conductor
Valter Soosalu
Valter Soosalu is the principal conudctor of chamber choir Kolm Lindu. He is also the conductor of the Academic Male Choir of Tallinn University of Technology, and can be seen as the tenor soloist at large-form concerts and as part of chamber ensembles. At the last jubilee Song Celebration, he was again one of the conductors for mixed choirs. When not in front of a choir or performing as a soloist, his heart belongs to the rock band Põhja Konn, where Soosalu is the singer, keyboard player and composer. At the April 2019 concerts, in addition to conducting Kolm Lindu, Soosalu also improvised on the harpeji.
conductor
Hirvo Surva
Hirvo Surva is the conductor of the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir and the Estonian Public Broadcasting Mixed Choir. Since 2006, he works at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre where he is the director of the Department of Choral Conducting. He has also been the principal conductor of the Estonian Male Choir Association’s Boys’ Choir Kalev (1994–2009), the principal conductor of Revalia Chamber Choir (since 1998), and the conductor of the Male Choir of the Academy of Sciences. He is the president of the Board of the Estonian Choral Association. Hirvo Surva conducted Kolm Lindu at the concerts “Kreek ja Bruckner” in spring 2023.
conductor
Stijn Claerhoudt
Claerhoudt began learning the piano and trumpet as a child in Holland. He studied physics at Utrecht University while also continuing making music. He sang in different remarkable choirs, including the Netherlands Student Chamber Choir (Nederlands Studenten Kamerkoor). In 2014, he became the co-founder and artistic director of the vocal quartet Pulse Ensemble. With the ensemble, which mainly focuses on early music, Claerhoudt has performed at several festivals across Europe. In 2021, Claerhoudt started studying choral conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under Hirvo Surva. Claerhoudt collaborated with chamber choir Kolm Lindu at the concerts “Kreek ja Bruckner” conducting two pieces. Kolm Lindu is the first group Claerhoudt has conducted outside of his studies.
conductor
Hyonah Song
Song is a young choral conductor from South Korea living in Estonia. She began her career as a singer in Korea, but then transitioned to conducting. She has a Master’s degree in choral conducting from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT), where she studied in the class of Toomas Kapten (2022). Song was the principal conductor in several Korean cathedrals, and the assistant conductor of Yangju city Boys’ and Girls’ Choir, Deungchon General Social Welfare Center Female Choir, and Sogang University Fiat Mixed Youth Choir. Hyonah Song is currently working as the coordinator of the EAMT Choir and as the concertmaster of the conducting class. In Estonia, she has been the assistant conductor of Rapla Mixed Choir. In 2023, she won I and II prize in two categories at the international choral conducting competition Aegis Carminis in Slovenia, and was awarded a special prize of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir to conduct them at a concert in the 2024/25 season. Song collaborated with chamber choir Kolm Lindu at the concerts “Kreek ja Bruckner” conducting two pieces.
poster artist
Ingmar Järve
Ingmar Järve (aka GUTFACE) is a multidisciplinary artist from Jõhvi who has been working in Tartu since 2012. In 2016, he graduated from the Pallas University of Applied Sciences in media design. He has gained most attention for his street art, but is also active in several other creative fields. His daily work includes creating graphic design pieces, animation and illustrations for festivals, musicians and cultural events. Ingmar’s design for the vinyl record of Taavi-Peeter Liiv’s album “Skorpion” received the Album Cover Design of the Year award. He is also an active member of the artist collective Ajuokse. Järve is the author of the designs for chamber choir Kolm Lindu concerts “Suur maalritöö” and “Kreek ja Bruckner”. See https://gutface.bigcartel.com/.
composer
Ardo Ran Varres
Ardo Ran Varres is a composer from Tartu. With his educational background in music and theatre, he is a combination of a musician, actor, composer, sound engineer and musical designer. He has written original music for dozens of drama productions, documentary and feature films. He has also gained recognition for his musical compositions for contemporary dance performances. Chamber choir Kolm Lindu commissioned an original choral piece from Ardo Ran Varres, which resulted in a 17-minute piece “Suur maalritöö” composed to the lyrics by Ellen Niit. The premiere of the work was on 7 May 2022 at Dzintari Concert Hall in Latvia. See ardoranvarres.com.
