Saluveer seeks better pay and recognition for choir conductors

Aarne Saluveer, the new chairman of the Estonian Choral Conductors’ Association, says choir conductors’ role in Estonian culture needs greater recognition, ERR reported. He said the association would focus on working conditions, pay, recruitment and communication within the profession.

Saluveer was elected chairman at the association’s general meeting in June. He said the proposal came unexpectedly and that he had initially hoped to find a younger and more active candidate for the position.

The new board also includes Leiu Ryland-Jones, Kristjan Õmblus, Laine Lehto, Ode Pürg, Karin Tuul and Ave Sopp. Saluveer said he wanted the board to represent a broad range of views because the choral music sector was too large to be led by a group with a single outlook.

One specific goal is to increase the role of choral conducting in music schools. The association has discussed the issue with music schools, but Saluveer said reaching an agreement would take time and should not be forced through quickly or unilaterally.

“Negotiating and discussing this with music schools takes time, so that they themselves feel they want to do it,” he said.

The association’s youth academy is also intended to help recruit future choir conductors. It gives young people the chance to experience standing in front of a choir, teaching others to sing and encouraging singers. Saluveer said some participants in previous academies had later entered music-related fields.

However, he said young people should not be encouraged to become choir conductors at any cost. In his view, it is not an easy profession, and the decision should come from a person’s own interest.

Association wants greater role in organising pay support

Saluveer said money was one of the central issues in valuing choir conductors’ work. The association wants conductors to earn sufficient income and not have to work only in the evenings alongside another job.

For years, the association has discussed a model in which a choir conductor’s income would rest on three pillars: one part from choir members’ payments, one from the state and one from local cultural management. The aim is to ensure that a conductor’s work does not depend solely on the resources of one choir or employer.

If those three sources provided sufficient income together, conductors could work in their profession with a larger workload. Saluveer did not promise a rapid rise in pay, saying he did not want to make commitments that could not currently be fulfilled.

He also stressed the importance of making the existing state support system work properly. According to Saluveer, registering for the support is not the main problem for conductors. The greater difficulty is proving how the support was used in subsequent reports and understanding exactly what the requirements mean.

The association plans to meet with the Centre of Folk Culture to identify where choir conductors encounter the greatest difficulties when using the support. It also plans to produce a simple training video to make applying for and using the support easier to understand.