Ari Þór Vilhjálmsson worked with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2006 - 2014 before moving to Finland, where he currently serves as Principal Second Violin of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also appeared as Guest Concertmaster with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in France, and the Helsinki Philharmonic.

In recent years, Ari has appeared as soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Reykjavik Community Orchestra and the New England Conservatory's Youth Philharmonic. He also performs regularly in solo or chamber music recitals, most notably for the Reykjavík Chamber Music Society, the Reykjavík Arts Festival, the Nordic House, and Emory University in Atlanta.

A dedicated teacher, Ari taught at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and the Reykjavík College of Music from 2008 - 2014, working with many of the country's most talented young violinists. He continues to engage with local students as Managing Director of the Harpa International Music Academy, which is the biggest classical music festival in Iceland, held every year in June.

Ari began playing the violin at the age of 5 in the Suzuki method. He later became a student of Guðný Guðmundsdóttir at the Reykjavík College of Music, graduating with a Soloist Diploma in 2001. He then studied privately with Rachel Barton Pine and Almita and Roland Vamos in Chicago. He also studied with Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica String Quartet at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Lucy Chapman at the New England Conservatory in Boston.