Jónas Sen, born in 1962, stands as a significant figure in Iceland’s musical sphere, navigating multiple roles with ease. His expertise as a pianist is matched by his output as a composer, arranger and commentator, making his impact felt across live performance, media and written criticism.
A versatile presence in contemporary music
Sen’s reach extends into Icelandic and international circles, often through artistic collaboration. Notably, he joined forces with Björk both on stage and behind the scenes. As a keyboard player, he toured with Björk during her Volta period between 2007 and 2008. His creative partnership continued as he arranged music for keyboard instruments in the Biophilia app project and worked with her on a published collection of scores in 2017. This capacity to move fluidly between performance and arrangement illustrates an adaptability increasingly seen in modern musicians.
His professional life goes well beyond interpreting others’ compositions. Sen has contributed original works for stage and multimedia, composing for productions such as ‘Versations / Tetralogia’, associated with Gabríela Friðriksdóttir’s work for the Venice Biennale in 2005. He also provided music for ‘H, an incident’, a theatre opera directed by Kris Verdonck, broadening his influence to experimental and cross-genre settings.
A voice in Icelandic music media
Sen’s analytical side emerges through his work as a music critic, most notably at Vísir.is but also in Fréttablaðið, two sources central to Icelandic news and culture. His concert reviews and opinions on music have stirred commentary in the Icelandic press as recently as 2025, demonstrating his ongoing role in shaping dialogue around musical standards and performance.
Mass media offers another avenue for Sen’s advocacy. He has written and presented music programmes for RÚV, Iceland’s public broadcaster. Among his credits are the series ‘Tíu fingur’, as well as ‘Tónspor’. These programmes, together with his participation in initiatives such as ‘Átta raddir’, bring music education and critique to a broad Icelandic audience, preserving and renewing public conversation about the evolving soundscape of the country.
Jónas Sen exemplifies the way one person’s multifaceted involvement can influence both musical practice and perception. Through his evolving contributions, he continues to shape the relationship between Icelanders and the music, both homegrown and international, that fills their concert halls and airwaves.
