Jón Thórarinsson studied music at the Reykjavík College of Music. He studied composition with Paul Hindemith at Yale University, and at Juilliard School of Music in the U.S. He received his Master of Music degree in 1947. Later he also studied in Germany and Austria. Between 1947 and 1968 he headed the composition and theory department at the Reykjavík College of Music and from 1968-1979 he headed the cultural division of Icelandic Broadcast Service TV. Jón has been a prolific writer of articles on Icelandic music and is now writing a book on Icelandic music history. The main part of Jón´s compositions are chamber works and songs, among which are tunes known to every Icelander such as “Fuglinn í fjörunni” and “Íslenskt vögguljóð á Hörpu”.
