News

Center begins the new season

2010-09-01

The opening party of the third season of the Traditional Music Center offers both lyrical songs and rhythmic dance music.
The party which takes place on Friday, September 10 starts with the performance of one of Estonia's most charismatic traditional musicans Mari Kalkun who, with her friends Triin Norman, Silver Sepp, Siim Soop, and Karoliina Kreintaal, will play songs from her second album which will be released in September. The second half of the concert will consist of music from the band Lindpriid who are famous for their war songs . As usual, the Traditional Music Center does not just provide a concert when celebrating important landmarks such as the beginning of a season but also offers a chance for the audience to dance too. For this reason, there will be a performance by energetic youngsters Jalmar Vabarna, Maarja Nuut, Karoliina Kreintaal, Eeva Lindal and several others.
According to the producer of the Traditonal Music Center, Janne Suits, the aim while organising the launch party of the season was to offer performances by both young and fresh and renowned musicians. "Mari Kalkun is without any doubt an outstanding young singer whose timbre cannot be confused with anyone else's. The same can be said about Jaan Sööt, Toomas Lunge and Inderk Kalda who form the band Lindpriid. Their songs are meaningful and appropriate for embracing the beginning of the dark winter period," said Suits. During this season, the Traditional Music Center will organise tens of single concerts in addition to several series of events, which are already known to the friends of traditional music. For example, Annika Mändmaa will continue organising family mornings which are aimed at families with children but, for the first time, the smell of pancakes cooked on site will be added. OurCulture Academy which is organised in cooperation with Viljandi Culture Academy will concentrate on the topic of "BODY" during the next few months as a continuation of the theme from this year's folk festival which focused on dance. The daily concert-meetings organised in conjunction with the senior citizen's organisations will also continue. The guest for October will be Katrin Karismaa.
The traditional two-day Harvest Festival will take place during the first days of October. The audience of this festival will probably be more international than usual because the delegates of the European World Music Festival Forum will gather in Viljandi at the same time.
The Traditional Music Center was opened in the spring of 2008 in the Viljandi Castle Hills. Starting from this autumn, the center will have seasonal sponsors: A Le Coq Ltd. and LHV Bank.

August Pulst School

2010-08-30

During this year's autumn season, the non-formal educational centre August Pulst School offers more than 20 courses for everyone who is interested in polishing their instrument playing skills or getting to know the traditional songs and dances from different parts of Estonia.
Sofia Joons who is the head of the school said that it is very hard to say when a new season in a non-formal educational centre ends and another one begins because courses are also held during the summer months. "For example, we held a talharpa course on Vormsi Island on August 20-22 and music school teachers were given an introduction to traditional music in Viljandi on August 25-27." Joons pointed out that another important signpost during the summer was the XIV Estonian ETHNO camp which was held in Kõpu immediately before Viljandi Folk Music Festival where young Estonian musicians enhanced their instrument playing skills together with youngsters from Mordovia, Belgium, Sweden, Czech Republic and Austria.
August Pulst School is a non-formal educational centre which offers courses on different aspects of the traditional culture. The school was named after August Pulst (1889-1977) who was collector of antiquities who helped to preserve Estonian musical heritage. The school is located in the Traditional Music Center in Viljandi.

Drama 2010 plays “Festive Story”

2010-08-30

"Festive Story" which was perfomed on five occasions in the Traditional Music Center was chosen to be on the programme of Estonia's largest theatre festival Drama.
The production is based on two Estonian traditional stories: "Taevane pulm" ("Heavenly Wedding) and "Hunt ja uteke" ("Wolf and Ewe"). These stories are about meeting, separating, and reuniting.
The production is performed by Kadri Karu, Mari Kalkun, Helen Rekkor, Liisa Taul, Tanel Kadalipp, Karl Saks, Sander Põllu and Rauno Kaibiainen.
The production will be held as a part of Drama 2010 author's theatre progamme in the newly renovated Theatre House (Lutsu Street 2) in Tartu on Saturday, September 11 at 16.00 and on Sunday, September 12 at 12.00.

Lost And Found Items

2010-08-27

During the Viljandi Folk Music Festival and after that the Traditional Music Center received a number of things without owners. If you recognize any of the things in the gallery below, please contact the Administrator by phone +372 43 42 070.

Look at the gallery of lost and found items here.

Festival Made Thousands of Delightful People Dance

2010-08-26

Viljandi Folk Music Festival that concluded yesterday attracted once again thousands of music lovers. About 20,000 people came to enjoy the very danceable program during the four festival days which is about the same number as in previous years.

Festival Head Ando Kiviberg considered the Festival a success and convinced everyone that it is not just another summer event. "The Festival was born from a sincere wish to find broader ground for promoting traditional music.

That goal we already reached several years ago and today we can surely say that it was not a mere fad. We have been blessed with lots of friends at home as well as abroad who have our greatest respect. We are grateful to everybody who could come to Viljandi and contributed to the birth of the Festival-miracle once again," Kiviberg said. He was glad that Festival guests quickly got used to the dance floor in the moat in front of Jaani Church. "As it was constantly covered with dancers and musicians, I believe, we have reason to set it down there next years as well. Dance flew forth from people just the way we hoped last autumn while deciding on the theme."

Saturday was the day with the biggest festival audience just as it has been in the previous years - over 10,000 people enjoyed concerts and workshops. The most popular performer turned out to be Russian group Otava yo who attracted about 4,000 people to their concert at Kaevumägi.

Approximately the same number of festival guests enjoyed the open-air concerts by Svjata Vatra and Pantokraator. The Internet transmissions at www.folk.ee enabled festival participation via 2285 computers. In addition to Estonia there were 27 countries represented, the highest number of viewers in Germany, Sweden and Finland. Transmission in Estonia also reached the homes of thousands of Elion DigiTV clients.

The next Festival takes place from July 28 to 31, 2011 and the new theme will be disclosed at the start of autumn.

Kaerajaan to Europe and to the World

2010-06-01

Tallinn will be the culture capital of Europe in 2011. To promote Estonian folkdances we present Estonian folkdance Kaerajaan as a gift to Europe and to the world. Estonians are not only a singing nation but also a dancing nation!

As of today, there are 16 000 people who have joined the movement - this is 100 dancers per day since the beginning of the campaign. In addition to Estonia, Kaerajaan has been danced in USA, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxemburg, Portugal, Germany and Turkey. Various different nationalities who have danced so far include Estonians, Americans, Aserbaijans, Belgians, Georgians, Britains, Italians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Norwegians, Pakistanis, Poles, Portuguese, Swedes, Romanians, Germans, Slovenians, Finns, Turkish, Hungarians, and Russians...

The Three I's to move the Kaerajaan campaign forward:

Invite! Invite people to dance Kaerajaan. Ask party organisers and music groups to play Kaerajaan music and teach this dance.

Interprete! Rework the dance the way you want - it is a folkdance after all! Dance it upright and laying down, on the ground and in the water, not to mention the air! Make new lyrics for Kaerajaan song. Invite musicians to inteprete the music from classic to punk, rap and hard rock...

