Estonian Song and Dance Celebration 2009 blog

The Estonia′s Friends International Meeting

To Breathe As One — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:55:24 +0000

The Estonia′s Friends International Meeting is a joint initiative launched by Enterprise Estonia, business tycoon Mr Margus Reinsalu and President of Estonia Mr Toomas Hendrik Ilves to thank and recognize business, political and cultural figures whose actions and advice have helped Estonia to become a truly European country with a dynamic economy and thriving culture.

Estonia´s Friends International Meeting was held in August 2010 in Tallinn, right before the anniversary of Estonian re-independence. Intended as a gesture of appreciation and marketing event, the event featured a brainstorming session on choices that lie ahead for Estonia. Participants got acquainted with Estonian culture. The friends of Estonia were hosted by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Enterprise Estonia Chairman of the Board Ülari Alamets, and businessman and honorary counsel of Morocco in Estonia Margus Reinsalu. Former prime minister Mart Laar will serve as Tallinn Old Town tour guide.

The group of 40 people visited the Birgitta Festival in the seaside Pirita district and the Oandu watermill in Lahemaa National Park. On 20 August, the participants joined in the festivities marking Restoration of Indpendence Day. The invitee list was the product of dozens of suggestions from people from the political, cultural and business arena. Among other distinguished quests there was former president of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, CEO of Pagani supercars Horacio Pagani, politician and former rally driver Ari Vatanen. The organizers hope that it will become an annual summer tradition.

Video from the event:

Holidays are coming…

To Breathe As One — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:35:40 +0000

Dear friends,

Thank your for your support and happy upcoming holidays!

We have a wish for 2010 – Let`s make our online communities even more popular and introduce Estonian singing and dancing tradition to the rest of the world! Help to spread our Twitter (@tobreatheasone), Facebook (www.facebook.com/songcelebration) and blog links.

Thank you again and may your holidays be unforgettable!

Kind regards from Estonian Song and Dance Celebration online team.

Video: Maarja – Täna sajab lund (Today is snowing).

Video of 1933 Song Celebration in Tallinn

To Breathe As One — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:44:10 +0000

90 000 spectators, 16 500 singers. Amazing video. This was the first Estonian Song Celebration that was broadcasted in radio.

One of the oldest choirs in Estonia – Tartu Academic Male choir

To Breathe As One — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:03:42 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

In 1912 in Tartu, Juhan Simm (1885- 1959) who studied in the University of Tartu, founded a university male choir (now Tartu Academic Male Choir). Almost hundred years old, this choir is still rocks the world with positive energy and wonderful songs.

Juhan was a student and differently from many other fellow students, for whom humming together with fraternity brothers was the end of musical aspirations, his desire was to make beautiful choral music. As a future mathematician, he understood the combination of factors needed to get a combination of pleasant harmony and united singing. Despite the opposition of many students and student associations, a male choir was established in the beginning of 1912 with sufficient number of singers from several student organizations. Success came fast – a complicated repertoire was performed in the first concert some months later… From this point on, a lack of singers was never a problem.

Conductor Simm eventually run out of energy, which he needed to devote to Vanemuise orchestra and conducting several choirs. Therefore, in 1924 a professional singing pedagogue Leenart Neuman took over the conducting of the choir with its almost 100 members.

Which songs do the singers of TAM love to perform? It seems that when singing the softer side of otherwise tough men is revealed. Men love to sing about the sea, storm, pirates and gunmen, but at the same time they are dissatisfied when songs about fatherland and mother tongue are not included in the repertoire. And although not all men have passed philosophy courses at the university, they can nevertheless perform music tackling the eternal themes in Golden Beach, A Song Unsung, and The Singer’s Winter Solitude in an inspiring manner… The songs which are loved throughout times speak about home and fatherland, looking for and finding, love, children, fathers, mothers and ancestors. [Source of the text: http://tam.eu/en/?cat=24&target=]

Listen/watch them perform “Koit” by Tõnis Mägi.

First Topless Choir in Estonia and in the World

To Breathe As One — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:17:59 +0000

In the beginning of November, a new choir that features only topless singers was established in Estonia.

The idea behind new topless choir is to get people more interested in choir singing, explains Peep Kollo, 26 years old choir singer from Vox Populi choir. Women and men are expected to join the new topless choir, but so far mostly men have applied. “We will not perform unless we have more women than men,” so Kollo.

Although new choir will definitely get lots of attention because of the facade, the idea is to make great choir music. Or, as it states on its website:Topless choir is new mixed choir that will rock the world’s choir circuits.

As expected, the organizers of the new topless choir are men. According to official website, they are not nudists, body showers nor perverts, but regular people.

Tallinn 2011 – stories of the seashore

To Breathe As One — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:57:29 +0000

As you probably already know Tallinn is the European Capital of Culture in 2011. Which means that in 406 days Tallinn begins the largest storytelling event in its history. Writers, musicians, artists and actors will tell, paint, sing and act tales inspired by the sea, speaking of Estonia and its people. The stories will be short and long, modern and ancient, exciting and tragic; most importantly, they will all be genuinely Estonian-like.

The main theme of Tallinn 2011, “Stories of the Seashore”, encapsulates Estonian history and Tallinn’s physical location next to the sea, which explains Estonia’s rich cultural diversity, contacts and conflicts. The larger theme is also organized into three smaller parts:

1) Stories of singing together;
2) Stories of the living old city;
3) Stories of dreams and surprises.

„Stories of singing together“ describe how we are all changing the world – through democracy, citizenship, community, freedom and traditions. In truth, the song and dance festivals are our biggest stories of all – we are a people of song and dance; we have the ability to come together and unified we are victorious, and we cannot forget that it is through singing that we won our freedom. In addition to the Song and Dance Festivals, music events include the Birgitta Festival and the youth subculture project, AfroReggae.

