The concertwill be performed by the esteemed Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC)and its sister orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra (TCO), at the center’s mainstage, the Concert Hall. The renowned Estonian conductor, Tõnu Kaljuste, willlead the performance. In addition tocelebrating the music of the beloved composer, the concert, which is free tothe public, commemorates the enduring, century long relationship between theEstonian Republic and the United States of America.
One of thebest known cultural figures from Estonia and the Baltic region in the worldtoday, Pärt was born in 1935 at the end of the second decade of Estonianindependence, just before the country lost it to both the Russians and Germans,and then the Russians again for another half century. A native of the town of Rakvere, the musicalprodigy began to compose during the 1960s, when the country was still underSoviet occupation, and worked as a sound producer for Estonian radio from 1957to 1967. 
Ultimately Pärtfound the pressures of working in the USSR too constricting, and in 1980 emigratedto Austria, where his signature musical style, which features the use of tintinnabuli, took mature form and beganto get recognized. The composer himselflikens his remarkable music to “white light,” which after piercing thelistener’s sensory prism acquires new and different shades. Today he is considered the most performedcontemporary music composer in the world.
The choirand orchestra will perform a multi-hued selection of Pärt’s works, including“Fratres,” “Adam’s Lament,” “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten,” and “TeDeum.” The composer will be present,along with an official delegation from the Estonian government, led by PresidentToomas Hendrik Ilves.
Pärt’stalented friend and colleague, conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, has been a leadingfigure on both the Estonian and international music scene for over threedecades. Kaljuste founded the EstonianPhilharmonic Chamber Choir—EestiFilharmoonia Kammerkoor in Estonian—in 1981, shortly after his friend,Arvo, left the still-occupied Baltic republic. In 1993, two years after Estonia regained its independence, he foundedthe Tallinn Chamber Orchestra (TallinnaKammerorkester).
Kaljuste hassince established himself as a leading interpreter of such varied foreign composersas Gyorgy Kurtag, Pietrari Inkinen, and Alfred Schnittke, as well as that of Pärtand fellow Estonian composers Erkki-Sven Tüür, Veljo Tormis, Heino Eller and TõnuKõrvits.
A celebratedfigure in his own right, earlier this year Kaljuste won the Grammy Award forhis recording of Pärt’s “Adam’s Lament” withboth the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra,along with their musical brethren from across the border, Sinfonietta Riga andLatvian Radio Choir.
AlthoughKaljuste and the choir have performed in the United States numerous times inthe past, the May 27th concert at the Kennedy Center will be theirfirst appearance there. The concert isthe first of a series of four performances that the EPCC and TCO will be givingin the U.S. in Washington and New York, between May 27th and June 2nd.
Theinitiator of the series is St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS)in New York which will bestow an honorary doctorate in sacred music to Maestro Pärtat a special ceremony in New York on May 31st.
The concertbegins at 6 P.M. and is free to the public.
In additionto the Estonian government, this very special evening was made possible thanksto the generosity of a wide range oforganizations, foundations and individuals within and associated with thegreater Estonian-American community, whose donations help defray the costs ofthe performance. The Embassy also wishesto extend its special thanks to the board of directors of the Kennedy Center formaking its Concert Hall available for the performance.
For morequestions about either the concert, the music of Arvo Pärt, or Estonian musicand culture please contact Maria Belovas, the press and cultural officer of theembassy at [email protected]