Rebecca Kontus returned to music after swearing it off

Singer and landscape architect Rebecca Kontus once thought she never wanted to hear music again after finishing music school, ERR reported. Three years after graduating from high school, she went to Otsa music school to study singing.

Kontus, who was born in Pärnu in 1984, said her parents had both been involved in music when they were young. She was the only child in the family to study music, though she believes she had the weakest voice.

She started piano lessons at Pärnu Music School in second grade after her mother asked if she wanted to go. Kontus said she found piano difficult and did not enjoy practising, but recalled being motivated to learn Tchaikovsky’s “Neapolitan Song” after her teacher said it might be too hard for her. She played it flawlessly and at a fast pace.

After seven years of piano lessons, she graduated from music school and decided she wanted nothing more to do with music, especially the piano. She said she was focused on mathematics and physics and thought she would go to university. But singing remained a constant: she started a band in high school and said she sang loudly at home. “Singing is my first love,” she said.

Kontus said her first official job was as a choreographer, teaching children to dance at Loo Cultural Centre. She also recalled being nervous before performances. At a fifth-grade singing competition, she wore a long velvet dress and high-heeled shoes; when she looked down, she saw her dress trembling. She decided she would never wear heels on stage again.

In 2005, Kontus represented Estonia at Eurovision with the girl group Suntribe. She graduated from EKA’s faculty of architecture and now works in urban space and landscape architecture, which she said she enjoys. Her biggest dream is to perform one of her own songs, singing solo while a choir joins in.