Inform! Tell to everyone you meet about Kaerajaan.

Inform ERRS about dancing by emailing to kadri@errs.ee. Let Kadri know about who, where, and when Kaerajaan was danced and also list the nationalities of people who danced. Attach photos/videos if possible.

You can see how well the campaign is doing here: http://www.errs.ee/index.php?id=11746
Music, dance description and other related info is found here: www.errs.ee
Kaerajaan fanclub on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=361689294380&ref=ts
55 different ways to dance Kaerajaan: http://www.youtube.com/user/ERRSKJ
Kaerajaan Award letter: http://www.errs.ee/public/2010_wordid/Kaerajaan_kiidukiri_1.0.pdf

Kaerajaan story briefly: Kaerjaan was born in 19th century. The legend speaks of the village boy whose name was Jaan Kaer (John Oat). Jaan hid himself in the Manor's washroom to peek at girls doing laundry. Due to the heat in the room, the girls had minimum clothes on... Jaan was caught peeking and the girls came up with a teasing song about him. The song starts with the words: Kaera Jaan, Kaera Jaan get out and take a look! The contemporary explanation of Kaerajaan is that jumping up and down and clapping hands is the way the people in Nordic countries warm themselves up during cold winters.

Ann Maria Piho won the second Estonian instrument students playing competition

2010-05-19

Ann Maria Piho, the winner of the second Estonian instrument students playing competition that was held on May 7 at the Traditional Music Center, was invited to perform in festival opening ceremony.

About 70 children all over Estonia participated in the competition. The Project Manager Mare Lilienthal said that many of them stood out with such skills that would allow them to perform before larger audiences as well. "We can be quite sure that the traditional musicians today have great young musicians coming," she said and was hopeful that the performance in festival opening ceremony would provide Ann Maria Piho with an experience that would help her develop into a good musician.

Mare Lilienthal expressed pleasure that the organizers of the competitions had at meeting tens of bright-eyed boys and girls as well as their teachers at the Ait. "Seems that everything went great and next year we might expect even more active participation at the competition."

The playing competition was organized and carried out by the free educational August Pulst School operating at the Estonian Traditional Music Center. Playing was assessed by Neeme Punder, Elo Kalda, Ürjo Jaama, Tarmo Noormaa, Ain Agan and Ando Kiviberg.

Best players:

Grand prix - Ann Maria Piho (kannel)

Kannel (younger)
best - Miina Aleksandra Piho
special prizes - Annabel Kaasik, Lisete Link, Robert Reiska

Kannel (older)
best - Ann Maria Piho
special prizes - Elise Roodla, Mirjam Vodi

Open grade (younger)
best - Lisete Ulla
special prizes - Kärt Pihlap, Eliise Veltri

Open grade (older)
best - Hanna-Liis Lao
special prize - Säde Tatar

Bagpipes (younger)
best - Hanna Valk
special prizes - Ott Leitham

Bagpipes (older)
best - Kaisa Kuslapuu

Diatonic accordions(younger)
best - Ruti Kirikmäe
special prize - Doris Kudre

Violin (younger)
best - Laura Kruusamäe

Violin (older)
best - Gloria Kadarpik
special prizes - Marta Lotta Kukk, Triin Puusaar

Plucked instruments (younger)
best - Egert Ojamäe
special prize - Ivo Laanelind

Plucked instruments (older)
best - Paul Neitsov
special prizes - Sten Aamer, Tõnis Taul

Bowed harp (younger)
Best - Hanna Valk

Traditional lullabies now available on CD

2010-05-10

Tartu music studio Musaklubi released an album called "Suisu, Suisu Lapsukene" ("fall asleep, child") which contains Estonian traditional evening songs and lullabies.

The most beautiful lullabies from different Estonian counties feature on this album. Furthermore, the lyrics contain as much of the local dialect as possible. The album is unique because all the songs were sung together by the child and his mother, father or some person close to him. "We released this record because we believe that it will help to preserve and introduce Estonian traditional music. We hope that this will encourage some adult listeners to sing together with their children," said Pille Siht who was one of the people who organised the release of this album.

The album was released as a collaboration between Musaklubi music studio and Luunja Midrimaa kindergarten. Pille Siht explained that the idea to release this album came from the realisation that old lullabies have been forgotten in Estonia even though one day they were an important part of everyday life. Nevertheless, she claims that there is a major demand for lullabies. "Parents who we have worked together with have noticed the positive effect of these lullabies when trying to calm their children down. Thus, these songs are not only nice to listen to but they are also practical."

Additional information:
Pille Siht, instructor at Musaklubi
musaklubi.musaklubi@gmail.com

Bank Continues Supporting

2010-04-18

LHV Bank and Estonian Traditional Music Center signed a contract of cooperation according to which the Bank continues to support Viljandi Folk Music Festival and is the first enterprise to lend a hand and contribute to the year-round activities organized by the Center.

The Chairman of the Board of the LHV Bank Erki Kilu and the Director of the Traditional Music Center Ando Kiviberg signed the contract on April 15, in the small hall of the Center where the Bank was holding its customers.

Erki Kilu emphasized that LHV is a bank based on Estonian capital which is why they are interested in participating in the events that aim at preserving Estonian national culture. "Entrepreneurs have to contribute in the situation where the state resources are limited in order to assure the sustainability of preserving and developing national culture," he said.

"The collaboration of more than a year has proved us that the power of Estonian Traditional Music Center does not reside merely in one big summer event, it lays rather in their active year-round functioning in Viljandi and in other towns. That is why we decided, in addition to sponsoring the Festival, to support the seasonal activities of the Center as well."

Ando Kiviberg reminded that economic crisis has, within the past couple of years, directly or indirectly had its impact on the whole society and that is why it is especially important to value highly these enterprises who, despite everything, can pay attention to permanent values. "It is a pleasure to work together with people who understand that keeping traditional music alive is not just entertainment - it is an activity vital for the survival of traditional music. It is the musical mother tongue of our nation that touches everybody to smaller or larger extent."

LHV Bank was established in 1999 based on Estonian capital, and is active in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. LHV Bank was granted activity license as a credit company on May 6, 2009. The services by LHV Bank are used by more than 13,000 customers LHV became the grand supporter of Viljandi Folk Music Festival in January 2009.

The band Ro:Toro toured in the UK

2010-04-09

The band Ro:Toro who plays traditional songs which mix the sounds of traditional Estonian bagpipe with jazz, rock, and obscure instruments gave 15 concerts during March 10-28 in the South-West of England.

After touring in England last year and participating in an international showcase (IVOC: International Showcase and Conference on Rural Touring), the group managed to sign long-term contracts with different companies who organise concerts in the rural areas of the UK. The band will be touring in different parts of the UK in the coming autumn and in the spring and autumn of 2011.
This year, the concerts were mainly held in village halls. According to the percussionist Silver Sepp, these houses play a very important role in the English culture because they help to unite and keep the communities alive. In addition to that, Ro:Toro also visited some small towns where concerts were held in professional concert halls.

