Award-winning cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir joins CCM’s faculty
Thorsteinsdóttir enjoys a varied career as a performer, collaborator and teaching artist
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Stanley E. Romanstein has announced the addition of Icelandic cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir to the college’s roster of distinguished performing and media arts faculty members. Praised by the Los Angeles Times for the "emotional intensity" of her performances, Thorsteinsdóttir’s appointment as Assistant Professor of Cello begins on Aug. 15, 2022.
CCM faculty member Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir.
Thorsteinsdóttir enjoys a varied career as a performer, collaborator and teaching artist. She has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Iceland Symphony, among others, and her recital and chamber music performances have taken her across the US, Europe and Asia. Thorsteinsdóttir has performed in many of the world’s prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Barbican Center and Disney Hall.
Her recent releases include Vernacular, a solo album of Icelandic music for cello, and the award-winning cello concerto Quake, which was written for her by Páll Ragnar Pálsson and performed with the Iceland Symphony under the direction of conductor Daníel Bjarnason. Released on the Sono Luminus label, Quake was nominated for a 2021 Grammy. Her recording of the Bach Cello Suites is due out in early 2023.
In addition to collaborating with Daníel Bjarnason on his award-winning composition Bow to String, Thorsteinsdóttir enjoys working with composers of our time such as Páll Ragnar Pálsson, Þuríður Jónsdóttir, Halldór Smárason and Melia Watras. She has also given the US premiere of Betsy Jolas’ Wanderlied and the Hong Kong premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Canticle of the Sun for cello, two percussionists and choir.
An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated in performance with Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode and members of the Emerson, Guarneri and Cavani Quartets. She has also participated in numerous chamber music festivals, including Prussia Cove and Marlboro, with whom she has toured. Formerly Artist-in-Residence at Green Music Center’s Weill Hall in Sonoma as well as cellist of the Manhattan Piano Trio, she is currently cellist and founding member of Decoda, the Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall.
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Thorsteinsdóttir has garnered numerous prizes in international competitions, including the Naumburg Competition in New York and the Antonio Janigro Competition in Zagreb, Croatia. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from SUNY Stony Brook. Her principal teachers include Richard Aaron, Tanya L. Carey, Colin Carr and Joel Krosnick.
Thorsteinsdóttir is an alum of Ensemble Connect — a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education — which performs chamber music at Carnegie Hall and brings classical music to students in the New York City Public Schools.
"Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir is an award-winning performer and an equally accomplished educator," said Romanstein. "She will be a wonderful addition to CCM's faculty and Cincinnati's arts community. I would like to thank the members of our search committee — which was co-chaired by Rachel Calin and Won-Bin Yim, and also included James Bunte, Amit Even-Tov, Aik Khai Pung and Sandra Rivers — for their excellent work."
Featured image at top: New CCM faculty member Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir.
Related Stories
Lindner graduate students shine in international simulation competition
November 10, 2025
Five master’s of information systems (MS IS) students took home fifth place out of 23 universities at the International ERPsim Competition hosted by HEC Montreal during the recent spring semester. The competition tests students’ knowledge of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and their ability to adapt to challenging business problems.
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.