.
Eva Ingolfsdóttir
Eva Ingolfsdóttir is a classical violinist, animator and composer. Eva comes from a leading musical family in Reykjavik, Iceland. She began to study violin at young age where she gained early recognition for her outstanding musical talent, including her beautiful tone and artistic interpretation.
After studying at the Conservatory of Reykjavík, Eva left Iceland to study with some of Europe’s finest violin pedagogues. Her playing has been greatly influenced by the spirit of both Russian and East-European violin institutions.
Eva was a student of Professor Leon-Ara at the Conservatory in Brussels, later continuing her education with Professor Corrado Romano at the Conservatory of Geneva and Professor Istvan Parkanyi at the Sweelink Conservatory in Amsterdam. During those years, she received multiple awards and scholarships to further her education with world known pedagogues such as Stephan Gheorghiu, Victor Pikaizen, Zachar Bron and Tibor Varga.
Eva has held numerous solo recitals in well-known concert halls across the world including Iceland, Japan, United States, Russia and Europe. Some of the most known concert halls include Carnegie Hall, Trinity Church in New York City and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Eva Ingolfsdóttir is an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music. She has premiered over 100 contemporary pieces for solo violin and received a grant from the NYWC for her performances in 2014. Eva has composed several pieces for violin that reflect on her home country, Iceland.
Eva currently resides in New York City.
This panel will be introduced by Dr. Jay Nathan, Professor of Management, Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University, New York City.
This panel will be moderated by Amb. Reka Szemerkenyi, former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States.
