Good news for everybody who has been waiting for the official photos of the festival – we have published the first bunch of pictures of the festival at our Flickr site and we will publish all the photos within the following days.
You can check the pictures and feel a little bit nostalgic here
Do you know, that festival had own Youtube channel? To enjoy the festival later, our YEMPers, participants of the Youth Event Management Programme, made little video blogs about every day.
You can watch the full playlist of EUROPA CANTAT XX videos down below!
The major choral event Europa Cantat is coming to an end today. More than 5,000 choral singers and music fans between ages 5 and 85 came to the festival from 50 countries. Almost a thousand people, including conductors, choral singers, musicians, invited choirs and volunteers, were involved with the festival organization.
„Huge interest in the festival took us by surprise – we expected about half the number of participants that eventually registered,“ said Kaie Tanner, the General Manager of the festival team. „We are, however, thrilled that so many music fans wanted to come to Tallinn. The level of participating choirs was extremely high, the concerts were very well received, and our experiments, for example the public sing-alongs at Town Hall Square and the Promenade concert at the Culture Cauldron, were a big success. I have never seen so many concert halls packed to the absolute limit – for some concerts at the House of the Blackheads the queue stretched for more than a hundred metres!“
The Europa Cantat programme included 20 atelier concerts, 14 regional concerts outside Tallinn, 37 open-air concerts, 38 concerts by participating choirs, 26 special concerts with invited choirs, 38 concerts at the Choirs´ Night and 19 Promenade concerts. A total of 25,000 tickets were printed for participants and 2,500 tickets were sold to the general public.
The Music Expo featured 25 businesses and organizations, including music publishers, music event organizers, and other music industry professionals.
The highest number of guests came from Germany (500), Israel (444) and Switzerland (426). There were 170 volunteers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, France, Hungary, Slovenia, South Africa, Ireland, Finland and many other countries. Participants ate 30,430 festival meals during the week.
The programme included concerts and appearances by the The Swingles (UK), the jazz choir Vocal Line (Denmark), Inner Mongolia Youth Choir and many others. There were also concerts by the cream of Estonian groups – the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Estonian National Male Choir, Vox Clamantis, Estonian Voices and others.
The festival highlights included the Opening concert at Liberty Square, the „Happy Birthday, Estonia!“ concert at Tallinn´s Song Celebration Ground, Arvo Pärt´s «Te Deum» by the nearly 300-strong choir and the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the Grammy-award winning conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, and the Choirs´ Night in the courtyards of Tallinn´s Old Town. „Positive feedback from the participants, both in the street and in the concert halls, was what I treasured most. It was wonderful to hear compliments for a superb festival where everything was going smoothly. The work that our small office has done is beyond imagination. Despite that, everyone still has the energy to smile, even today, and I think that the energy has come from our guests,“ said Raul Talmar, Artistic Director of the festival and President of the Estonian Choral Association. „We were delighted that we managed to find space in Tallinn for the thousands of people that came here. It was also heart-warming to see how well the overseas singers, with no knowledge of Estonian, managed to understand
and to deliver the message of the Estonian songs so important to us, at the Song Celebration Ground. I think that the energy and the atmosphere of the venue helped.“
The festival programme included ateliers for singers, a conductors and composers programme, seminars, workshops and round tables, a training course for young event managers, showcases, concerts and public sing-alongs. There was also the Music Expo where publishers, music event organizers, organizations and other music industry professionals presented their products and services and the work that they did.
The international music festival Europa Cantat was initiated by the European Choral Association. It takes place every three years and it is one of the key events in the choral world. The first festival was held in Passau, Germany, in 1961, and the previous one was in Pécs, Hungary three years ago. The next Europa Cantat will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2021.
The more than 6,000 choral singers of the Europa Cantat festival will gather at the Song Celebration Ground tomorrow to sing a birthday song to the 100-year-old Republic of Estonia. The „Happy Birthday, Estonia“ concert that is included in the Europa Cantat programme starts at 19.00 and is free of charge. Europe´s biggest choral festival lasts until 5 August.
„The more than 6,000 choral singers who are visiting Estonia gather at the Song Celebration Ground in Tallinn on 3 August, to hand over a unique musical gift,“ said Maarja-Liisa Soe, Head of the Estonia 100 Programme of the Government Office. „The concert highlight is the well-known Happy Birthday song that will be sung together. There is plenty of space at the Song Celebration Ground, so everyone can come and see the impressive present,“ added Soe.
