Icelandic cellist María Qing Sigríðardóttir is a sought-after musician who regularly performs across Europe, appearing in almost seventy concerts last year.

Following her victory at the Icelandic Young Soloist Competition in 2024 (Ungir einleikarar), María made her solo debut with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Petri Sakari in a nationally broadcast performance and has since appeared as a soloist with several orchestras throughout Iceland. In 2022, she was awarded third prize at the North International Music Competition in Sweden.

María has a particular passion for chamber music. In the summer of 2026, she performed in different concert series troughout iceland with pianist Ásta Dóra Finnsdóttir. In 2023, she co-founded the piano trio Trio JAM, which has been praised for its “perfect balance and cohesive interplay that seems neither forced nor contrived” (Sindelfinger Zeitung/Böblinger Zeitung). The trio combines classical music with influences from jazz, tango, popular music and contemporary music.

María regularly draws inspiration from masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians. In 2022–2023, she was selected to participate in the Polstjärnepriset Nordic Edition scholarship programme, organised by the Young Musicians Academy in Sweden. She has also participated in the International Cello Academy Rutesheim in Germany (2023) and the Astona International Summer Music Academy in Switzerland (2021). In 2025 she held an internship (50% position) with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Germany and from 2019 to 2022 she was a member of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra.

María also places great emphasis on music education and outreach, which she pursues primarily as a grant recipient of the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now. Through the initiative, she regularly performs in nursing homes, kindergartens and other public institutions in Stuttgart.

María began her cello studies at the age of five with Ina Krauß-Pfleghaar in Germany and later studied for over ten years at Tónskóli Sigursveins, graduating with honors under the guidance of Gunnar Kvaran. Previous mentors also include Örnólfur Kristjánsson and Ólöf Sigursveinsdóttir. She is currently in the final year of her bachelor's degree, studying with Professor Conradin Brotbek at the Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts (HMDK Stuttgart). Her studies have been supported through scholarship from of the Rudolf von Tobel Studienstiftung (Switzerland) and the Gesellschaft der Freunde der HMDK Stuttgart (Germany).

María Qing Sigríðardóttir plays a François Caussin cello from around 1860.