Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Turns 30
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir will kick off its 30th anniversary season with a series of concerts in churches.
The concerts will take place on September 9 in St. John's Church, Tartu, on September 10 in the Haapsalu Dome Church, on September 11 in the Rakvere Church of the Holy Trinity, and on September 12 in St. Nicholas Church, Tallinn.
The anniversary concerts to be held in Tartu, Haapsalu, and Tallinn will feature compositions by the classical music greats Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke, Galina Grigorjeva, Rudolf Tobias, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms that the choir has been performing with great acclaim for decades in various parts of the world. The program will include celebrated Estonian, German, and Russian a cappella choral works from different eras, from the romantic to the contemporary period.
On September 11, the choir will perform Arvo Pärt's "Kanon Pokajanen" in the Rakvere Church of the Holy Trinity in celebration of the composer's birthday. The concert will round out the program of the Rakvere Festival of Sacred Music "VaiMus". All the concerts will be led by the choir's chief conductor Daniel Reuss.
In Haapsalu and Rakvere, attendance will be free.
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir was established in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste who held the positions of the artistic director and chief conductor of the choir for 20 years. British conductor Paul Hillier took the helm from 2001 to 2007, and starting from the 2008/2009 season, Daniel Reuss has been serving as the artistic director and chief conductor of the choir.
Sigrid Maasen