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The 2019 graduation concert-ceremony of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre will be held on June 20th 4pm at the Estonia Concert Hall.

Concert by this year’s graduates Linda Kanter (vocal), Raiko Raalik (bass), Karl Tipp (saxophone), Eve Neumann (saxophone), Vlady Bystrov (saxophone) ja Jekaterina Semenova (accordion), Eeva-Maria Laas (violin), Sandra Klimaitė (viola), Piret Mikalai (piano).
EAMT Symphony Orchestra, conductor Andres Kaljuste, conductor Imre Rohuväli.
Works by Bajetta, Ibert, Bruch, Verdi, Prokofjev and others.

Invitations to the concert-ceremony for graduates and teaching staff are available at the rectorate (room A-202). 

Tickets are available on Piletilevi and at the door one hour prior to ceremony.

A new concert series „Crossing Cultures“, focusing on the foreign students of EAMT, was kicked off last Sunday. Each concert in the series will be devoted to one country and its students studying at EAMT, who will perform alongside the Estonian students.

„Our foreign students come from many different countries and the main idea of the new series is to dedicate each concert to one of those countries. Enabling the foreign students to perform together with their Estonian colleagues, we enable an exchange not only in a form of musical collaboration, but in terms of a cultural exchange in a wider sense. Namely, each concert will include also an oral introduction to the culture of the country in the spotlight“, explains Henry-David Varema, Vice-Rector for Artistic Affairs and International Relations. For instance, in the first concert that was dedicated to South-Korea and featured performances by South-Korean and Estonian students, and alumni of EAMT, the overview on the country’s culture was given by Jason Mario Dydynski, doctoral student of semiotics and cultural theories of University of Tartu.

The countries featured during the next season are Finland, Latvia, Spain and China. „It’s quite common not to know too much about the cultural heritage and background of our foreign colleagues. Thus, the new concert series will hopefully not only help to bring closer the students, academic staff and audience of EAMT, but perhaps also helps to disprove different and unfortunately still widespread myths regarding the foreign students,“ Varema adds.

Elections for the appointment of 12 members of academic staff were held on on Wednesday 15 May 2019 and the following staff were declared elected:

Department of Classical Music Performance

senior lecturer of piano (workload 1,0)

Sten Lassmann

professor of choral conducting (workload 0,5)

Hirvo Surva

lecturer of chamber music (workload 0,5)

Mari Poll-Novakovic

lecturer – pianist-accompanist for strings (workload 1,0)

Ralf Taal

teacher – pianist-accompanist for strings (workload 0,5) (2 positions)

Thea Nestor

Reet Ruubel

teacher – pianist-accompanist for winds (workload 0,5) (2 positions)

Meeli Ots

Anneli Tohver

Department of Composition and Improvisational Performing Arts

senior lecturer of contemporary interpretation (workload 1,0)

Taavi Kerikmäe

lecturer of audiovisual composition (workload 0,5)

Einike Leppik

Department of drama

professor of performing arts (workload 1,0)

Anu Lamp

senior lecturer of Alexander technique (workload 0,5)

Maret Tormis

The registry for the international musicology conference “Urban and Court Culture in the Early Modern Baltic Sea Region” which will take place from 2 to 3 May 2019 is still open!

The conference aims to explore urban and court culture, along with their interrelations in the Baltic Sea region in the early modern period. The programme covers diverse aspects of music and written culture, and further seeks to place individual perspectives in the related contexts (e.g. the social position of a person in the service of a city or within a court; the artistic and personal decisions one had to make; daily life and environment of a person).

The keynote speaker of the conference is renowned German researcher of the early opera, Silke Leopold, who will deliver her speech “Opera in Europe around 1680: A Panorama of Dramaturgies, Languages and Styles” on 2 May at 10.15. Among the others, the presentation “Unbekannte Spuren von Johann Valentin Meders Notensammlung” by the Director of the Leipzig Bach Archive, Peter Wollny, deserves a special mention. You can read more on the conference here and get acquainted with the full programme here. The presentations are held in German and English.

The conference is above all meant for the PhD students of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, University of Tartu, Tallinn University and Estonian Academy of Arts, but all the other professionals from the field of musicology are welcome, too. Participation for everyone is free of charge and you can register by 24 April latest here.

The conference is organized by the Musicology Study Area of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in collaboration with the Estonian Graduate School of Culture Studies and Arts.