The group drove around by themselves and was very satisfied with the professional organisation and warm welcome which followed them everywhere. "Travelling this way is a very pleasant way of connecting to a foreign culture and atmosphere," claimed Sepp.

Ro:Toro kept a blog while touring which can be accessed here: http://rotoro.wordpress.com

Estonian ETHNO is very popular this year

2010-04-09

The number of people applying for the ETHNO camp this year has been considerably higher than during previous years and due to this, all the places were already filled by the beginning of April which is two moths earlier than planned. However, August Pulst School will continue to register people who are interested in participating in case there will be vacancies.

The project manager Margit Kuhi said that on the one hand, she is very glad that this happened because growing interest among participants proves that this kind of event is needed in Estonia and that the previous camps have been successful. "On the other hand, I feel sad because I know that many talented youngsters would like to join us but cannot. Closing the door in front of them is not pleasant."

Similarly to last year, the camp will be held in Kõpu mansion which is situated near Viljandi. As usual, the camp is meant for 16-30-year-old youngsters who are interested in music and who wish to improve their skills and to enjoy themselves while doing it. The camp ends with a concert on the first day of the Viljandi Folk Music Festival.

Dance party was attractive

2010-02-16

The XVII winter dance party, which was held on February 6 in the Estonian Traditional Music Center and the centre of Viljandi, turned out to be more popular than ever before. According to the organisers, more than 700 people took part in the joint dancing session and the audience consisted of about 300 people. During the main day of the party, which lasted for three days, Estonian and Polish dance workshops were held in the Chamber Hall of the Estonian Traditional Music Center and the folk dance group Vabajalg and the University of Tartu Folk Art Group gave a performance in the Grand Hall. The day ended with an afterparty with the band Estonian Brass. Pictures and video by Sakala, the daily newspaper of Viljandimaa, can be accessed here.

Exhibition commemorating the birthday of a famous bellows-driven instrument maker

2010-02-16

This year, on the 29th of August, 135 years will have passed since the birth of the bellows-driven instrument maker August Teppo. For this occasion, a photo exhibition by the Võrumaa Museum titled "The Sound of Teppo's Instruments" will be held held at the foyer of the Estonian Traditional Music Center. Võrumaa Museum has celebrated the birthday of the famous craftsman for 10 years already by organising a bellows-driven instrument day where all the Old-Võrumaa bellows-driven instrument players and people who own one of Teppo's instruments convene.

The owner of the oldest instrument which was made in 1896, Heinar Kahar from Põlva has perfomed at 9 of these events. Other players own instruments which were made during the second decade of the XX century and later. All in all, the bellows-driven instrument days have attracted 41 players and 18 of Teppo's instruments have played at these events. However, time leaves its mark on both people and instruments. Many of the people who owned Teppo's instruments in the 1970s have now passed away but their instruments keep changing owners. Our oldest player Elmar Ruusamäe from Võru who has given new life to several instruments including several of Teppo's instuments, is the one who looks after the instruments and keeps them in good condition. Unfortunately, the number of Teppo's instruments is limited, thus, Heino Tartes from Valgjärve has started to make new instruments with which most of the men from Põlva now play.

The exhibition held in the Estonian Traditional Music Center is part of the 10th bellows-driven instruments day display which introduces August Teppo's life and work. Some of the instruments he made are displayed on photos.

The exhibition was compiled by Maimu Telk and Tiia Haug was responsible for the design.

The logo for XVIII Viljandi Folk Music Festival

2010-01-08

The winner of the scholarship competition which was organised to find a logo for XVIII Vilajndi folk music festival was an artist called Tõnu Kukk who also designed the poster of the festival in 1994.

Tõnu Kukk said that he has taken part of the design competitions for the folk festival during the interim years as well but he did not won. According to him, designing the logo was not that difficult this time around. "I kept the theme of the festival in mind and let my imagination run free," he stated. That is how the merry logo with three pairs of legs bursting out of an accordion was born.

You can look at all the logos which were submitted to the competition here.

The theme of Viljandi Folk Music Festival: "Dance Breaks out from Within!"

2010-01-06

The theme of XVIII Folk Music Festival held in the Castle Hills and the centre of Viljandi during 22-25 July 2010 is "Dance Breaks out from Within!"

The name of the theme is similar to what Joosep Toots in the movie "Summer" shouted to his former classmates then they started dancing in a flour mill. XVIII Folk Music Festival will be as merry, uniting and why not even naughty as that dance in the flour mill. In 2009, the skills of single instrument players were honoured. Next, the festival aims to make the guests dance as they have never danced before.

Music and dancing have since the beginning of history been tightly connected to and dependent on each other. If the musician is able to play in such an enchanting way that the listeners feel something moving in their hearts and feet, the dance will emerge involuntarily and it has to break out and be seen.

In his book "Kontratantsud", Estonian traditional dance researcher and teacher, the legendary Krisjtan Torop has said: "Society dances have from the beginning been wholly in the service of entertainment, they have not been connected to any kinds of rituals or holidays. /.../. Folk dance in general has a wider meaning because in addition to the entertaining aspect, it also includes magical, ritual, acrobatic, and imitational dances the use of which is confined to specific situations."

Dance is a means of communicating without words, a reason to get together, get to know each other, and fall in love. The magic of reproduction has always been one of the traditional aims of dancing. Dancing is the flywheel of the circle of life which also emphasises our origins and brings people together. In order to achieve all that, the rhythms and moves have to be traditional.

XVIII Viljandi Folk Music Festival will try to create situations where the dancing tradition of different Estonian places could develop and become more contemporary through the means of improvisation. All that has to be done within the boundaries of the tradition as Torop has pointed out. Why not rock to a polka and swing to a rheinländer? Wouldn't it be nice to start out with the basic moves of labajalavalss (an Estonian folk waltz) and add turns and twirls? Why not? The festival aims to develop people's individual self-expression and improvisation skills through traditional dance.

At the last festival, musicians showed their magic. For this reason, it is more than certain that next July, Viljandi Folk Music Festival with its heavenly atmosphere will witness several dance miracles.

Dance has to break out from within!

The winter dance party in February

2009-12-15

The winter dance party held in February 2010 in Viljandi will concentrate on rounds and circle dances. Similarly to previous years, hundreds of dancers are welcome to take part in the joint dancing session on the Vabaduse square regardless of the weather.
According to Vaike Rajaste, who is the organiser of the party taking place on February 4-6, the central idea of the winter dance which is held for the 12th time coincides with the theme of the next Viljandi Folk Music Festival which is "Dance Breaks Out from Within". "Every winter we have tried to create an atmosphere where the participants would not feel restricted by the dance patterns and would, first and foremost, enjoy themselves and their friends while dancing. Putting on a show for the audience has never been important and that is why there is no rehearsal period before the joint dancing session," she explained.
Accoring to Rajaste, the winter dance party can also be called a festival because it lasts for three days and offers something to both those who participate and those who prefer to stand by and just watch. For example, the programme also includes concerts by foreign dance groups which are held in the schools and civic centres in Viljandi county.
On February 6, everyone is welcome to take part of workshops held in the Traditional Music Center and attend the concert given by folk dance groups. The joint dancing session which will take place outside will start with a procession moving through the centre of Viljandi. The event is hosted by Märt Agu.
During previous years, the winter dance party has attracted not only hundreds of Estonian dancers but also people from Indonesia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Poland, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania. However, Vaike Rajaste did not agree to reveal where the guests of this years festival will be from because agreements have not yet been signed.
Even though dancing outside during wintertime is rather uncommon in contemporary Estonia, old records indicate that during the Middle Ages, this was a common occurence in the cities of Estonia and Livonia. In some places like Tartu the dancers allegedly enjoyed themselves too much so that the powers had to intervene.
The winter dance party is organised by the Union of Estonia Dance Teachers, folk dance group Vabajalg, and the folk dance ensemble Viljandi.
The homepage of the winter dance party can be found here.

