The Schola Cantorum Reykjavík was founded by the conductor and cantor at Reykjavík’s Hallgrímskirkja, Hördur Áskelsson, in 1996.

With a constantly growing reputation both at home and abroad the choir regularly performs a wide repertoire, ranging from Renaissance through to contemporary music, and regularly appears in the Festival of Sacred Arts at the Hallgrímskirkja.

Internationally the Schola Cantorum has performed in Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and in France, where the choir won top prize in the prestigious Picardy International Choir Competition in 1998.

A year later the Schola Cantorum made its debut recording, Principium, an album of Renaissance works and two years later they recorded a disc of Icelandic music, Audi Creator Coeli.

In their most recent release, Foldarskart (Earth's bright gems), Schola Cantorum sings many of Iceland´s most beloved songs, including arrangement of old folk songs. Schola Cantorum has also participated in recordings of choral orchestral works by the Icelandic composer Jón Leifs (1899−1968) with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, (issued on the Swedish label, BIS) as well as recording and performing with artists as Björk, Sigur Rós and the Swedish experimental band Wildbirds & Peacedrums.

The Schola was appointed the City of Reykjavík Official Music Group in 2006 and was also nominated for the 2007 Nordic Music Prize.