Acknowledgements

I would like to thank various people for their contribution to my doctoral-project. First of all I wish to thank my teachers and professors at the Sibelius Academy, in particular my supervisor in charge Prof. DMus. Marcus Castrén and my thesis supervisor DMus. Tuire Kuusi for their patience, insight and excellent advice. I also thank Prof. Glenda Dawn Goss for her help with academic-writing and my proof-reader/language consultant Eibhlín Griffin. Web-programing help provided by Outi Parkkila and Petteri Karttunen was greatly appreciated as well as the assistance of DMus. Mika Kuuskankare, who gave programing help as well as structural ideas. I am grateful for the help of my pre-examiner Marjatta Haahti and in particular my second pre-examiner Laura Stephenson for her valuable advice and inspiration. Additionally, I would like to thank the staff of the DocMus department for their tremendous help and assistance, especially Sirpa Järvelä and the concert producers Anna Krohn and Janne Ikäheimo.

I wish to thank the many people who assisted me in the making of this web site, in particular Rut Sigurðardóttir for taking the photos and videos and Yoav Pasovsky for notational advice. I also thank my many colleagues, composers and friends who read my texts and gave valuable feedback. I am particularly grateful for the financial support provided by the Icelandic Government's artist's salaries, which enabled me to complete the creation of this web site.

Furthermore, I want to use this opportunity to thank all my music teachers over the years for their guidance, enthusiasm and inspiration; my piano teachers Halldór Haraldsson and Rögnvaldur Sigurjónsson and my harp teachers Birgitte Sylvestre, Sioned Willams and Erika Waardenburg. But above all I thank Elísabet Waage, my first harp teacher and greatest inspiration, for her various assistance, advice, harp lessons, proof-reading and enormous encouragement.

My special thanks are extended to my family; my parents Guðný Helga Gunnarsdóttir and Einar Magnússon for their never ending trust, support and encouragement, as well as my partner Matthias Engler for his support and various assistance throughout my study.