Sibelius Academy is experimenting with a web radio station

2009-10-30

The only music university in Finland, the Sibelius Academy launched a experimental project on October 12 by opening a Finnish folk music radio station online.

You can listen to it here.

The band Zetod recorded a new single

2009-09-22

Zetod who broke the audience record at this year's Viljandi Folk Music Festival, released their new single "Suitors from the Sea" which will find its way to the band's next album as well.

The head of Zetod, Jalmar Vabarna explained that the song is about a young lady who is washing at the sea and several suitors emerge from the water. First of all there is the iron man, but the lady refuses to marry him. Next, there is the silver man who also has to leave without the woman. Last but not least, a countryman, who the lady has secretly yearned for, comes out of the water.

The song was recorded in August 2009 at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy sound studio.

The band which was created in 2003 consists of Jalmar Vabarna (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 2-row diatonic button accordion, cabasa, vocals), Jaanus Viskar (bass guitar, vocals), Artur Linnus (accordion, vocals), and Martin Kütt (drums, cajon, vocals).

Their new single is available for listening here.

School concerts will continue during this season

2009-09-22

In order to enrich the school curriculum with colourful music experiences, August Pulst School at the Estonian Traditional Music Center will similarly to the previous year organise gripping school concerts during autumn and winter.

The topics covered at different concerts are the following:

Close friendship with traditional music and instruments
Journey into Estonian and Ukrainian traditional music
Traditional music from the Estonian-Swedish islands and regions
Holidays in the Estonian traditional calendar

School concerts can be organised both in schools and in the Traditional Music Center.

More information from here

The largest national leather shoes

2009-09-22

The largest national leather shoes in the world shown at the Traditional Music Center

On September 13, the largest national leather shoes (soft heelless shoes worn by peasants) made by leather specialists Kaido and Piret Iter at the Ülemiste shopping cetner in Tallinn found their home at the Traditional Music Center in Viljandi.

According to the marketing director of the shopping center Kristina Antšak, they decided to give the shoes to the Traditional Music Center because it is one of the pillar stones of Estonian culture life.

The shoes fit for feet number 144.

Mailbox for good thoughts in the Traditional Music Center

2009-09-21

Viljandi Youth Council is installing a mailbox for good thoughts into the foyer of the Traditional Music Center where both citizens of Viljandi and guests can leave their ideas and proposals.

"All kinds of important observations about Viljandi are welcome, it does not matter if they are positive or negative," explained the speaker of the Youth Council Sandra Kütt to the newspaper "Sakala".

In addition to the Traditional Music Center, mailboxes will be installed into the buildings of the city government, Culture Academy, library, and one of them will be put up somewhere in the city center.

The mailboxes were made at Viljandi Joint Vocational Secondary School. The logo of the youth council will be attached to them and paper and pen will be provided. The boxes will be emptied once a month.

Traditional Music Center is preparing for the new season

2009-08-26

In the beginning of August, the employees of Estonian Traditional Music Center returned from their invigorating vacations and continued their work on preparing for the new season.

The opening party of the new season is held on September 11. Bands like Alle-aa which consists of former students of the Culture Academy (making its comeback!), the absurd duo Minu Isa Oli Ausus Ise (My father Was Honesty Itself), which has been very popular at several folk music festivals, will perform. Bellows players Siim Rikker, Juhan Uppin, Asso Int, Enrik Visla, Toomas Oks, and Aid Lindvest will play to accompany dancing.

Later in the evening, the party will continue with the contemporary music event Aidaquarium vol 4 in the glass part of the Traditional Music Center where famous folk musicians Cätlin Jaago, Tiit Kikas, Kulno Malva, and Ruslan Trochynskyi will perform together with the DJ P.Julm.

Until the end of August, the Traditional Music Center located in the Viljandi Castle Hills is opened every day 9:00-18:00. Starting from September, the doors will be opened between 9:00-21:00 during weekdays and 11:00-21:00 on weekends. In between different events and concerts, guests can visit the library on the cellar floor. Furthermore, it is possible to order tours to get to know the historical concert venue (contact: anu.rannu@folk.ee, +372 434 2072, +372 5330 4928)

Best instrument players chosen

2009-07-13

The best young instrument players in six instrument groups were selected at the cross-national contest for instrument players on Friday, May 15 at the Estonian Traditional Music Center. The first prize - a stipend and an opportunity to perform at XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival was given to Ann Maria Piho (in the picture) from Haanjamaa for her masterful zither playing and confident performance.

All in all, 36 youngsters took part in the cross-national contest for instrument players organised by Estonian Traditional Music Center. The jury consisted of Celia Roose, Neeme Punder, Veljo Tormis, Jalmar Vabarna, and Jaanus Põder from Estonia and Christina Frohm from Sweden.

The best folk instrument players are: Elise Roodla (zither), Ann Maria Piho (zither), Allar Kiristaja (bellows), Evelin Ämarik (bellows), Hellika Kallaste (block flute), Lauri Kadalipp (bagpipe), Gloria Kadarpik (violin), Kevin Podnieks (open class - guitar), Paul Neitsov (open class - guitar).

During the contest, the participants had to play two folk songs - one of their own choice and the other had to be somehow connected to the player's home county or neighbouring area. According to the jury, the playing style of the contestants resembled their teachers in many respects but for the jury, even more important than choosing the best players was experiencing the special atmosphere of the contest.

"Due to the fact that traditional music curriculums in music schools are still in their infantry and the tradition of playing folk instruments is only becoming to life again, the youngsters need, first and foremost, a place where to share their experiences and collect their repertoires," described Sofia Joons, head of August Pulst School and one of the organisers of the contest.

Detailed festival program now available

2009-07-13

The program of Viljandi Folk Music Festival with all the performers, dates, and times is available at the festival homepage. The last of the festival passes are available for 890 kroons and selling of the day tickets which cost 180 -390 kroons has also started.

