BUY TICKET
XV TALLINN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL 21st – 30th of August 2019
Kadi Jürgens (mezzosoprano), Oliver Kuusik (tenore),
Kai Ratassepp (piano)
Programme: Duparc, Poulenc, Messiaen, Eespere, Viira etc
Tickets 10/15€
KADI JÜRGENS
“Young Singer 2018” (PLMF Music Trust award by Marje and Kuldar Sink) laureate K. Jürgens is an exceptional young Estonian mezzo-soprano who’s singing journey will continue from this Autumn at the International Opera Academy in Ghent, Belgium. K. Jürgens started her music studies with violin and flute. Since 2014 she has been pursuing classical singing at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT, Prof. Taimo Toomast, Nadežda Kurem ja Eva Märtson-Wilson) and in addition learning contemporary improvisation (Prof. Anne-Liis Poll). K. Jürgens spent the academic year 2018/19 as an exchange student in Belgium at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp (RCA, Prof. Gary Jankowski, Lucienne Van Dyke). K. Jürgens has taken part in several masterclasses held by renowned opera singers and vocal coaches from Estonia, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, USA, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Sweden (Pille Lill, Wilma Vernocchi, Marie Vassiliou, Maciej Pikulski, Kristian Attila, Maria Ljudko, Sofia Mazar, Margareta Haverinen Brandt etc). In 2015 she was given a scholarship from Italy and in 2017 from Estonia (Mati Palmi fond) to take part in Wilma Vernocchi masterclasses in Italy. During her studies at the EAMT K. Jürgens has sang opera roles such as La Maestra Delle Novizie – G. Puccini “Suor Angelica” (2016), Mrs Grose – B. Britten “The Turn of the Screw” (2016), Dido – H. Purcell “Dido and Aeneas” (2016) and Orlando – G. F. Händel “Orlando” (2018). In 2017 K. Jürgens made her debut at the Theatre Vanemuine as Andromache in Märt-Matis Lill “Into the Fire” and in 2019 at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp as Nancy in B. Britten “Albert Herring”. K. Jürgens has also performed as a soloist with Oulu Symphony Orchestra (2018) and worked with many eminent conductors and directors (Giorgio Proietti, Michiel Delanghe, Paul Mägi, Taavi Kull, Ingrid Roose, Stephan Jöris, Hermann Keckeis, Benoît De Leersnyder, Laura Kalle, Taago Tubin etc). Contemporary music has always had a great influence on her as a singer and an artist and already several distinguished composers from Estonia and abroad have written music for her.
OLIVER KUUSIK
KAI RATASSEPP
is a recognized soloist and chamber musician, her repertoire includes music from classical to contemporary. Kai Ratassepp graduated from the piano class of Ruuta Taras and Lilian Semper at Tallinn Music High School in 1988 and continued her studies at the Estonian Academy of Music under the guidance of Lilian Semper and Peep Lassmann. In 2007, under the guidance of Peep Lassmann, she acquired a doctorate from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. She has furthered her skills in the masterclasses of Andrei Gavrilov, Ralf Gothón and Arbo Valdma. Kai Ratassepp has won awards at several national and international piano festivals in Belgrade (1990), Vilnius (1991) and Tallinn (1994, 1996). She has given solo concerts and performed in various bands in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Germany, England, USA, China, Poland and Russia. The most important and recognised of her chamber ensembles is the piano duo with Mati Mikalai. Other frequent band partners have been, for example, saxophonist Virgo Veldi and clarinettist Madis Kari. Kai Ratassepp works as a piano lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and Tallinn Music High School.