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Consultations for applicants for doctoral studies in music and dramatic art with regard to the preparation of research projects will be held on:

15 April
12.00 Zoom (in English)
17.30 A-202 at EAMT (in Estonian and English)

18 April
15.00–16.00 A-202 at EAMT (in Estonian and English)

25 April
14.00 Zoom (in English)

We ask participants to register no later than 17:00 the day before the consultation by calling 6675 709 or by e-mail at: margit.vosa@eamt.ee.

Well-functioning voice is important to all of us. For many, their voice is an invaluable tool in their everyday professional life.

The tradition of annually celebrating the WVD started in Brazil about a quarter of a century ago. The legendary Swedish voice researcher, Professor Johan Sundberg, has been a promoter of this movement worldwide since 2012. The idea is to initiate on this day various activities which value the human voice and spread information that helps to use it better and healthier.

This year, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre offers the possibility to measure your Voice Range Profile (VRP) for all who are interested (singers, but also others). VRP shows the pitch range of the voice together with the dynamic range for each note. VRP enables people to receive information about their singing voice category and vocal skill level. Additionally, speaking voice range can be assessed by reading a text.

Measuring the VRP should take approximately 30 minutes, and the result will be printed onto paper.

Individuals interested in measuring their VRP can do so on 16 April 2024, between 11 am and 4 pm. To preregister a time, please contact Professor Allan Vurma (allan.vurma@eamt.ee; mob 51935932).

Please also see the international webpage: worldvoiceday.org

Within the framework of the European project E4TLI (Education for Technological Literacy and Inclusion) we invite teachers from every discipline to join the Free and certified online seminar on live streaming.

Join the lectures and discussions of this 4-day webinar to address topics like:

• What is streaming and what kind of software and platforms are there for streaming?
• What are the aspects to keep in mind when using streaming for education?
• How can teachers engage students while streaming?
• How could live streaming be integrated into creative/artistic work?
• What could we consider as strategies for streaming in the context of performances and events?

The participants of the seminar will gain knowledge on how to provide accessible content using live streaming technology in pedagogical or creative work. The participants will also gain insight into the effects and requirements of live streaming in teaching and learning processes and become familiar with the strategic choices with streaming in performances and events.

The seminar is organised by the Cultural Management MA programme of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

To get a participation certificate, please fill in the Attendance sheet and send the signed version back via email: culturalmanagement@eamt.ee

In case of any questions, please contact culturalmanagement@eamt.ee

We invite you to participate in a listening experiment of the joint research project of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and Tallinn University of Technology titled “The possibilities of vocalists in improving text comprehensibility – issues and scientific basis”, which will take place on 13 February from 16:30 to 18:00 in the Great Hall of EAMT(Tatari 13).

The research aims to test the identification of consonants in sung text in a real acoustic situation. Participants will sit in the hall, listen to recorded sound stimuli, and note down the heard consonants. As background information, we ask for the participant’s age, gender, and native language. For practical purposes, we also collect participants’ contact information. All data will be anonymized during the analysis. People aged 16–70 are welcome to participate. After the completion of the study, participants will be invited to a coffee table.

The research is funded by the Estonian Research Council, and ethical committee approval has been obtained for it. All participants will be entered into a draw to win 20 tickets to the AHHAA Science Centre and 20 tickets to the Estonian History Museum, of which the Theatre and Music Museum is a part. The Museum of Theatre and Music celebrates its 100th birthday on 22 March and the History Museum will celebrate its 160th birthday on 19 February.

Please pre-register here.

Additional information:
Allan Vurma, Professor of Musicology
allan.vurma@eamt.ee

Erik Alalooga defends his doctoral thesis on 21 December at 16:30 room A-402 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Theatre):

“Developing a systemic method of tinkering for object theatre”

Supervisor: Madli Pesti, PhD (EAMT)

Opponent: Raivo Kelomees, PhD (EAA)

The doctoral thesis is available HERE and in print in the EAMT library.

Summary:

In my artistic research entitled „Developing a systemic method of tinkering for object theatre“, I analysed the situation in which a performer makes personal stage partners. Tinkering here means making art objects from random everyday objects and materials from surrounding environment. I also explored how such a model influences dramaturgical creation and how the self-made object and the performer’s interaction with it is positioned in the contemporary theatrical landscape.

The personal starting point of the work was the need to systematically and analytically study my long experience of tinkering and teaching. It allows to apply the new knowledge gained through creative activities. Although I have consistently emphasized in my research the functioning of tinkering with the support of minimal formulation, regular analyses of the overall process and outcomes are necessary for qualitative development. I also felt that my background as a sculptor and installation artist offered new point of view to the material approach of object theatre.

The research problems stemmed from the perceived fact that tinkering, as a creative engagement with the surrounding material environment, is still a sparsely covered area in the educational process. This, in turn, has an impact on the attitude of young people with creative interests towards the use of technology in the artistic process. The over-theoretical nature of real subjects increases the distance with practical everyday life. People do not become aware of their personal capacity to manipulate material space. A hostile relationship or learned helplessness is constructed in its place. According to a common cliché, the conceptual idea of a work of art is still considered, to be „superior“ to the „shallow“ technical realisation. This in turn gives rise to a further problem – the too facile entrusting of the making of art objects to a specialist for technical realisation. This often means that the artist’s personal touch is lost. The problems described may sound speculative for a research paper, but I assure you that they are the result of long-term observation. I see a huge potential in bringing the practical relationship with the material environment to a more adequate basis.