Altogether 30 performers from Estonia and 13 from abroad will take the stage during XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival, the theme of which is "Solo!". According to the Programme Manager Tarmo Noormaa, there have been some changes in the list of performers. Järsumäe Virve who is also known as Kihnu Virve from Estonia will perform together with her family band and Audru Jõelaevanduse Punt (Audru Riverboating Band) on Sunday, 26th July. The French band ZEF, who was initially announced as a performer will be replaced with lively Ukrainian folk music by the band Burdon who will give a concert on Friday (24th July) and Sunday (26th July).

The head sponsors of Viljandi Folk Music Festival are Saku and LHV. Additional information available at www.folk.ee/festival

Culture Trove opened

2009-07-13

On July 2, a comprehensive information portal called the Culture Trove was launched through which it is possible to explore the roots of dance and song festivals, look up different folk instruments and national costumes and acquiant yourself with the holidays in the popular calendar.

It has taken five years to gather the database which is available at www.folk.ee/kultuurilaegas. "The idea to create a portal which would provide information about different spheres of folk culture was conceived when talks about adding the Estonian dance and song festivals to UNESCO's list of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage started," explained the autor of the idea of the Culture Trove and its first editor in chief, the Head of the Esotnian Traditional Music Center Library Aleksander Sünter.

Starting from today, the portal is up and running and available for everyone. The site is divided into three sections with abundant explanatory material, photos, and archival data about folk songs and song festivals, folk dance and dance festivals, folk instruments and traditional music, national costumes and popular calendar holidays.

"The aim of the Culture Trove is to promote the idea that song and dance festivals are not simply borrowings from the Baltic-Germans but their roots lie deep inside our identity," said Aleksander Sünter. "Estonians love to think of themselves as a singing and dancing nation. What did this mean to the generations before us? What kind of dances did they dance and songs did they sing? Why? When? Where? Through the Culture Trove, we hope to contribute to people's knowledge about the roots of their identity and make them see the value of being a bearer of that culture."

The current editor in chief of the Culture Trove is Taive Särg, who is a senior researcher at the Estonian Literary Musem and an ethnomusicologist. Different sections are edited by Mall Hiiemäe, Ellen Värv, Maie Orav, Kristin Kuutma, and Raivo Sildoja.

The content of the Culture Trove is currently available only in Estonian, but the English and Russian versions will soon follow. The Culture Trove was launched by NGO Tartumaa Rahvakultuuri Keskselts in cooperation with NGO Estonian Traditional Music Center. The project was funded by UNESCO and Tiger Leap Foundation and carried out by Exact.

Performers of the festival revealed

2009-04-30

Viljandi Folk Music Festival revealed this year's performers and started selling day passes. In addition to several widely loved and unexpected performances from Estonian musicians, the festival on 23-26 July also features performances from musicians from India, Brazil, Europe, and Russia.

A total of 30 Estonian and 13 foreign performers will participate in XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival the theme of which is "Solo!". Due to its theme, the instrumental mastery of the musicians was also taken into account when choosing the performers.

According to the Program Manager Tarmo Noormaa, several different Estonian artists will come together on stage to perform only once at the festival. "Andres Mustonen together with Maarja Nuut and Taavo Remmel will perform a programme which is based on lore. I would also like to point out that Tiit Kikas will be using a laser zither in his performance and the folk-rock boys from Zetod have joined their creative forces with Lenna Kuurmaa."

The audience will also meet their old favourites Vägilased, Untsakad, Väikeste Lõõtspillide Ühing, Svjata Vatra, Triskele and Oort. Similarly, newcomers at the music scene like the folk-fusion group Paabel, Atlas which plays Armenian folk music, a group called Klapp, etc. will give a concert.

Most of the foreign performers come from Europe, but there will also be musicians from India and North and South America. "A citar player and a tabla player from India will give an oriental air to the festival. In addition to that, a charming Brasilian girl band called Clã Brazil will introduce the musical tradition of their country," said Tarmo Noormaa. "Furthermore, the performance by the spiritual leader of the Indian tribe Tohono o'odham from Arizona, Rupert Encinas whose Indian name is Ba´ag Da or the Flying Eagle and who plays ceremonial songs will definitely be an experience in itself."

In addition to the names already mentioned, Ellika & Solo which consists of musicians from Sweden and Senegal, the balalaika virtuoso Aleksei Arkhipovsky from Russia, throat singer Andrei Mongush from Tuva, J. Karjalainen from Finland with a American-Finnish folk song programme, Blima from Spain who specialises in Asturian folk music, Alpine Ramblas from Austria, bagpipe players Stefan Timmermans and Bart de Cock from Flandria, Petter Berndalen from Sweden who plays melodies on drums, ZEF from France and the itinerant musicians of Ethno in Transit who have performed in Estonia before will perform in Viljandi on 23-26 July.

Day passes for Viljandi Folk Music Festival cost 180-390 kroons and are available at Piletilevi. It is possible to buy festival passes on www.folk.ee/festival which until the end of May cost 790 kroons.

The programme of the festival and additional information about the tickets available at www.folk.ee/festival

Educational movie about talharpa released

2009-04-30

Estonian Traditional Music Center and August Pulst School contributed to producing the educational movie "TALHARPA and its related instruments".

The movie is based on the international gathering of players of talharpa-type instruments which took place in the Estonian Traditional Music Center on 2-4 October 2008. The aim of the movie is to provide general information about this ancient instrument together with sound samples.

The film lasts for 1 hour and 13 minutes. The DVD can be bought for 120 kroons at the Estonian Traditional Music Center record store. The movie is also available in the Traditional Music Center Library and August Pulst School.

August Pulst School would like to thank the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Nordisk Kulturfond, University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, Anneli Kont-Rahtola, and Liina Härm for their help.

Contest for musical instrument players

2009-04-16

Registration for the national contest for musical instrument players held in the Traditional Music Center in Viljandi on May 15 is now opened. The aim of the contest is to rediscover and value the tradition of playing Estonian traditional music and to provide an opportunity for young musicians to express themselves and put their skills to test.

Every youngster who is at least 7 years old and who studies traditional music is welcome to participate. The long-term aim of Estonian Traditional Music Center is to organise a joint contest for all age groups and all different Estonian traditional instruments.

"Until now, contests have been held for certain instrument groups but we do not have the tradition of organising contests for different instruments and age groups together," said Ando Kiviberg, the head of Estonian Traditional Music Center. "Our long-term aim is to organise such large playing contests on the example of Northern countries and Ireland. This year, however, we will concentrate on youngsters to give both the students and their teachers an opportunity to compare themselves with others and collect and share their repertoires."

The contest will be carried out in two age groups: younger players and older players. Participants are expected to play two different kinds of pieces of Estonian traditional music of their own choice, one of which has to originate from the players home county or neighbouring area.

The instruments will be divided into seven groups: zither, bellows, violin, bagpipe, talharpa, traditional wind instruments and the open class (all other instruments, for example guitar, accordion, flute, saxophone, etc.)

During the contest, the jury evaluates the players knowledge of the tradition and his/her individual mastery. The jury consists of: Celia Roose, Neeme Punder, Veljo Tormis, Jalmar Vabarna and Jaanus Punder from Estonia and Christina Frohm from Sweden. The best players of every instrument group will be rewarded and the best of the best will have the chance to perform at XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival.

