Maria Jardardottir is a Norwegian performing and composing voice musician working free lance with international engagements. In October 2005 she finished a Master Degree in Jazz and Contemporary Music at Leeds College of Music, England, graduating with a high Distinction. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Jazz studies with majors in performance and composition from the same institution and graduated in 2004 with an Award BA Hons 1st. She also received the College’s prize for singing the same year.

Maria has, amongst others, studied with Indian Classical musician Jesse Bannister and electro acoustic composer and specialist in extended vocal techniques Trevor Wishart. She is currently in private tuition with Europe’s leading Dhrupad singer and composer Amelia Cuni.

In all her work Jardardottir has an eager focus on exploring the immense variety of possibilities that hide within the instrument and sound source, the voice. Thus she brings with her an approach that stretches further than treating the voice as a melodic instrument – the features of the voice as a rhythmic, sound effect or backing instrument are equally represented in her expression.

Her electro acoustic solo project Melatonin, which she has received very positive and encouraging critics on, is perhaps the project wherein the entirety of her musical expression is most evident. The project has been featured on BBC radio 3’s program Jazz on 3 and was in February 2006 recommended by the Belgian new music association (K-RAA-K)3 alongside names like Chris Watson, Massive Attack and Velvet Underground in their magazine Rui. It has since 2005 been commissioned for several performances for experimental music collectives and improvised music festivals alongside collaborative projects. Melatonin's second album "Waves of Air and Seasons through Me" , the initial of a series called "Private Imperfections", was released in May 2006 and has had a great reception.

Jardardottir has through the last few years experienced increasing acknowledgement and attention in England, Norway and beyond and has been commissioned for several music and cross genre projects. Worth mentioning are:

• Maria was commissioned for part taking as soloist performer in the sound and multimedia installation project “Siren” working with the internationally renowned sound recordist Chris Watson (BBC’s ‘The Life of Birds’ BAFTA Awarded for Best Factual Sound, ‘The Life of Mammals’, ‘Talking with Animals’, ‘Big Cat Diary’) and multimedia artist Alec Finlay (founder of Morning Star Press). The project was recorded in August 2005 and published in March 2006.

• Danish choreographer Matilde Mørk commissioned Maria to work as solo improviser in Mørk’s contemporary stage project ’May all beings be happy and Marie Hallager’ with three dancers. The project was initially shown in Denmark at Copenhagen’s main modern art stage, Dansescenen, and at Oure International College of Sports in early September 2005.

• The ensemble Kushboo, consisting of some of England’s foremost Indian underground cross over musicians who have toured internationally, recorded extensively and worked with major acts including Massive Attack, Nitin Sawnhey, Talvin Singh and Black Star Liner, booked Jardardottir for several of the monthly club nights they ran in North England, 2005.

• German composer and improviser Ove Volquartz in 2005 initiated the trio collaboration Endenor along with himself, Maria and English guitarist Chris Sharkey for free improvisation work also utilizing Jardardottir’s Norwegian poetry. In May 2006 Endenor carried out a tour to Germany with concerts art gallery The Apex in Göttingen as well as for the series Loft Music at the Salzmann Factory in Kassel and for engagements at the Nordischer Klang Festival in Greiswald. They returned to Germany in November 2006 for engagements at the Göttingen Jazz Festival and will in September 2007 yet again go back to do more concerts, this time also at an institution for mental health.

• The Danish music festival Roskilde Festival of 2006 commissioned a cross art collaboration project conceived by Danish choreographer and dancer Matilde Mørk wherein Maria contributed as main performing and composing musician bringing in her solo project Melatonin as the musical framework for writing a full length live-based electro acoustic score for solo voice and electronics. The commissioned piece is called "meet the mind that moves", its theme is isolation and liberation and it was performed on the opening night of the festival (29th of June 2006) on an extensive outdoor installation stage right after midnight when all other events of that day were closed down. The nature of the piece involved contemporary and butoh dance combined with electro acoustic voice based music, all of a very expressive and raw character.

• Maria was booked as soloist to perform with The Silhouette Ensemble and The Saffron Beagley Jazz Orchestra for a two act show debuting two inspirational and original jazz projects lead and conducted by composer and saxophonist Saffron Beagley: From program notes: “The Silhouette Ensemble presents a collaborative performance combining jazz, cross cultural music and voice in an original live sound track by Saffron Beagley, with shadows by Armchair Puppet Theatre animating the enchanting story The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck. The Saffron Beagley Jazz Orchestra: Graceful, sometimes raucous and always adventurous, Saffron's innovative compositions are written for her 17 outstanding Yorkshire musicians. The performance will include pieces by Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler.” The show was at The Wardrobe, May the 31st 2006, Leeds, England.

• The English electro acoustic composer Dale Perkins has commissioned Maria for being the solo sound source for his next composition work scheduled for concluding in 2007. The material was recorded in December 2006 and the first segment of a product that is likely to become a suite has its debut performance May the 3rd 2007 at The Venue in Leeds, England.

Jardardottir has experience from writing for and performing with various kinds of ensembles, bands and music project; all with versatile approaches to improvised music, ethnic oriented music, contemporary jazz and electronically based music. She has toured and performed in Europe and USA.

In the summer of 2005 and 2006 she carried out extensive touring work in Norway with Røyst, a vocal quartet she runs along with three other Norwegian voice musicians. The tours worked as a presentation of the quartet’s first official CD “Nordic Initiative” – an independent release whereon Jardardottir, in addition to her composing and performing work, is responsible for the mixing and mastering work of the recording.

In November 2005 Røyst went on a two week long tour in California, USA, with concerts, live radio features and workshop engagements in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Monterey and Valencia. The tour was hugely successful and they are in currently the process of booking another trip to California and Mexico in November 2007.

Røyst will in May and June 2007 embark on a four week tour in England presenting their original music which comprises modern jazz, world music and Norwegian folk in a contemporary costume.
As part of this tour they will debut a very special collaboration project with British saxophonist and composer Iain Ballamy, including a saxophone quartet consisting of players from Leeds Improvised Music Association. Three of Røyst’s members have each written original compositions in the vein of Røyst's expression and sound wherein they have combined the elements of improvisational tasks and thoroughly composed segments to form an exciting and energetic platform for the fusing of voice and saxophone. And, they are also employing the instrumentalists as vocalists. This collaboration project comprises two dates of the tour; 6th of June at The Wardrobe, Leeds, and 7th of June at The Yardbird, Birmingham. Other dates when the vocal quartet will perform in their usual format can be found at Røyst Agenda.

Maria also co-runs the project Curious Voice Duo with Norwegian voice musician Elisabeth Nygaard. The duo’s has carried out regular performances in England where their work is being very well received and in March 2007 they released their debut album “At the Root and the Tip of the Tongue”.

In both Maria’s performing and compositional work the link that binds it all together is improvisation:

--- ‘An allegory I find suiting my idea of improvisation is the conversation: you can never fully predict what the person you are talking to will say, even though you might have known her/him all your life – meaning you will have to generate answers to questions you yet not know: instant response, being present and conscious.’---