Tõnu Kaljuste

From 2010 to 2020, Tõnu Kaljuste was a professor and head of conducting studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. He is the founder of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and has also served as principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir. Kaljuste has collaborated with major figures in Northern and Eastern European modernism such as Alfred Schnittke, György Kurtág, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gia Kancheli, and Einojuhani Rautavaara, and has proven himself a distinguished expert and promoter of the works of Estonian composers like Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Veljo Tormis, and Heino Eller.

Since 2004, Kaljuste has been the artistic director of his own founded project theatre, Nargen Opera. Under his leadership, the Nargenfestival has been held since 2006, framed by the Cyrillus Kreek days in June and the Arvo Pärt days in September. Kaljuste works closely with the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm.

In 2019, the Swedish Radio Choir and Berwaldhallen honored Tõnu Kaljuste with the title of Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Radio Choir. Since September 2019, Tõnu Kaljuste has been the artistic director of the Tallinn Philharmonic and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.