On 18 and 30 April the title roles of „Le Nozze di Figaro“ by W.A. Mozart will be sung by the young singers of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

The opera is directed by Marco Gandini (Italy) and was premiered at the Estonian National Opera already in 2017. Ene Rindesalu, Head of the EAMT Opera Studio, reveals that „the collaboration with the National Opera which began as early as in 1989, has provided our students with professional skills and opportunities that are unquestionably useful for their careers in the future. Working with the professional orchestra and conductor, developing the roles in close collaboration with the stage director and choreographer, the experience of the dress rehearsals in costumes and make up, and finally the performances with the audience turn the whole process very real. Not to mention the special atmosphere of the opera house… A wonderful experience for everyone, no doubt!“

„Le Nozze di Figaro“ follows the Almaviva household through a single turbulent day. The cast under the baton of Arvo Volmer is following: Raiko Raalik or Žilvinas Steponas Miškinis (Figaro), Siiri Johanson or Kadri Kõrvek (Susanna), Silja Maria Sevonkari or Ille Saar (la Contessa), Janari Jorro (il Conte), Elo-Maarja Trumm or Karis Trass (Cherubino), Jurģis Marcinkevičs (Bartolo), Mehis Tiits (Basilio), Merilin Taul or Merje Uppin (Marcellina), Merit Kraav or Kristine Žogota (Barbarina), Erki Lillemets (Antonio) and Hyun Woo Lee (Don Curzio).

Read more on „Le Nozze di Figaro“ on the homepage of the Estonian National Opera.

Tickets available at Piletimaailm.

For the first time, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre has made it to the QS World University Rankings, which is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world.

EAMT, being the only music university from Baltic states on the QS list,  is currently holding the position no 51-100 in the category of performing arts among such reputable music academies as Cologne, Leipzig and Munich (Germany), F. Liszt Music Academy (Hungary) and the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg (Denmark).

The top performing arts institutions in 2019 are the The Julliard School (USA) and Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (Austria) followed by the Royal College of Music (UK), Royal Academy of Music and Curtis Institute of Music (USA). Sibelius Academy/University of Arts Helsinki (Finland), ranked as 6th in 2018,  is currently holding the 12th position.

The QS Rankings are released every year and provide lists of universities based on surveys, diversity, and much more. It is monitored by both partners and students to learn about the nature and capability of universities.

The full list of performing arts universities is available here.

Starting in 2019, the Ministry of Culture will award the Artur Lemba Scholarship to university students majoring in composition, piano performance or musicology, and to students researching the life and work of Estonian pianist and composer Artur Lemba.

Artur Lemba (1885-1963) was one of Estonia’s most celebrated composers, pianists and music pedagogues. Both his opera “Sabina” (1905) and Symphony No. 1 (1908) were the first works of their respective genres written by an Estonian.

The scholarship will be funded by royalties collected from performances of Artur Lemba’s music. According to the current copyright laws, royalties entrusted to the state are managed by the Ministry of Culture, as is the case with those of Artur Lemba. The scholarship is intended for students whose major field of study reflects the life work of Artur Lemba.

The size of the scholarship is 2000 euros.

The selection committee will comprise of representatives of the following institutions: the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, the Estonian Composers Union, the Estonian Association of Professional Musicians, the Museum of Estonian History and the Ministry of Culture.

Application Guidelines

The Artur Lemba Scholarship is available to full-time university students whose major field of study is in composition, piano performance or musicology, and who, upon graduation, will receive an official state diploma.

The selection committee will make their decision based on the applicant’s past achievements, the projected use of the scholarship funds, the applicant’s letter of motivation and his/her academic results.

Application Requirements

• A letter of intent which includes the applicant’s contact information, signed either digitally or physically
• A summary of the academic and creative work of the applicant
• A letter of motivation, which introduces the academic and creative goals of the applicant as well as the planned use of the funds
• A letter of recommendation (recommended, but not compulsory)

The application may be sent either electronically to min@kul.ee or by regular post to Suur-Karja 23, Tallinn by January 31, 2019. Should any additional information be required, please contact Madli-Liis Parts (madli-liis.parts@kul.ee or 5620 1108).

See also https://www.kul.ee/et/stipendiumid-ja-preemiad

On 18-21 July 2018 took place at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT) a 4-day workshop with the aim to test how can research and education networks connect musicians in different countries so they can rehearse and perform together. This event was globally first of its kind. 