„Stories of the living old city“ will tell the story of Tallinn as a city where time has never stopped. Every morning, the people – Estonians, Russians, Germans, Finns, ect. – gather here to write a new page in our city’s history. This can be witnessed in the Old Town’s drama festival, Tallinn Teater Treff, which unite representatives of world cultures and will breathe life into the heart of Tallinn’s culture. The „Stories of the living old city“ will also feature interpretive dance with architecture in „Open Spaces Living Art“ and „Tallinn’s Marathon.“

„Stories of Dreams and Surprises“ will speak of a city and country where the internet has been declared a “human right” and which saw what the media named the world’s first Cyberwar. Together we dream of bringing the sea to the city, and we will do just this on Tallinn’s Maritime Days. Also in store is the audiovisual Plektrum Festival and the Student’s Modern Art Trianual Eksperimenta!

You can find more information about Tallinn 2011 here: http://www.tallinn2011.ee/?id=91

The Woman of the Year in Estonia is Aet Maatee

To Breathe As One — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:47:39 +0000

Federation of Business and Professional Women in Estonia (BPW Estonia) selected Aet Maatee as the Woman of the Year in Estonia. Aet Maatee is the manager of Estonian Song and Dance Celebration Foundation and organized the 2009 Estonian Song and Dance Celebration “To Breathe as One”.

The Non-profit Making Association BPW Estonia (EENA) has been founded in 1992 with the purpose of encouraging business and professional women and women as leaders to cooperate with each other, change ideas and opinions and to carry out joint programmes together with keeping alive the tradition of club activities. BPW Estonia was admitted into the International Federation in 1993. There are 9 clubs within BPW Estonia with more than 150 members totally.

BPW Estonia and its individual members together with the other associations of women were the ones who launched the discussion concerning the wages for mothers in order to ensure the equality between men and women. A number of members of BPW Estonia have also taken an active part in the projects started by the Round Table of Estonian Women in order to protect the rights of women in labour matters and in cases of domestic violence.

Carol singing and Christmas markets in Tallinn

To Breathe As One — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:01:10 +0000

Today first proper snow came down in Tallinn. This means that winter holidays are not far away and soon we can hear carol singing in Old Town Christmas market. This year two major markets are open for public.

Traditional Christmas market in the Old Town
Time: November 29, 2009 – January 7, 2010
Location: Town Hall Square
Web page: www.christmas.ee

Look forward to seasonal joy in Tallinn as the Christmas Market, with its Old World charm, hits town. This holiday season, as always, the market is bound to get the city into festive mood. Visitors can browse through and buy wares by skilled artisans in 64 merchant stalls surrounding the enormous Christmas tree. Sellers offer traditional and original gifts including felted wool hats and slippers, buckwheat pillows, wooden bowls, wickerwork, elaborate quilts, ceramic and glassware, little sea-grass animals, homemade candles, and wreaths and other decorations.
If you tire from the buzz of shopping, you can relax and enjoy a glass of mulled wine, hot soup and the occasional gingerbread biscuit. You can also try Estonian traditional holiday food: pork, sauerkraut, black pudding. There will be live music on the market stage and the chance to meet Father Christmas. Watch the Christmas program every Thursday and Friday from 5pm to 7pm and every Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 2pm.

Rotermann Christmas Market
Time: November 28 – December 23
Location: Rotermann quarter (behind the Coca-Cola Plaza Cinema and Post Office)
Web page: www.rotermannikeskus.ee

The secret is out! There’s a new market opening this Christmas for shopaholics everywhere. The historic Rotermann quarter is a just a stone’s throw away from the Old Town. The port offers a great shopping experience and a place to relax at a cafe or maybe a sweet shop. The quarter was the old industrial centre of the city and is known for its pleasing, modern, industrial architecture. The Christmas market will display the wares of up to 20 Estonian design and handicraft craftsmen until December 23, tucked away from the wintry weather.

Third place from “Let the Peoples Sing” competition

To Breathe As One — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:31:13 +0000

On Sunday, 18 October 2009, Norway hosted the finals of the “Let the Peoples Sing” Euroradio Choral Competition where Estonian Girls’ Choir of the Old Town Music House got third place in youth choir category.

”Let the Peoples Sing” is an international choral competition for amateur choirs (and radio stations) organized by the EBU. Today the competition is held every other year. Today the final is a major event with around ten choirs participating live or via satellite. The atmosphere of the final is intense and the musical level very high. The winners of the different categories are announced during the broadcast. It has developed into a very exciting radio programme. The final is offered as a three-hour live concert to EBU Members.

You can watch the whole competition here: http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/550182

Choir music month at Klassikaraadio

To Breathe As One — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:52:57 +0000

For those of you who live abroad and don`t speak Estonian, I collected few links from Klassikaraadio music archive But first few words about the radio channel.

Klassikaraadio’s present schedule features cultural programs and news as well as a wide spectrum of quality musics. Starting in 1995, Klassikaraadio’s daily program initially consisted of six hours of classical music. In late 1998 Klassikaraadio began broadcasting round the clock. Since going online the same year, Klassikaraadio audience has become international and several regular shows have attracted fans from all over the world.

Funny Klassikaraadio promotional clip:

This month Klassikaraadio is dedicated to choir music and every day you have a chance to hear a new choir from different parts of Estonia. You don`t have to listen to it in real time, because Klassikaraadio has huge music archive and also podcast to download to your handheld devices. Just follow the link below and start listening.

Link to choir month music archive is here: http://klassikaraadio.err.ee/kuularhiiv?saade=831&kid=224

Also take a look at the massive archive of other programs: http://klassikaraadio.err.ee/kuularhiiv?lang=_eng