Estonia National Opera boys choir takes tour to Europe and North America

Estonia National Opera’s boys choir will perform in Berlin, New York and Toronto during a concert tour running from August 14 to 24, ERR reports. The choir will appear at the Young Euro Classic festival, perform in New York for the first time in its 55-year history and take part in the opening celebrations of Toronto’s new Estonian Centre.

The tour’s first concert will be held on August 15 in the main hall of Berlin’s Konzerthaus as part of the Young Euro Classic festival. The Estonia National Opera boys choir is the first Estonian choir to give a full-length concert at the festival.

Hirvo Surva will conduct the Berlin concerts, with Andres Lemba on piano. Soprano Jaanika Kuusik, oboist Riivo Kallasmaa and organist Ulla Krigul will also perform. The programme includes a wide selection of Estonian choral music by Eduard Tubin, Veljo Tormis, Cyrillus Kreek, Mart Saar, Rasmus Puur, Andres Lemba and other composers. Lemba’s Ubi caritas and Dona nobis pacem will be performed in Germany for the first time.

The choir will perform at All Souls Church in New York on August 18 and at Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church in Toronto on August 20. The tour’s highlight will be the August 22 “Valguspidu” opening celebration for the Estonian Centre, which will bring together choirs from around the world. The concert, styled after an Estonian song festival, will feature several conductors, including Hirvo Surva, Triin Koch and Jonas Tarm. Heli Jürgenson is the artistic director.

Surva, the choir’s director, said performing at the Konzerthaus in Berlin and appearing at the opening of Toronto’s new Estonian Centre were great honours for the choir. He said the New York visit added particular excitement because it would be the choir’s first performance there in its 55 years of activity.