Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra (TCO) conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste will perform the world-famous music of Arvo Pärt in Washington, DC and New York from May 27th until June 2nd. The concerts will take place in the presence of composer Arvo Pärt.
On May 27th the choir and the orchestra will perform their program of Arvo Pärt’s works at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Fratres (violinist Harry Traksmann), Adam’s Lament, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten and Te Deum will be performed at a free concert in the center’s Concert Hall.
On May 31st the musicians will perform in New York’s world-famous Carnegie Hall, where Salve Regina will be added to the program mentioned above.
TCO musicians will give a chamber concert of Arvo Pärt’s music on May 29th in the Phillips Collection in Washington, presenting the world premiere of a new arrangement of My Heart’s in the Highlands for alto, piano, violin, viola and cello. The concert will be part of the Leading European Composers Series.
Finally, EPCC conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste will give an a cappella concert on June 2nd at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur in New York City, featuring Pärt’s Kanon Pokajanen.
On May 21st, before the start of the concert tour, the musicians will give a concert at Tartu University hall in Estonia, performing the program planned for the concert at the Kennedy Center.
The initiator of this concert series is St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) in New York, which will give an honorary doctorate degree on sacred music to Arvo Pärt at a ceremony on May 31st. The concerts have been organized with the help and support of the Estonian Embassy in Washington, Estonian Ministry of Culture, the New World Classics, ECM, the aforementioned concert venues and numerous private sponsors. The President of the Republic of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves will attend the Kennedy Center concert. Estonian Minister of Culture Urve Tiidus will be present at Carnegie Hall.
The events include a series of presentations and discussions in Washington and New York. On the 28th of May there will be a panel discussion in George Washington University conducted by Douglas Boyze, the university’s music department head, and SVOTS’ theology professor, Peter Bouteneff. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is collaborating with SVOTS to present a panel discussion on the topic “Spirit in Sound and Space: A Conversation Inspired by Arvo Pärt“ on the 11th of June, which seeks to open up the spiritual content of the music by Arvo Pärt, and how different spaces can affect the perception of music. Presentations will be made by neuroscientist Robert Zatorre of the Montreal Neurological Institute, architect Steven Holl and theology professor Peter Bouteneff. The lecture evening is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s lecture series “Spark“.
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir has performed Arvo Pärt’s music at many prestigious venues around the world. During recent seasons the choir has performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, the Sydney Opera House, to name a few. EPCC and TCO concerts of Arvo Pärt’s compositions conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste were very well received in the fall of 2012 at the International Cervantino Festival in Mexico.
This year’s U.S tour is already the 12th for the choir since 1990, including first-time appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center with an exclusively Estonian program performed by Estonian musicians.
The Metropolitan Museum of Arts’ concert will be aired live on Q2Music web channel q2music.org.
More information about the free concert at the Kennedy Center: http://www.estoniainconcert.com
More information about SVOTS and Arvo Pärt Project: http://arvopartproject.com/
