The Endowment Fund

The board of the fund consists of three members. The rector of the Iceland Academy of the Arts is the chairman, while the other two are appointed by the board of the Iceland Academy of the Arts for three years at a time. Deputies are appointed in the same way.

The board works according to operating rules.

Chairman - Kristín Eyjólfsdóttir, rector of the Iceland Academy of the Arts

Secretary - Þóra Einarsdóttir, Dean of Film Arts, Music and Staging at the Iceland Academy of the Arts

Co-director - Pétur Jónasson, dean of the music department of the Iceland Academy of the Arts - Co-director

Deputy in the board - Magnús Lyngdal Magnússon

I would like to briefly trace the origin of the fund and its history from my memory and the data I have at hand. I got to know Halldór Hansen well in the mid-1980s and we soon became good friends. Gradually he became as close to me as he was one of my family, as he was a frequent guest at our wife Selma's home. Halldór and I had not least a lot of contact due to our shared interest in operas and poetry, and Halldór shared with me his superior experience and knowledge - like so many others. After I became the editor of the Opera newspaper, Halldór wrote numerous articles in the newspaper at my request, especially about singers of the past.

Halldór fell seriously ill several times after I met him and was often ambivalent about his life. He had a large and unique record collection, which was very dear to him, but it was uncertain what would happen to the museum after his day. Around 1990, Halldór agreed to it according to my proposal to name the Icelandic Opera Foundation's Foundation, but I was then on the board of the company, which agreed to take over Halldór's collection and preserve it after his day.

I left my job for the Opera around 1995. a few years later, the album collection's case came back into conversation between us Halldór. At the beginning of 1999, I suggested to him that other parties be approached to take over the museum after his day. We agreed to first go to the Music Society in Reykjavík, but Halldór had been very involved in the company's history. Halldór had told me that he had no direct heirs, and therefore suggested that he leave his property and other belongings with the museum to ensure a safe future, as it would obviously cost considerable money to preserve the museum and register it. Halldór agreed to this and signed a will on March 21, 1999, bequeathing the Music Society to the museum. Soon after, however, he changed his mind about what the building was concerned and bequeathed the Children's Hospital of the Circle to it with the will of April 14, 1999.

Some time before, I had spoken to Baldvin Tryggvason, the chairman of the Music Society, and I wrote him a letter about this matter on April 15, 1999. I actually did not know that Halldór had signed the will the day before. However, on the advice of one of his good friends, Sveinbjarnar Dagfinnsson, who wanted Halldór well and was not convinced enough that his inheritance from musicians would be well kept under control. I sent Baldvini another letter on the matter on May 20, 1999, but the board of the Music Society took a short time to take over Halldór's collection. Baldvin and I had several conversations about this in the coming months and suggested that I speak to Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson, rector of the Iceland Academy of the Arts, about the school taking over Halldór's collection.

I talked to Hjálmar then that summer and he welcomed the idea and also assured me that the museum would be well served at school and also Halldór's other belongings, if they were to be included. I then returned to Halldór and requested that he leave his house and other belongings to the museum after his day. Halldór was still very ambivalent as both his advantages were good, but my argument was that the music would remember more about getting his money than the hospital. Halldór agreed to this and a new will was written on September 29, 1999 where Halldór bequeathed his collection, house and other possessions to LHÍ.

But again, a babb came into the boat, - Halldór's same good friend who previously thought this was still worrisome. Halldór hesitated to go against his will and postponed signing the document. Now he did not go nor act in the case until the summer of 2001, but then Halldór was again very ill. We still talked a lot about this matter, and the result was that Halldór agreed to bequeath LHÍ to the museum, the house and his other possessions. He signed a document to that effect on July 21, 2001. This was followed by another document, which Halldór had written and called “Hug”" about HJH's will. The will was changed slightly shortly after, but its final version was signed on August 27, 2001.

With the final version came Halldór's new document - “ Guidelines for the will - which set out certain conditions for him towards LHÍ regarding the preservation of the museum and the disposal of the funds. There, Halldór writes, among other things:

“ What matters most to me is the record collection, videos and books about musiciansThis is what my heart is closest to, approaching it to be like my child.... I would like those interested to be able to use the album and video library and then primarily musicians, but also enthusiasts..

... This collection needs to be kept separate from other things, ie. that there will be a special department in LHÍ's studies/library..

... To secure funds to start the museum and support its operation for the foreseeable future, I have bequeathed LHÍ to the Laufásvegi building property 24. Its value in addition to liquidity, which I bequeath to the museum, should support the museum's operation, registration and other things...”

Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson accepted these conditions of Halldór with his signature on the document on August 30, and on December 11, 2001, a formal “ Agreement was signed between Halldór and Hjálmar bh LHÍ, but Árni Tómas Ragnarsson and Minister of Education Björn Bjarnason signed for confirmation. The signing took place at a ceremony in LHÍ's building.

In the following months, Halldór's illness worsened and he was in hospital for months what he had left to live. He signed the “ Planning Register for his grant fund at Landakotsspítala on December 18, 2002 together with Hjálmar and Karólína Eiríksdóttir, chairman of the LHÍ school board, but Árni Tómas was present for confirmation. Halldór died on July 21, 2003 and was buried from the Cathedral in the presence of a large crowd, but numerous musicians created an elegant and appropriate setting for the ceremony.

In the last months that Halldór lived at home on Laufásvegin, LHÍ employees had started documenting his album collection. That registration has continued and will probably be completed in the fall of 2005. There is a lot of work left to copy the records, but it is estimated that it will be done gradually in the coming years and then be accessible to all music enthusiasts according to Halldór's wish and will.

In the fall of 2004, the board of the fund was appointed. Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson was self-elected as rector of LHÍ, while the board of the school consists of Árni Tómas Ragnarsson and Mist Þorkelsdóttir, dean of the music department of LHÍ. Árni Heimir Ingólfsson and Þorsteinn Gylfason are deputies on the board.

The first meeting of the fund board was held on November 26, 2003. Since then, quite a few board meetings have been held. Halldór's house at Laufásvegi was sold in March 2004, and a few months later all his funds and music collection had found their way into the hands of the fund. The total amount that went to the grant fund from Halldór amounted to a total of almost 87 million ISK, which was much more than had been assumed. According to the planning register, 1/3 of the money shall be used in the coming years to set up the fund's activities, but 2/3 of the funds will be invested and the return will be used for the benefit of the fund.

The first grant from the fund to young musicians took place on January 7, 2005, when the creation and activities of the fund were also publicly explained. Furthermore, the fund's board has decided to grant ISK 8 million for the purchase of sheet music to the LHÍ Music Museum. The fund's board has also decided to get Halldór's friend, the singer Elly Ameling, together with pianist Gerrit Schuil to hold a masterclass for soloists on behalf of the fund and in Halldór's name at the end of March. It is planned to hold such masterclasses regularly in the future and also to provide grants to young musicians according to the fund's charter.

January 8, 2005
Árni Tómas Ragnarsson

 

• No ordinary music lover
• Music collection and grants for students
• Festive gathering of Halldór Hansen's Endowment Fund in the Hall
• Motivation and honor
• A gift will be the basis for scholarship in music
• Foresight and ambition in the field of music
• Excited and proud
• Herdís Anna receives a grant to study in Berlin