For more information and registration (before April, 20!) please contact anu.rannu@folk.ee. Participation is free of charge.

Traditional music camp in Estonia

2009-04-07

16 traditional/ethnic musicians are invited to participate at ETHNO ESTONIA 2009.

ETHNO ESTONIA 2009 is a traditional music camp in Estonia for young musicians between 16 and 30. It takes place from the 17th to the 23rd of July 2009.

During the ETHNO week, traditional music mostly from Estonia will be taught and introduced through music sessions both in smaller workshops and major dance, singing and instrumental workshops with all Ethno Estonia participants.

Ethno Estonia is held every year in mid-July just before the Viljandi Folk Music Festival and the Ethno week ends with the grand festival with more than 20.000 visitors. The Estonian traditional music workshop participants will be asked to perform together with the other Ethno Estonia participants both on major and smaller stages at the festival. The Ethno concert programs consist of tunes and songs that have been taught during the week and invites the audience to enjoy the music, to dance and feel the true spirit of traditional music.

The participation fee and travel costs are supported by the participants' local Rotary clubs (when applying to Ethno Estonia, the organisers of Ethno Estonia will help to get in contact with Rotary clubs all around the world) and will for non-Estonian participants be 150 €. The fee includes workshops, excursions, lodging and all meals during Ethno Estonia from the 17th to the 23rd of July and lodging during the Viljandi Folk Music Festival from the 23rd to the 26th of July.

If you are interested in participating at the Ethno Estonia, please:

1. Send us a DEMO-recording (mp3 or CD) with three tunes. It doesn't have to be of high quality - it is only needed to give a picture of your musical skills. One of the pieces must be a solo performance though.

Deadline: 24th of April (all applications will be responded to by the 4th of May).

Postal address: Att. Sofia Joons, August Pulst school, Tasuja pst.6 , Viljandi 71011, Estonia

E-mail: sofia.joons@folk.ee

From her you'll also get additional information by phone +372 5664 2510 or by e-mail sofia.joons@folk.ee

2. Your personal information:
- (all) Your name (-s)
- Your age
- Your nationality
- Your postal address
- Your e-mail
- Your language skills
- Instruments you play/instruments you intend to bring to Ethno Estonia
- Information on how long you have been playing your instrument(s)
- Information on how familiar you are with your own country's traditional music
- Information on how familiar you are with learning music by ear, without notes

The aforementioned information (p.3 and p.4) must be sent a.s.a.p. by e-mail to Sofia Joons (sofia@folk.ee) before the 24th of April 2009.

Arrival: At Tallinn Airport or Tallinn Harbour on Thursday 16th of July.

Departure: From Tallinn Airport or Harbour on Sunday, 26th of July. If you are interested, the Viljandi Rotary club offers you to stay a week with a nice Estonian family after Ethno Estonia.

Accommodation: Kõpu school (near Viljandi) and lodging at a school in central Viljandi during the Viljandi Folk Music Festival on the 23rd to the 26th of July.

Storytelling Day „Neighbours"

2009-03-10

Storytelling Day is held on March 20th, this year´s theme is "Neighbours".

Programme of the International Storytelling Day is:

19.00 Opening
19.15-21.30 storytellers Piret Päär from Estonia and Liesma Lagzdiņa and Līga Reitere from Latvia share their tales. The stories in Latvian will be translated into Estonian. Musicians perform together with the storytellers.
21.30 Welcoming spring in the Viljandi Castle Hills and tasting the home-made pastries that people have brought with them.
22.00-~02.00 Dance session conducted by Estonian and Latvian musicians. Several dances will be taught together with visiting musicians and dancers from Rīgas Danču Klubs in Riga.

The World Storytelling Day is celebrated on March 20, the vernal equinox. This year's theme is „Neighbours". Neighbours are both the people living in the house next to us and our neighbouring nations in the geographical and cultural sense. As the saying goes, a good neighbour is a found treasure. Even though Estonia shares a border with Latvia, it often seems that Estonians know very little about Latvians. Thus, the Storytelling Day in the Estonian Traditional Music Center is dedicated to Latvia. Both Estonian and Latvian storytellers share their tales, musicians perform and when the night falls, a dance session is held where both Estonian and Latvian dances are be taught to open a dance dialogue between the two nations. The event is open to everyone.

In 2002, Swedish storytellers started the tradition of celebrating the International Storytelling Day. During one day and night, as many people as possible around the world are invited to tell and listen to stories in as many languages as possible. As a result of this, a huge amount of positive energy is created because people have always believed that one can not do harm while telling stories...

Paabel goes on tour

2009-03-05

The band called Paabel which combines jazz and traditional music has released its first album and is going on a tour in Estonia in the middle of March to introduce it.

The album release concerts of "Epöoa" are held from 12th to 21th March in Kuressaare, Võru, Viljandi, Tartu, Pärnu and Tallinn. In order to capture the energy and authenticity which can only be felt at concerts, all the 13 songs were recorded at two live-concerts during January 2009. The album also contains the video version of the title song of the album called "Epöpoa".

Paabel tries to approach traditional music with an open mind - they combine old instrumental tunes, traditional songs, jazz and rock music with their own creation. Improvisation and the inner synergy of the band play a significant role in the works of Paabel, or as the charming founder of the band, Sandra Sillamaa says: "Our aim is to create music which we enjoy and would like to listen to - the joy of playing together and taking satisfaction in it are of primary importance."

Paabel consists of five members, four of which study jazz music and one is a student of traditional music. All the members are multifunctional: their traditional wind instrument player Sandra Sillamaa is equally proficient in playing the willow flute, bagpipe, and soprano saxophone. Some of the most recent projects of the singer Arno Tamm include Veljo Tormis's "Songs of Estonian Men" and the rock opera "Ruja". The guitarist Erko Niit, percussionist Tõnu Tubli, and the bass player Tanel Kadalipp have received recognition in association with different jazz music projects and their own original music.

The recently completed album "Epöpoa" was designed by the artist Nerva and the originals of the works based on which the album was designed are on sale at the concerts.

In addition to Estonia, Paabel has also performed in Finland, Lithuania, Hungary and the United States. Samples of their work can be found on www.myspace.com/paabel.

Album release concerts take place in:

12.03 at 19.00 Kuressaare City Theatre
15.03 at 17.00 Võru Cultural Center Kannel
18.03 at 19.00 Estonian Traditional Music Center
19.03 at 19.00 Tartu Culture Center Athena
20.03 at 21.30 Cafe of Endla Theatre in Pärnu
21.03 at 20.00 Cellar Hall of N099 in Tallinn

The tour is organised by the Estonian Traditional Music Center

The best of world music in Tartu

2009-02-28

On Saturday, March 7 the world music festival WORDLDandWIDE is held in the Tartu Culture Center Athena. The dynamic and exotic festival features music which originates from different traditions and transcends style boundaries and hosts guests from Madagascar and Portugal.

