Today, 12 September is the important day, when the inaugural ceremony of the new Rector of the EAMT, Prof. Ivari Ilja will take place at 16.00 in the Chamber hall of the EAMT. The medal symbolizing the office of the Rector will be presented to Prof. Ilja by the President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, and the ceremony will be broadcasted live by the Estonian Public Broadcasting Culture portal.
In addition to the President, the members of the EAMT and other invited guests will be addressed by the Minister of Research and Education, Mailis Reps; Minister of Culture, Inderk saar; Representative of the Council of Rectors of Estonian Universities, Prof. Mart Kalm; Vice-Head of the EAMT Student Council, Karl Joosep Sinisalu, and many others.
Musical greetings will be presented by the Choir of the EAMT under the baton of Tõnu Kaljuste, by the internationally acclaimed pianists Mihkel Poll and Stenn Lassmann, and Estonian zither player Anna-Liisa Eller.
Prof. Ivari Ilja studied piano at Tallinn State Conservatoire under Prof. Laine Mets and at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire under Professors Vera Gornostayeva and Sergey Dorensky. He has been a member of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre faculty since 1986 and held the position of Head of the Piano Department from 2000 to 2015. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Association of Professional Musicians and Member of the Board of the Estonian Music Council.