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biography / portrait

Ragnheiður Gröndal is born in 1984. She started at a young age to play instruments, and first it was the flute that grabbed her attention. The piano became her next love and has been ever since but the word on the street is that Ragnheiður has started to strum the guitar. In the year 2005 she graduated with honors from FÍH (Iceland’s School of Music) where she studied jazz singing and completed the 6th step in jazz piano playing. Ragnheiður has always been a creative force in the Icelandic music scene and has released three solo records; the first one in 2003 named simply ‘Ragnheiður Gröndal’, the year after it was the mega seller ‘Vetrarljóð’ (Winter poems). In the year 2005 she made her most ambitious work to date ‘After The Rain’, writing all songs and lyrics by herself. ‘After The Rain’ got rave reviews, was a critical favorite when it came to picking The Best Icelandic Albums of the Year. But not only did the album make the greats in the media but it also struck gold (literary speaking) in the hearts of the record buying public. Ragnheiður Gröndal is also a very popular session player and singer for various groups and artists. She has sung and recorded with many artists including; Jón Ólafsson, Haukur Gröndal, and SKE. Ragnheiður is the winner of the Icelandic Music Awards. In 2004 she was selected ‘The Singer of the Year’ and she also took home the price for the ‘Album of the Year’. In 2006 Ragnheiður released her second album on our label, entitled 'Þjóðlög' (folksongs), a beautiful and a very special album indeed. Along with her brother, Haukur Gröndal, she has re-arranged old Icelandic folk songs for piano, wind instruments, strings and choir. The album was recorded last year in Iceland, Bulgaria, and Denmark. For many music journalists this album was the best release of 2006, as the project was truly ambitious and Ragnheidur’s voice has never sounded better. The album became a best seller and went gold just before Christmas. A true milestone for the 22 year old Ragnheidur. (source: www.12tonar.is)