Hands-on training gave national research and education networks (NRENs) from Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries practical experience in setting up network connectivity combined with LoLa (low latency audiovisual streaming system).

The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT) provided training leadership and technical support, based on the rich LoLa experience that was gained through the 2017 ‘Music Without Borders’ concert organised by EaPConnect and subsequent other events.

Around 20 network and sound specialists and musicians from four EaP and three partner EU countries met at EAMT to exchange practical experience and theoretical knowledge, to interact and share best practices in a very dynamic environment. Split into two teams, they simulated being in different countries by setting up network and LoLa connections from two rooms. During this creative technical process they also discussed potential future collaborations to support music master classes and lectures.

Each day of training was followed by a rehearsal, with the week culminating in a real LoLa use case – ‘Remote Transitions’, a concert with a live connection between Tallinn and two locations in Italy.

Well-known musicians from Georgia and Germany – Reso Kiknadze and Vladi Bystrov – played saxophones in Tallinn together with musicians in Trieste and a dancer in San Giorgio-Venice, showcasing to an audience in San Giorgio-Venice how seamless a connection the networks and LoLa provide.

The Tallinn activities were hosted and facilitated by EAMT. The Italian activities were coordinated with Conservatorio di Musica “G. Tartini” di Trieste as part of an Italian music festival. The Tallinn events were organised by the EaPConnect project in cooperation with the Italian NREN GARR.

Photos and video from the training workshop and the ‘Remote Transitions’ concert are available online. (YouTube streaming of the performance in San Giorgio-Venice starts at approximately 50 minutes.)

On 1st of October 2018 took place the first ever 5G concert, that was organized with the help of 5G network and LoLa streaming technology simultaneously in two locations: at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn and at Seto Culture Museum in Setomaa (with the distance of 300 km). The concert was held as part of the International Music Day programme.

The concert was organized in collaboration with the telecommunication company Elisa. Due to the 5G network of Elisa and the Academies Low Latency Audio Visual Streaming System LoLa, it was possible to arrange the concert simultaneously in two locations in Estonia. The concert on 1st of October was also a demonstration of the 5G network of Elisa.

In 2017, the Head of IT at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Innar Järva achieved the first prize at the 5G ideas competition, that was held by Elisa, business ideas competition Ajujaht and technology news portal Geenius. Due to the competition, the Academy became the first university in Estonia, which hosts its own 5G-support station of Elisa on its premises. The station was also used for organizing the collaborative concert on 1st of October.

LoLa technology enables musicians, who are located up to 5000 km apart from each other, to play together in real time. The collaboration of LoLa technology and 5G network creates the first mobile solution, that has fast enough speed and minimal latency to enable playing music in real time via audio visual streaming without the need for broadband connection.

The performers of the concert on 1st of October in Tallinn were pianist Mihkel Poll, guitarist Jaak Sooäär and percussionist Tanel Ruben, who played together with musicians, who were located 300km away in Setomaa: cellist Henry-David Varema and singer Laura Põldvere.

LoLa technology is the project of Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory in Italy and the Italian Consortium of the Science and Education Network GARR. The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre received the LoLa hardware with the support of the Estonian Education and Research Network of Information Technology Foundation for Education from the European Union projectGÉANT-EaPConnect.

THE EUROPEAN UNION YOUTH ORCHESTRA AUDITION

All applicants for the 2019 Orchestra must be aged between 16 and 26 inclusive on 31 December 2018 and hold passports from one of the 28 European Union member countries. Precise rules and regulations are available here.

The auditions will take place in two rounds:

HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY?
All the candidates are requested to fill in the application and send it by Friday, 2 November latest to kai@ema.edu.ee. 

Questions and additional info:
Kai Kiiv
6675 721
kai@ema.edu.ee

The European Union Youth Orchestra, founded in 1976, is by now one of the world’s pre-eminent symphony orchestras that has worked with many of the world’s greatest musicians including Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Mstislav Rostropovich and particularly its three Music Directors and current Chief Conductor: Founding Music Director Claudio Abbado, former Music Director Vladimir Ashkenazy, former Music Director and current Conductor Laureate Bernard Haitink, and Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko.The spring and summer tours 2019 will take place in the EUYO residencies in Ferrara, Grafenegg and Bolzano followed by concert tours to Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, UK and Oman. More precise info is available here.