lighting designer
Terje Kähr
Terje Kähr is studying stage lighting at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. Kähr has graduated from Tartu Art School in 2012 (as a decorator-stilist), and has a BA in scenography from the Estonian Academy of Arts. Besides drawing and painting, her current interest lies in audio-visual solutions – primarily in lighting design. Kähr created the lighting design for the 17-minute piece “Suur maalritöö” by Ardo Ran Varres (Sept 2022).
conductor
Mikk Üleoja
Mikk Üleoja has been the principal conductor of the Estonian National Male Choir since 2011. He has sung in the World Youth Choir (1989–1992), Estonian National Male Choir (1994–1996), Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (1996–2000) and the early music vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis (1998–2011). From 1998 to 2011, he was the choir master of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Mikk Üleoja has been the conductor on six albums, two of them – “In paradisum” with compositions by Galina Grigorjeva and “Te lucis anteterminum” with compositions by Henrik Ødegaard – recorded with the Estonian National Male Choir. Üleoja worked with Kolm Lindu between November 2019 and September 2020 (concerts “Canticle of the Sun”).
violinist
Uku Toots
The first time we met Uku Toots (*2006) was in the summer of 2018 when we happened to be performing at the same concert. We were mesmerised by his performance and thus invited him to join us for our Christmas concerts in 2019. Uku is studying violin under E. Roosaar at Tartu Heino Eller Music College. His highest acclaim thus far is from “Young Musician 2019” in Tallinn, where Uku received I prize in the older participant group and was also awarded the Conductor’s award for the best instrumental concert performance at the final concert of the competition. In 2019, at the recommendation of Kolm Lindu, Uku got his first opportunity to perform as a soloist in front of a professional orchestra at the Leigo Lake Music Festival (conductor Risto Joost, other soloists: Annely Peebo, Mati Turi).
cellist
Theodor Sink
Theodor Sink is a cellist whose interpretation and improvisations we had the pleasure to enjoy at our third concert programme (spring 2019). Sink is the principal cellist of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, but also participates in several collaborative projects as a soloist and as a chamber musician. As a soloist, he has performed with Sinfonietta Rīga, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Festival Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, orchestra Uue Tänava Orkester and Järvi Academy Sinfonietta.
composer
Maria Kõrvits
Maria Kõrvits is the composer of our first commissioned work “Akvarell II”. Kõrvits has mainly written chamber music and choral music pieces. Her music has been performed by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, female chamber choir Sireen, mixed choir HUIK!, SaxEst, Estonian National Male Choir, chamber ensemble Norrbotten NEO, and others. Her work “langedes ülespoole, taeva kaarjasse kaussi” (falling up into the bowl of sky) for symphony orchestra was the winner of the International Rostrum of Composers held in Wroclaw in the “young composers” category in 2016.
conductor
Jaan-Eik Tulve
Jaan-Eik Tulve worked with us in spring 2018 on a concert programme composed of works by Arvo Pärt and of Gregorian chants. He is the founder and conductor of Vox Clamantis and a facutly member at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. He also teaches Gregorian chant regularly in about a dozen French monasteries and as courses elsewhere.
percussionist
Vambola Krigul
Vambola Krigul is a percussionist whose improvisations could be heard between the works of Pärt and Gregorian chants at the Kolm Lindu concert programme “Creator spiritus” (2018) conducted by Jaan-Eik Tulve. Krigul is a versatile musician who works as a percussionist at the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, is a member of the contemporary music ensemble U:, the ensemble Heinavanker, and is also a Lecturer in Percussion at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
conductor
Benjamin Kirk
Benjamin Kirk was the first conductor of Kolm Lindu, which means that he worked with us in the autumn semester of the 2017/2018 season. Kirk has studied choral conducting in Estonia under Tõnu Kaljuste, but also at the Royal Academy of Music in England with Patrick Russill. Estonian choirs he has worked with include the Tallinn Chamber Choir, Voces Musicales, Sireen, HUIK!, the Academic Women’s Choir of the University of Tartu. Outside of Estonia, he has worked with the Swedish Radio Choir, the Choir of Radio France, the Old Blues Chamber Orchestra, and others. See benjamintheophilus.com.