The free-of-charge „Happy Birthday, Estonia“ concert features the Happy Birthday song, a present from the overseas participants gathered in Tallinn to the 100-year-old Republic of Estonia. The song will be conducted by Hirvo Surva, a prominent Estonian conductor and Artistic Director of the last National Song Celebration. The concert programme includes a
number of other well-known songs performed by popular soloists, choirs and orchestras, as well as a diverse selection of windpipe music, orchestral tattoos and folk dances, the vocal group Estonian Voices and many fascinating international guests, all in a special festive atmosphere.
„The birthday concert is the high point of Europa Cantat because that is where the participants of Europe´s biggest choral festival can deliver their birthday wishes, naturally by singing,“ explained Kaie Tanner, the General Manager of the festival team. „The singers were so thrilled about the experience that they have learnt several Estonian songs that will be sung at
the concert on 3 August,“ said Tanner, confessing how delighted she was.
It is the first time for Estonia to host the choral festival which is drawing more than 4,500 singing fans and choral music experts from 50 countries to the country´s capital. The international music festival Europa Cantat takes place every three years and it is one of the most important events in the choral world. The first festival was held in Passau, Germany, in 1961.
The Republic of Estonia is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018. There is more information about the Centenary events at www.EV100.ee.
Festival programme: https://ectallinn2018.ee/et/programm/kontserdiprogramm/
Festival video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4VkhPUEP0I
The international music festival Europa Cantat 2018 (held this year under the motto ‘A Million Ways to Sing’) will kick off tomorrow 28 July at 20.00. The opening concert at Liberty Square in Tallinn´s centre features The Swingles from the United Kingdom. It is the first time for Estonia to host one of the biggest choral events in Europa which is drawing more than 5,000 singing fans and choral music experts from 50 countries to the country´s capital, Tallinn. Almost a thousand people, including conductors, choral singers, musicians and volunteers, are involved with the festival organization.
The programme includes concerts and appearances by the jazz choir Vocal Line (Denmark), the Inner Mongolia Youth Choir, the Hong Kong Children’s Choir and many others. There are also concerts by the cream of Estonian groups – Estonian Voices, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Estonian National Male Choir, Vox Clamantis and many
others.
„Europa Cantat 2018 is the musical festival with the biggest number of registered participants ever to have taken place in Estonia, as far as we know. We have booked almost all the halls and venues in Tallinn where it is possible to sing,“ said Kaie Tanner, General Manager of the festival team. „There are more than 27,000 ticketed seats available at the festival concerts. In addition to that music lovers can enjoy many free concerts. The motto ‘A Million Ways to Sing’ is connected with one of the festival´s main themes – new ways for musical expression and their links to other arts, and attracting bigger audiences. This has added many intriguing performers and concerts.“
The festival highlights include the Choirs´ Night in the courtyards of Tallinn´s charming Old Town, the concert of The Swingles at the Alexela Concert House on 31 July, The Promenade Concert at the Culture Cauldron on 1 August, the „Happy Birthday, Estonia!“ concert at Tallinn´s Song Celebration Ground on 3 August and Arvo Pärt´s «Te Deum» by a 300-strong choir and the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the Grammy-award winning conductor Tõnu Kaljuste on 4 Aust at Charles´ Church. The festival ends on 5 August.
The diverse and large-scale festival is meant to be educational and to avoid inter-choir competition. The programme features workshops, dozens of one-day ´discovery workshops´, over a hundred concerts at concert halls, open-air stages, city squares and courtyards, premieres, a conductors and composers programme, a training course for young event
managers, Musix Expo, meetings of international music organizations and the presentation of the European Award for Choral Composers. The programme includes twelve premieres of which two are from Estonian composers –
Galina Grigorjeva´s „Alliluja“ for mixed choirs and Tõnu Kõrvits´ „Windy Nights“ for girls´ choirs.
„Europa Cantat is a music festival that gives an excellent snapshot of the state of play in the world´s choral music,“ added Tanner. „Tallinn will host international promoters and concert organizers, and we can show them the outstanding work of our conductors, choirs and composers, and present the opportunities that we have for recording and for organizing choir camps and concerts. Our broad aim is to reconfirm Estonia´s pre-eminent position on the map of the world´s choral music.“
There have been some changes in the festival guide. They are marked below in bold. Please check if they concern you!
