The accordionist Ásta Soffía Þorgeirsdóttir (1995) had the goal from early on to apply the rich sound landscape of the accordion when arranging and playing different types of music on the accordion.
Ásta Soffía is known for her versatility on the accordion. Her repertoire abilities are wide, from folk music, the standard accordion repertoire, free improvisation over to contemporary and classical music. It can be said with confidence that she and her instrument become unity and the music in her performance catches the public either way when expressing J. S. Bach or own arrangements of Icelandic folk music.
Ásta Soffía carries many years of experience working with musicians and composers and has performed at various concerts and festivals in Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Faroe Islands and Germany. She has played in among other gigs, for King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, president of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, members of the Norwegian and Icelandic parliaments, in Icelandic national Tv and radio, and Norwegian radio. She has organised many musical projects and tours in Iceland and Norway which got funds from the Norwegian Cultural Council, Listamannalaun, Music Norway, Menningarstyrkur Seðlabanka Íslands, Nordic Culture Point, Tónlistarsjóður, Nordic Culture Fund, Tónskáldasjóði RÚV og STEFs, Det norske komponistfond, Samfélagssjóð Landsvirkjunar and Tónlistarsjóðurinn Ýlir. By this, she has strengthened her network of contacts, created different kinds of cooperation and encouraged creativity.
In 2021 she was granted the Cultural Fund of the Icelandic Central Bank (Menningarsjóður tengdur nafni Jóhannesar Nordals). With that fund she was able to research and collect the Icelandic tango music from 1920-1970.
In the autumn of 2020, Ásta Soffía finished her Master’s degree in music performance from Hochschule für Musik Freiburg with Excellence grade. Earlier in the spring of 2018, she finished her Bachelor’s degree in music performance at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Excellence grade. In the spring of 2018, she became Norwegian champion in accordion both in soloist and duo class. She has been so lucky to have amazing teachers throughout her study time, among others Frode Haltli and Teodoro Anzellotti who are among the most successful accordionists of our time. Also, the saxophone player Rolf-Erik Nystrøm and the double bass player Håkon Thelin, who are known for their amazing performances of contemporary music and free improvisation.
Ásta Soffía grew up in Húsavík in Northeast Iceland where she from an early age studied music and was surrounded by the fruitful cultural life of the region. Árni Sigurbjörnsson was her accordion teacher in Húsavík. During high school, which she took in Reykjavík, she studied in the rhythmical music school Tónlistarskóla FÍH for one year and for two years at the Icelandic University of the Arts in a program for talented music students.