Herdís Guðmundsdóttir

Born and raised in Reykjavík, Iceland, Herdís Guðmundsdóttir joined the 2nd violin section of the Minnesota Orchestra in the fall of 2025. She has previously been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a frequent substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. She played as concertmaster for Yale Philharmonia and was a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble during the 2023 and 2024 summer seasons.

Herdís enjoys performing contemporary music, having premiered dozens of new works as a soloist and as a member of ensembles including the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, New Music New Haven, Oberlin Contemporary Ensemble, Elja Chamber Orchestra, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. In 2024 she performed as a soloist in Missy Mazzoli’s violin concerto Dark with Excessive Bright with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble in the North American premiere of the piece. In 2020, Herdís premiered Liam Kaplan’s Violin Concerto with conductor Tim Weiss and the Oberlin Contemporary Ensemble. During her time at Yale School of Music she enjoyed playing the Baroque violin on several projects including with the Yale Schola Cantorum and Yale Voxtet.

An active chamber musician, Herdís frequently performs in her hometown of Reykjavík. She has given several recitals with her husband and collaborator, Liam Kaplan, and together they perform in a newly formed piano trio with cellist Geirthrudur Anna Guðmundsdóttir named The New Reykjavík Trio. She also appeared as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra after winning their young artist competition.

Herdís began her violin studies in Reykjavik where she studied mainly with Gudny Guðmundsdóttir, earning a diploma from the Icelandic Academy of the Arts. She moved to United States in 2017 to pursue her BM at Oberlin Conservatory with Sibbi Bernhardsson. Herdís is a graduate of the Yale School of Music, where she earned her MM in the studio of Augustin Hadelich.