Kolbeinn Bjarnason was born in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1958. He started to compose in 2011. He studied philosophy and literature at The Icelandic University and flute at Reykjavík College of Music. Bjarnason graduated from R.C.M in 1979 and continued his studies with a.o. Manuela Wiesler in Reykjavík, Kyioshi Kasai in Basel and Robert Dick, Harvey Sollberger and Julius Baker in New York where he also studied shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo-flute) with Ralph Samuelson. He took, much later, shakuhachi lessons with Teruhisa Fukuda in Tokyo.

As flautist Bjarnason performed in Europe, America and Japan, premiered new pieces and worke with such disparate composers as Toshio Hosokawa, Brian Ferneyhough, Doina Rotaru, Simon Mawhinney, Hans-Henrik Nordström and Hiroyuki Itoh to name but a few.
His recordings of the flute music of Hosokawa (Naxos 2010) and Ferneyhough (Bridge 2002 have received international acclaim. Bjarnason is co-founder of Caput ensemble.