Tinkering is usually considered as an intuitive artistic activity. The aim of my research was to create a systematic method of tinkering for the object theatre production process. The method should allow the performer with no previous experience to create personal performance partners, which in my artistic research appear as mechanical sound machines.

On 24 October, an innovative doctoral thesis was defended at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre: for the first time in Estonia, a doctoral-level study on the dramaturgy of virtual reality was written. Its author, junior researcher Ana Victoria Falcón Araujo, addressed the question of how writers can create plays that are intended to be staged (partly) in virtual reality. The supervisors were senior researcher Madli Pesti (pictured with Ana Falcón) and dramaturg Marion Jõepera, PhD. The opponent was Ágnes Bakk, Lead Researcher at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest.

Falcon’s interdisciplinary PhD thesis, “Drafting the VR Play: Exploring Extended Reality Theater to Propose a Method for Virtual Reality Playwriting”, brings together early forms of VR playwriting, existing writing conventions, academic literature and artistic experimentation. As a result of the work, the author highlights aspects that writers should take into account when writing a play to be staged in virtual reality. These are the user’s sense of presence in the virtual space (immersion), interactivity, point of view, and the technology used (such as the devices and accessories attached to the user’s head). The doctoral thesis explains and explores the development, concepts and practical uses of virtual reality, a highly topical and constantly evolving field.

During last weeks two important high level international competitions with long traditions took place.

7–14 October VIII Jāzeps Vītols International Piano Competition took place in Latvia. From video selection 32 participants from 13 countries were chosen to participate in the competition. EAMT Doctorate student Mantas Šernius (piano class of Prof Ivari Ilja) was awarded a finalist diploma, Bachelor student Tiit Tomp (piano class of Senior Lecturer Mihkel Poll) was among semi-finalists.

13–24 September X M.K. Čiurlionis International Piano and Organ Competition took place in Lithuania. From video selection 34 pianists and 23 organists from 22 countries were chosen to participate in the competition. Among pianists Master student Fortunato Salvador García Piquer (piano class of Prof Ivari Ilja and Senior Lecturer Mihkel Poll) passed to semi-finalis. Among organists a recent EAMT graduate Marten Meibaum (organ class of Prof Andres Uibo), who is active as a cellist, singer and organist passed to semi-finals.

Ana Victoria Falcon Araujo defends her doctoral thesis on 24 October at 14:30 room A-207 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Theatre):

“Drafting the VR Play: Exploring Extended Reality Theater to Propose a Method for Virtual Reality Playwriting”

Supervisors: Madli Pesti, PhD (EAMT), Marion Jõepera, PhD

Opponent: Dr. phil. Ágnes Karolina Bakk, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (Hungary)

The doctoral thesis is available HERE and in print in the EAMT library.

Abstract:

This dissertation is the first to propose a writing process and format for plays envisioned for
Virtual Reality. Also known as VR, Virtual Reality is a computer-generated three-dimensional medium in which the audience may interact using commands and physical movement (Ryan 2015: 15). By devising a workflow and format for VR theater, this artistic research aims to aid playwrights and screenwriters to draft plays for the ever-advancing Virtual and Extended Reality (XR) mediums.

The methodology of this dissertation consists of a literature review, autoethnography, and
practice as research. As part of exploring how to bring Virtual Reality elements onto the
page, this research describes the development of a writers’ workshop, a practical handbook,
an two Extended Reality (XR) plays with scenes set in 360° video and limited interactivity.

This artistic research concludes by proposing a development process to write stories in a
format denominated as VR play, which fulfills the function of a literary screenplay
(Szczepanik 2013: 86) in a Virtual Reality or Extended Reality theater production. Therefore,
the VR play marks the completion of the conception of the story and is the seminal source for production documents such as the director’s script, lighting floorplans, technical breakdown
of interactions, mood boards, storyboards, narrative path design, axis mapping of actions, and others needed to stage a Virtual Reality play.

This dissertation evolves traditional stagewriting and screenwriting to devise a format for the
ever-advancing Virtual and Extended Reality medium. By doing so, this artistic research
enables storytellers unfamiliar with VR—but familiar with the writing conventions of theater
and cinema—to grasp the narrative possibilities of Virtual Reality and find creative
fulfillment by drafting stories for it.

The European Union Youth Orchestra is looking for the new members!

All applicants for the 2023 Orchestra must be aged between 16 and 26 inclusive on 31 December 2023 and hold passports from one of the 27 European Union member countries. Precise rules and regulations are available here.

The auditions will take place in two rounds:

• Pre-audition for the strings will be on 24 November @13.00 in D-511. For the wind, brass and percussion, there will be 2 pre-auditons on 26 November @15.30-21.00 in C-405 and on 28 November @10.00-15.00 in the Great Hall;
• Final round on on 29 November 2023 at 10.00 in D-511.