Valgerður G. Halldórsdóttir (Vala) was born and raised in Reykjavík. She holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Management from Bifröst University, a Dipl. ABRSM in classical singing from the Reykjavík Singing Academy, and studied violin and piano from a young age. She sang for many years in chamber choirs, including Vox Feminae, Melodia, and Hljómeyki, and worked as a funeral singer for a time. She graduated as a graphic designer from the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts (now the Iceland University of the Arts) in 1991 and worked in the advertising sector for nearly three decades, as a designer, art director, and owner of an advertising agency, before turning her focus entirely to cultural management.

 

Vala was curator and chief exhibition designer of the new permanent exhibition, which opened in 2019 at the Akranes Folk Museum in Iceland. The exhibition design received a nomination for the Icelandic Museum Awards. She served as Managing Director of Iceland Music Information Centre for almost six years, until the end of 2022, where she promoted Icelandic contemporary music and collaborated with international institutions and partners. She co-edited the first STATUS report, published in 2022 by Nordic stakeholders in contemporary music. She has served on the boards of various associations – including as a jury member for the Icelandic Music Awards from 2016 to 2018 – and was a board member of IAMIC (International Association of Music Centres) from 2019 to 2022, including serving as treasurer. She is an honorary member of IAMIC. At CRESCENDO, she has, among other things, produced the Opera Hundred Thousand for the theatre company Black Jacket, released the album NÁND, managed composers and performers, and handled promotion and project management for music festivals. Since autumn 2025, she has served on the National Theatre Council.