The festival consists of four concerts - two concerts by Estonian musicians and two given by exotic foreigners. The Estonian artists are Hedvig Hanson with a programme consisting of lullabies of different nations and the hottest reggae group around, Bombillaz whose concert will end with a reggae-party with DJ Pickney Tiger (R2) in charge. The international guests come from Portugal and Madagascar, the latter of whom will host a workshop as well.

Kilema from Madagascar whose full name is Randrianantoandro Clément, is one of the most famous musicians from Madagascar and a true virtuoso on different string instruments - valiha, kabosy, and marovany. The sunny island of Madagascar in Africa has a unique music culture - the traditional Malagasy music is combined with African, Indonesian, Arabian, and European influences. Kilema uses the rich polyphony of the Southern part of the island in his music. The four members of the band have been exporting the magical atmosphere and rhythm of Madagascar to the world for eleven years already.

The music of the Portuguese group Dazkarieh is generally calm and reflective, but it can suddenly turn into an explosion of energy and rhythm which, however, never lacks the spiritual and emotional component. The musicians draw their inspiration from the Portuguese vocal tradition which they mix with rock music and add the feel of the Mediterranean. The fans of Viljandi Folk Music Festival got acquainted with Dazkarieh already in 2007 when the band became one of the favourites of the audience. One of the reasons why the audience is always charmed by Dazkarieh is definitely their enchanting singer Joana Negrao whose mellow voice caresses the ears of the audience throughout the concert.

The concerts of the one-day festival start at 17, 19, 21, 23 o'clock and before the concerts a free workshop on the music of Madagascar is held at 12.00. Tickets with the price of 75-100 kroons are available at Piletilevi and on site at the Tartu Athena Cultural Center. Limited number of all-day tickets available for 300/250 kroons.

The eighth world music festival WORLDandWIDE is organised by Estonian Traditional Music Center.

August Pulst jubilee year celebrated in 2009

2009-01-29

In order to celebrate the passing of 120 years from the birth of August Pulst, the collector of antiquities and a preserver of Estonian musical heritage, several joyous celebrations are organised throughout Estonia during 2009.

One of the key events of the jubilee year is the tour of village musicians, during which the village musicians and the new generation of folk musicians give concerts in community centres all over Estonia and end their tour in the Concert Hall of the "Estonia" Theatre in Tallinn on October 30. This was also the venue where during his life (1889-1977), August Pulst organised concerts for folk musicians - an initiative which in the 1920s was considered outrageous, but which despite fierce opposition from the culture management enjoyed great audience success.

In addition to that, August Pulst organised folk music recording and tours for village musicians and singers during the period between the two world wars. For several years, he zealously collected antiquities and was directly involved in the establishment of four museums, three of which, the Art Museum of Estonia, the Estonian Theatre and Music Museum, and the Tori Museum became true and the open air museum was established later.

"August Pulst did not only perpetuate and record folk culture, he also preserved old traditions and presented them in new and in his time bold ways. I often imagine him as an artist who instead of paint used lore to paint beautiful patterns. I would be extremely happy if our school could continue his life's work, "commented Sofia Joons, the head of August Pulst School at the Estonian Traditional Music Center.

High recognition from Cultural Endowment

2009-01-15

On January 10, the award ceremony of the annual culture prizes of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia took place in the Estonian Traditional Music Center. Thanks to the determined efforts put into the successful opening season, the Estonian Traditional Music Center itself was among others given an award.

In addition to recognition, Estonian Traditional Music Center also received 100 000 kroons. This year was the first time when the ceremony was held outside of Tallinn, in Viljandi.

The Estonian Traditional Music Center started its year-round concert programme in autumn 2008, offering genuine folk music for both Estonians and tourists visiting Estonia.

Viljandi Folk Music Festival focuses on solo

2008-12-18

The theme of XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival is Solo. By choosing this theme, we would like to draw attention to one of the most important skills for folk musicians - the ability to play alone but still make the whole village dance the night away.

Playing solo is the most important form of music-making in the folk music traditions of many nations. In some places it is considered to be the simplest and most natural way to perform music. One musician or singer is enough to get the party started. At the same time, this kind of music requires individual mastery and the ability to convince people. Simply being proficient at handling an instrument is usually not enough. The singer or musician has to be broad-minded and good at communicating, has to know the background of the music and be familiar with the mores and traditions. A solo artist has to have a radiant personality.

Viljandi Folk Music festival 2009 takes a bow to one of the most important skills for folk musicians - the ability to play solo and capture the audience with your outstanding performance.

Several solo musicians and solo singers from both Estonia and abroad will perform at the festival. Needless to say, groups of two or more will also present their music at the festival, because groups do also consist of individual musicians, many of whom have a brilliant solo artist hidden inside.

XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival is held on 23-26 July, 2009.

Latvian Dances in Dance session

2008-11-11

Latvian Dances in Dance session

November 17, 2008 19.00
Estonian Traditional Music Center

Rīgas Danču klubs began in 1987, when the folklore ensemble of the Rīga Applied Arts High School (Savieši), inspired by the growing folklore movement in Latvia, opened a rehearsal to the public. At those rehearsals anyone interested in traditional song and dance was invited to join Savieši. Dance evenings still take place in Rīga.

The dances at these evenings are for the most part ethnographic non-choreographed dances, originating in the mid 19th century to the early 20th century in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and neighboring countries. Some of the dances have been "discovered" by Rīgas Danču klubs members themselves, either from archive materials or firsthand on folklore gathering expeditions. Over time variations on the dances have developed, but this means that the dance tradition is alive. Dance evenings are accompanied by live music played on traditional instruments.

Anybody interested in learning Latvian dances or accompanying traditional dances is welcome at the Latvian dance session in Viljandi!

New music book

2008-11-03

A valuable music book and CD with new traditional songs for musical instruments, a project launched by Sandra Sillamaa, has been published.

The music book includes songs from 33 traditional musicians. Until now, these songs have been familiar only to a narrow circle of traditional musicians and have been spread between friends, whereas now everyone is welcome to learn these songs with the help of this music book. The collection contains songs of different levels of difficulty - some are suitable for beginners, some for experienced musicians.

The music book comes together with a CD with recordings of the authors playing the songs included in the book. Furthermore, pieces of advice from the authors regarding fingering, instruments, form of the song, etc are also included.

The complier of the music book, Sandra Sillamaa has said that the collection is actually only the first half of the dream. "Whether the dream of bringing youngsters closer to traditional music and provide a possibility for them to play newer Estonian traditional music together with Estonian and foreign traditional musicians will come true lies in the hands of the users of the music book," she claimed.

Authors whose songs are included in the book and who play their songs on the CD: Arno Tamm, Mari Kalkun, Juhan Suits, Katariin Raska, Kail Visla, Leanne Barbo, Ants Taul, Jalmar Vabarna, Johanna-Adele Jüssi, Karoliina Kreintaal, Kristjan Priks, Meelika Hainsoo, Krista Sildoja, Sofia Joons, Ando Kiviberg, Lauri Õunapuu, Marju Varblane, Siim Sarv, Ülle Jantson, Sandra Sillamaa, Robert Jürjendal, Kadri Giannakaina Laube, Koidu Ahk, Tarmo Noormaa, Sille Ilves, Kulno Malva, Toomas Valk, Janne Tamm, Cätlin Jaago, Kati Soon, Tuulikki Bartosik, Astrid Böning, Kadri Lepasson.

