Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

Photo: Kaupo Kikkas

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is one of the best-known Estonian music ensembles in the world. The EPCC was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was the artistic director and chief conductor for twenty years. In the years 2001–2007, the English musician Paul Hillier took over. Between the years 2008–2013 the artistic director and chief conductor was Daniel Reuss and in the years 2014–2021 Kaspars Putniņš. Since August 2021 the artistic director and chief conductor is Tõnu Kaljuste.

The repertoire of the choir extends from Gregorian chant and baroque to the music of the 21st century, with a special focus on the work of Estonian composers, such as Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Galina Grigoryeva, Toivo Tulev, Tõnu Kõrvits, Helena Tulve, and introducing their output to the world. Each season the choir gives about 60–70 concerts both in Estonia and abroad.

The EPCC has cooperated with a number of outstanding conductors including Claudio Abbado, Helmuth Rilling, Eric Ericson, Ward Swingle, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Nikolai Alekseyev, Olari Elts, Gregory Rose, Andrew Lawrence-King, Roland Böer, Frieder Bernius, Stephen Layton, Marc Minkowski, Christoph Poppen, Sir Colin Davis, Michael Riesman, Louis Langree, Paul McCreesh, Gottfried von der Goltz, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Anu Tali, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Peter Phillips, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Simon Rattle etc.

The EPCC has also worked with the following world-class orchestras such as the Norwegian, Australian, Lithuanian, Prague and Stuttgardt Chamber Orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Rundfunk Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, Concerto Palatino, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, the Salzburg Camerata, Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, the Philip Glass Ensemble, the North Netherland Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Sarasota Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.

The EPCC has been a welcome guest at numerous music festivals and outstanding venues all over the world including the BBC Proms, the Mozartwoche, the Abu Gosh Music Festival, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Musikfest Bremen, the Salzburg Festspiele, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Festival Aix-en-Provence, the International Cervantino Festival, the Vale of Glamorgan Festival, the Bergen International Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Sydney Opera House, Wiener Konzerthaus, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Versailles Opéra Royal, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, LSO St Luke’s and Barbina Centre in London, the Esplanade in Singapore, the Flagey in Brussels, Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, the Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles etc.

Another important aspect in the choir’s life is recording music (for ECM, Virgin Classics, Carus, Harmonia Mundi and Ondine), resulting in various award-winning CDs. The EPCC recordings have twice won a Grammy-Award for Best Choral Performance: in 2007 for the album of Arvo Pärt’s Da Pacem (Harmonia Mundi) with conductor Paul Hillier and Arvo Pärt’s Adam’s Lament (ECM) with conductor Tõnu Kaljuste. All in all, the choir has 16 Grammy nominations with works by Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür and the music from the Nordic countries. In 2018 the recording „Schnittke – Psalms of Repentance. Pärt – Magnificat & Nunc dimittis” (BIS), conducted by Kaspars Putniņš, won Gramophone Award. The EPCC recordings have also won the award Diapason d’Or, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Danish Music Award, de Choc de l’Année Classica 2014, Prix Caecilia, and more. In 2020 BBC Music Magazine has named EPCC as one of the 10 best choirs in the world.

Bio in German

Bio in French

Bio in Russian

History in pictures

People

Artistic Director and Chief Conductor

Tõnu Kaljuste

Photo: Krõõt Tarkmeel

Tõnu Kaljuste has gained international recognition with his diverse repertoire, which ranges from operas and classical symphonic works to contemporary music. He has worked with major modernist composers of Northern and Eastern Europe, such as Alfred Schnittke, György Kurtág, Krzysztof Penderecki, Giya Kancheli, and Einojuhani Rautavaara, and is recognised as an expert interpreter and advocate of Estonian composers, including Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Tõnu Kõrvits, Veljo Tormis, and Heino Eller.

Kaljuste has got Grammy for Best Choral Performance for the Arvo Pärt album Adam’s Lament in 2014. His recordings have had a number of Grammy nominations in various categories from opera (David and Bathsheba of the Norwegian composer Ståle Kleiberg) to symphonic music. In 2019 he won the International Classical Music Award for the recording of Arvo Pärt’s symphonies with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra. Kaljuste’s recordings have won also other several prestigious prizes such as Cannes Classical Award (1999), Diapason d’Or (2000), Edison Musical Award (2000), Classic BRIT Award (2003), Prix Caecilia (2023). He has recorded for the ECM Records, Virgin Classic, BIS and Caprice Records labels.

In 1981, Tõnu Kaljuste founded the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and, after a 20-year break, returned as its artistic director in August 2021. He founded the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra in 1993 and returned to be its artistic director between 2019–2024. He is the founder and artistic director of the project theatre Nargen Opera (established in 2004) and has led the Nargenfestival since 2006. Tõnu Kaljuste has conducted operas by Joseph Haydn, including L’isola disabitata, Il mondo della luna, and Armida; Beethoven’s Fidelio.

Tõnu Kaljuste has been honoured with many awards in his native Estonia: the Order of the White Star, 4th Class (1998) and the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class (2000), the first St Mary’s Medal of St Mary’s Cathedral congregation in Tallinn (2000), Main Prize of the Culture Endowment of Estonia (2004), several national culture awards for the performance of Veljo Tormis’ music (Estonian Ballads in 2005, Estonian Women’s Songs in 2007, Estonian Men’s Songs in 2009), the interpretation award of the Estonian Council of Music (2010), Culture Award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2011), the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s Grand Prize (2021). He has been awarded the Eri Klas Scholarship (2021), the Honorary Badge of Harju County (2023), and the Coat of Arms Badge of Tallinn (2023). He received Estonian theatre award for the best musical production for Hydrogen Jukebox by Glass (2024). Kaljuste is the Honorary Conductor of the City of Tallinn (2024) and a laureate of the National Lifetime Achievement Award in Culture (2025).