07:00 pm
Hirvo Surva Conductor
Jaanika Kuusik Soprano
Riivo Kallasmaa Oboe
Maret Poll Percussion
Andres Lemba Percussion & composer
Ulla Krigul Organ
EDUARD TUBIN · „Ave Maria” (1952, rev. 1964)
ANDRES LEMBA · „Ubi caritas“ (2019, German Premiere)
ANDRES LEMBA · „Dona nobis pacem” (2025, German Premiere)
VELJO TORMIS · „Arrival of the wedding guests” from „Votic Wedding Songs” (1971)
CYRILLUS KREEK · „Lullaby“ (1915)
VELJO TORMIS · „Rumours are flying” (1973/1991)
MART SAAR · „Song of the Birds” (1935)
RASMUS PUUR · „We are Fragile Under our Shell” from „Thoughts of a Young Man” (2015-2017)
EDUARD TUBIN · „Yearning” (1930)
RAIVO DIKSON · „The End of the Song” (1985, arr. von Martin Sildos)
RAIMUND VALGRE · „The Right Choice” (1968, arr. von Andres Lemba)
VELJO TORMIS · „Forget Me Not” in memory of Gustav Ernesaks (1996)
ANDRES LEMBA · „Up We Go, Dear Brothers” (2014)
TOMMY CASH · „Espresso macchiato” (1968, arr. by Andres Lemba)
This is an absolute premiere in the 27th year of Young Euro Classic: for the first time, a chorus gives a full-length evening concert – the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir. This is an event to look forward to, especially knowing the enthusiasm with which people of all ages in the Baltic States maintain and love their choral tradition – in small and large choruses, and especially at the national choral festivals. The Estonian boys’ choir has chosen a programme that mixes sacred and worldly compositions in an entertaining manner, starting with an Ave Maria by the national composer Eduard Tubin and a Dona nobis pacem by the choir’s resident composer Andres Lemba, followed by a colourful selection of artful folk song settings. Here, we find wedding songs, lullabies and birdsong, set by the most renowned Estonian composers for voices. Despite all this folklore, however, the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir is firmly rooted in the present: evoking ESC vibes, the last title of the official programme is Espresso macchiato!
Founded in 1971 as the boys’ chorus of the State Academic Men’s Chorus, the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir adopted its final name when it became part of the Estonian National Opera in 1997. In 2001, Hirvo Surva took over the leadership of the chorus, which consists of boy sopranos, boy altos, tenors and basses. It works at three different levels, training and nurturing a total of approximately 180 members. Individual singers have the opportunity to appear in boys’ roles at the Estonian National Opera, in works such as Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, La Bohème, Carmen or The Man of La Mancha. In 2017, Andres Lemba’s musical Chestnuts from Fire – Stories of National Opera Boys’ Choir premiered, which was composed for the Boys’ Choir. Over the course of the years, the chorus has appeared in many countries in Europe as well as Canada, the USA, Israel, Japan and China. In 2018, it also performed at the Konzerthaus Berlin during the centennial celebrations of the Baltic States.
Hirvo Surva, who has been the chief conductor of the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir since 2001, is one of Estonia’s most experienced choral conductors. Since 1990, the 63-year-old has conducted at the National Choral Festivals several times, both in the mixed chorus category and with the male and boys’ choruses. In 1997 and 2001, he was the artistic director of the 8th and 9th Choral Festival, as well as the 26th choral festival “Touched by the Time”. Among the many choruses Surva has led or still leads are the Estonian National Men’s Chorus, the boys’ choir Virumaa and the Revalia Chamber Chorus. Since 2006, he has taught at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and the Tallinn Music High School. Since 2002, Surva has also been the chairman of the Estonian Association of Choral Conductors. In 2021, the Estonian Music Council honoured him for his outstanding achievements in Estonia’s musical life.
After graduating from the Tallinn Music High School and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, the singer and conductor Jaanika Kuusik completed her education with a master’s degree in choral conducting, studying with the renowned choral conductor Tõnu Kaljuste. She is the conductor of the Estonian Children’s Choir and the Mixed Estonian Chorus in Stockholm. For more than a decade, Kuusik has been a member of the vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis, with which she has performed all over Europe, in the USA, South America and Japan. Since September 2023, the vocalist has been a member of the Swedish Radio Chorus.
Riivo Kallasmaa studied at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and at the Jerusalem Music Academy. He has worked with the three most important Estonian symphony orchestras (Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Opera, Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra) and with such renowned ensembles such as Kremerata Baltica. Several Estonian composers, such as Timo Steiner, Tõnis Kaumann, Helena Tulve, Rasmus Puur and Pärt Uusberg, have composed works for Kallasmaa. He is a co-founder of the wind quintet Reval Wind. As a singer, he is also a member of the ensemble Vox Clamantis, which combines Gregorian chant with contemporary music.
The conductor and percussionist Maret Poll graduated from the Tallinn Music High School and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where she specialized in choral conducting. Since 2008, she has been a choral conductor and music teacher at the Old Town Education College and St. Michael’s School in Tallinn; since 2015, she has been a conductor of the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir. Since 2017, Maret Poll has also been active conducting at the Estonian Song Festival; in 2028, she will lead its department of boys’ choruses. Furthermore, she works as a singer and composer.
The composer and conductor Andres Lemba, born in the Estonian capital Tallinn in 1968, studied choral conducting at the Tallinn Music High School and at the Estonian Academy of Music. From 2000 to 2006, he directed the Replamaa Boys’ Choir. He has been associated with the Boys’ Choir of the Estonian National Opera since 2003. Lemba has written mainly choral and chamber music, while also arranging works of different genres for chorus and orchestra. His Haned-luiged (Geese and Swans) for women’s chorus and the arrangement of Kait Tamra’s song Oma saar (An Island of one’s own) for mixed chorus were included in the programme of the XXII. National Choral Festival in 2014. That same year, Lemba participated in the choral music competition of the international festival VocalEspoo, where his composition Sanctus for male choir won the first prize and his Miserere for mixed choir won the second prize. In 2015, Andres Lemba was voted “Choral Composer of the Year”.
Ulla Krigul is a graduate of the Tallinn Music High School and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where she specialized in piano and organ. Further studies took her to the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, where she joined the class of the organist Martin Haselböck. She works as a répétiteur at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet and at the Estonian Music Academy. Ulla Krigul performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician at Estonian festivals; she has also appeared in Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine and Germany.