Compiler: Sandra Sillamaa
Music engraving: Kalle Tamra
Language editing: Tiina Ervald and Piret Päär
Music was put on the CD by: Jan Kolton

Sponsors: The Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Viljandi Town Government, the Association of Local Authorities of Viljandi County, Männiku Forest Farm, Ecoprint, CD Lahendused, University of Tartu Viljandi Vulture Academy, Estonian Traditional Music Center
The music book will be distributed free of charge as a teaching material throughout Estonia, but the book is also available for purchase in the Estonian Traditional Music Center.

School for Young Musicians in Viljandi

2008-10-30

SCHOOL FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS established by University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy and August Pulst School offers a unique opportunity to develop your musical skills, broaden your horizons, and meet and play together with other young musicians from all over Estonia!
Everyone who is at least 16 years old and is good at playing an instrument is welcome!

Courses run on:

14-16 November 2008 (registration until November 7)
9-11 January 2009 (registration until January 2)
3-5 April 2009 (registration until March 27)

Additional information available at http://www.folk.ee/opistu/et/Kursused/NMK

Finno-Ugric itinerant exhibition

2008-10-29

Starting from October 15, it is possible to learn about the history and culture of different Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples in the Estonian Traditional Music Center. The exhibition is a nice supplement to the kinship theme which runs through October introduced by the Kinship Days - during that week, the programme of Estonian Traditional Music Center contains several movies about different nationalities and also the final concert of the Kinship Days.

The exhibition is comprised of photos accompanied by texts, most of which are taken from the photographic collection of the Estonian National Museum. Many of the photos are taken by the photographers and scientists from the Estonian National Museum, but some, especially the older photos, were acquired by exchange from Finland, Russia, Hungary, etc. Estonians are not represented at this photographic exhibition, because its aim is to introduce other Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples.

Today, the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples are connected first and foremost through their kindred languages.The Uralic peoples are divided into groups based on their languages: speakers of Baltic-Finnic (Estonian, Votian, Livonian, Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian, Veps), Sami, Volga (Erzya, Moksha, Mari), Permian (Udmurt, Komi), Ugrian (Hungarian, Khant, Mansi) and Samoyed (Nenets, Enets, Nganasan, Selkup) languages. There are 23 million Finno-Ugric and Samoyed people in all.

The itinerant exhibition of the Estonian National Museum is open for visitors in the glass section of the Estonian Traditional Music Center until the end of October. Entrance to the exhibition is free of charge.

Photo: "A woman herding geese in front of a storehouse." Tatar ANSV, Agrõz district. Priit Härmas, 1980.

Harvest Festival

2008-10-07

Let's sum up the year - the folk music Harvest Festival 2008 invites you to Viljandi once again!

The two-day indoor festival gives an overview of what is happening on the folk music scene. 11 concerts and two workshops will be held on October 10-11 in the recently renovated Estonian Traditional Music Center.

The Harvest Festival surprises its audience with a green stage, where you can enjoy both beloved well-known musicians and young newcomers. Equally important to the „official" concerts are the jam sessions which can start anywhere - in the foyer of the Estonian Traditional Music Center, cafe or any other place where there is enough space to hold an instrument.

As customary to the Harvest Festival, all the ear-pleasing concerts are acoustic.

Free open sessions

2008-09-05

August Pulst School at the Traditional Music Center invites everyone to take part in free open sessions.

Everyone who wants to dance to live music, learn traditional songs, exchange stories, play instruments together with others or have fun with children is welcome.

These open sessions are held at the Traditional Music Center during evenings. Attending these sessions is free of charge thanks to the European Social Fund and its educational programme "Adult Education in Non-formal Education Centres". You can register on-site before the beginning of the session and take part in several sessions if you wish.

There are different sessions: dancing, singing, instrumental, family, and storytelling sessions. Additional information available at www.folk.ee/opistu

Traditional Music Center begins its first concert season

2008-08-28

The Traditional Music Center in the Castle Hills begins its first concert season in September and invites every music lover from all over Estonia to take part in it. Zetod, Vägilased, and Paabel perform at the opening concerts but many other talented musicians from both Estonia and abroad will hold concerts during the forthcoming months.

According to the producer Mari Kalkun, the opening season of the Traditional Music Center offers a wide spectrum of performers both from Estonia and abroad. "Our programme varies from minimalist and unprocessed traditional music to co-operational projects between musicians, and dancing parties with music from around the world," Kalkun explained and pointed out that one of the craziest projects is the performance of the Chilean troubadour Fernando Stern together with the tour of international itinerant musicians Ethno in Transit, which takes place on the 16th of September.

September at the Traditional Music Center is lively and full of energy, but October will be calmer, offering the visitors the chance to delve into Finno-Ugric music. Jouhiorkesteri, a band of Finnish talharpa players will give a concert and also Pastacas will come from Finland to visit us. Furthermore, the final concert of the Kinship Days, where different Finno-Ugric people introduce their folk songs and dances, will be a special treat for the fans of traditional music. In addition to that, the best musicians from this year's Viljandi Folk Music Festival will give an acoustic performance at the Lõikuspidu (Harvest Festival) which will take place on 10-11 October at the Traditional Music Center.

Viljandi Folk Music Festival had over 23 000 guests

2008-07-31

XVI Viljandi Folk Music Festival attracted over 23 000 traditional music friends to Viljandi within the four days of the Festival.

The largest audiences came, expectedly, on Saturday when about 12 000 people visited concerts, workshops and other Festival venues.

XVI Viljandi Folk Music Festival main program offered 74 concerts performed by 28 Estonian and 15 foreign ensembles. The most liked concerts according to ticket sales were given by Untsakad, Vägilased, Svjata Vatra, Zetod, Oort and Gjangsta from Estonia, and Flook from England, Tbilisi and Merani from Georgia, Paco Serrano from Spain and Fernando Stern and Alejandro Soto from Chile.

In addition to visiting the Festival concert venues it was also possible to watch live Internet transmission of the concerts on our website or on Elion DigiTV. There were 10 500 people enjoying the Festival over the Internet, 14 550 households participating in the Festival via Elion DigiTV which is a fourth of Elion DigiTV clients who have access to this particular Elion channel.

Viljandi Folk Music Festival is organized by Estonian Traditional Music Center together with more than 200 volunteers.

The next Viljandi Folk Music Festival takes place on July 23-26, 2009. This Festival was dedicated to plucked instruments, the theme of the Festival next year will be disclosed in September.

Estonian Traditional Music Center opened

2008-05-27

Estonian Traditional Music Center is now opened for everybody from 11 am to 11 pm.

Also is possible to eat and drink in a breathtaking caffeteria Kirstimäe Cafe (also opened from 11 am to 11 pm).