Page 16
EXHIBITOR LIST:
13 – Hal Leonard Europe Ltd. (UK), www.halleonardeurope.com
17 – FICTA EDICIONS (ES), www.mcc.cat
20 – Music Sales will not be present
Page 27
NB! From 1 August in
46 [not 50] Tallinn University of Applied Sciences, Pärnu mnt 62
Page 46
MUSIC SALES LTD: NEW WORKS FOR UPPER VOICES FROM NOVELLO AND CHESTER MUSIC
Come and Sing! – British Choral Music from Novello and Chester Music
Matthew Berry – Choral Promotion Manager at Music Sales and Director of the British chamber choir, Commotio – will present a sing-through of the latest choral publications from the publishers Novello and Chester Music.
The session will feature sacred and secular works by Paul Mealor, Richard Allain, Owain Park, Matthew Martin and Nico Muhly for mixed-voice and upper-voice choirs.
Centenary of the Republic of Estonia
Europa Cantat
Saturday 28 July will see the start of Europe´s biggest choral festival Europa Cantat 2018 in Tallinn, Estonia. The opening concert at Liberty Square in Tallinn´s centre features The Swingles from the United Kingdom. It is the first time for Estonia to host the event which is drawing more than 4,500 singing fans and choral music experts from 50 countries to the country´s capital.
„We were particularly pleased that it is the Centenary year when we have invited more than 4,000 choral singers to Estonia,“ said Maarja-Liisa Soe, Head of the Estonia 100 Programme of the Government Office. „The singers are not coming here empty-handed. They bring along a unique musical gift – the “Happy Birthday, Estonia!” concert which is held at
the spectacular Song Celebration Ground, on 3 August. The fascinating programme of the festival features mores than a hundred concerts and twelve premieres,“ added Soe.
Kaie Tanner, General Manager of the festival team says that their broad aim is to reconfirm Estonia´s pre-eminent position on the map of the world´s choral music. „Tallinn will host international promoters and concert organizers, and we can show them the outstanding work of our conductors, choirs and composers, and present the opportunities that we have for recording and for organizing choir camps and concerts,“ she added.
Europa Cantat is held from 27 July to 5 August and its motto this year is ‘A Million Ways to Sing’. The programme includes concerts and appearances by the jazz choir Vocal Line (Denmark), the Inner Mongolia Youth Choir, the Hong Kong Children’s Choir and many others. There are also concerts by the cream of Estonian groups – Estonian Voices, the
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Estonian National Male Choir and Vox Clamantis.
The motto ‘A Million Ways to Sing’ is connected with one of the festival´s main themes – new ways for musical expression and their links to other arts, and attracting bigger audiences. The diverse and large-scale festival is meant to be educational and to avoid inter-choir competition. The programme features workshops, over a hundred concerts at concert halls, open-air stages, city squares and courtyards, premieres, a conductors and composers programme, a training course for young event managers, Musix Expo, meetings of international music organizations and the presentation of the European Award for Choral Composers.
Festival highlights:
Festival programme: https://ectallinn2018.ee/programme/concert-program/
Festival video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4VkhPUEP0I
Tickets from Piletilevi: https://www.piletilevi.ee/eng/tickets/festival/muusika/europa-cantat-xx-tallinn-2018-kontserdid-57637/?&design=piletilevi
Ordering of free concert tickets for the festival is over as pre-ordering was open until July 7 th.
You will get you ordered tickets at festival check-in when you arrive. Please note, that there will be many choir-to-choir concerts and open air concerts, where you don’t need ticket at all. You don’t have to order ticket for the concert where you will perform (for your own atelier concert, for example)!
All tickets left will be available during the festival in Ticket Office. If you change your mind
and decide not to go to your booked concert, please bring your tickets back to ticket office by 1 day
before the concert at 16.00 the latest.
Please note that free tickets are only available for registered festival participants, wearing
your participant’s badge! Everyone else has to buy tickets HERE.
Eventually, please note you will have until 10 minutes before the concert starts to enter
the concert venue. If you are not there 10 minutes before the concert starts, your seat will be
automatically given to someone else. This also means that if there is a concert you absolutely want to see but you could not get any ticket for it, you still can come earlier to the concert venue. There will be a queue for people
without tickets, and 10 minutes before the concert starts, we will let in as many people from this
queue as there are empty seats inside, according to the principle “first come first served”.
Best regards,
Eva Garmider-Laur and Hanna Luisa Grosberg
Festival ticket office
