Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) has developed into the best-known Estonian music group in the world. The EPCC was founded by Tõnu Kaljuste in 1981, who continued as the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the group for two decades. Paul Hillier was Chief Conductor from 2001 to 2007, Daniel Reuss from 2008 to 2013 and Kaspars Putninš from 2014-2021. Since 2021/22 Tõnu Kaljuste is again Artistic Director and Chief Conductor.

On the occasion of Arvo Pärt's 90th birthday, the choir will be performing Pärt portraits at George Enescu Festival, Lausitz Festival, in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Glasgow, Barbican Centre London, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Carnegie Hall New York and in Dublin in autumn 2025.

In the 2024/25 season the choir toured with A cappella programmes at BBC Proms, Musikfest Bremen, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Prague Spring Festival, in Paris, München, Berlin, at the opera festival in Aix-en-Provence with the BR Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle in the new production of Don Giovanni. The EPCC performed with Concerto Copenhagen in Antwerp, Kloster Knechtsteden and Halle (Saale) and gave concerts with the Symfoniorkest Vlaanderen in France, Belgium and the Netherlands (Paris, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Bruges, Ghent among others). A cooperation with the Helsinki Chamber Choir took place in Tallinn, Viljandi and Helsinki.

The large repertoire of the choir extends from Gregorian chant to late baroque and the music of the 20th century, opera and an ever special focus on the work of Estonian composers as Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Galina Grigorjeva, Toivo Tulev, Tõnu Kõrvits and Helena Tulve. Each season the choir gives about 60 to 70 concerts in Estonia and abroad.

The EPCC has performed in major concert venues around the globe as Vienna Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Versailles Opéra Royale, Palau Musica in Barcelona, LSO St. Luke London, Esplanade Signapore, Kennedy Centre Washington, Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall New York and Opera House Sydney. Furthermore the choir appeared at numerous festivals including Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms, Cervantino Festival Mexiko, Edinburgh, Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein, Stuttgart, Schwetzingen, Mosel, Klangvokal Dortmund, Mozartwoche Salzburg, Osterfestival Tirol Austria, Flanders, Bergen, Oslo, Istanbul, Cheltenham, Tampere, Folle Journées: Nantes and Lissabon, Vale of Glamorgan, Hong Kong, Abu Gosh World Expo Cultural Center Shanghai, Wratislavia Cantans and the Nargen Festival Estonia.

Notable cooperations include appearances with Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Olari Elts, Risto Joost, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Peter Phillips, Gustavo Dudamel, Iván Fischer, Marc Minkowski, Sir Simon Rattle, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Andrew Lawrence-King, Paul McCreesh as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Les Musiciens du Louvre, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Mozart Bologna, Stuttgarter Philharmonic, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Norwegian, Australian, Lithuanian, Prague, Basel and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, Concerto Palatino, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.

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Concerto Copenhagen - music for our future heritage

Since its inaugural concerts in 1991, Concerto Copenhagen (CoCo) has embarked on a journey of discovery, exploring music from the Baroque, Viennese Classical and Early Romantic. Under the musical direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen, CoCo combines a methodical approach to historical material with artistic originality and a continual evolution in performance style and delivery. The ensemble combines artistic authenticity and innovation through original and uncompromising interpretations, with a unique repertoire of well-known European music with lesser-known works of Scandinavian origin and new music.

Concerto Copenhagen has released multiple internationally acclaimed albums for Berlin Classics with works by Bach (St John’s Passion), Muffat (Armonico Tributo) and Lumbye and participated in hundreds of concerts, opera productions, as well as soundtrack and video productions around the world. An album with works by Arvo Pärt with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is scheduled for release by Berlin Classics in summer 2025.

Season 2024/25

Maria Listra soprano

Maria Listra is a vocal artist who combines various forms of music theatre and culture in her creative career, ranging from chamber music to opera, and from early music to contemporary works. She graduated from Chigwell School in London in 2008 and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2011.

Maria Listra has performed in concert series in major concert halls throughout Estonia, participated in opera and musical projects, sung a diverse repertoire of chamber music, and performed oratorios.

Since 2014, she has been an active guest soloist at the Vanemuine Theatre. Her roles include Roxane (Tamberg's "Cyrano de Bergerac"), Zerlina (Mozart's "Don Giovanni"), Linda (Kaumann's "Department Store"), Franziska Cagliari (J. Strauss's "Viennese Blood"), Linda (Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix"), Prl Silberklang (Mozart's "The Impresario"), Christine (Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera"), Johanna (Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd"), Cosette (Schönberg's "Les Misérables"), and Woman (Lill's "Tulleminek"). She has also performed the role of the First Lady in Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" at the Estonian National Opera and Lydia Koidula in Alo Põldmäe's chamber opera "Emajõe ööbikud" at the Tartu New Theatre.

She lately performed the role of Sinikka in the premiere of Veljo Tormis and Rasmus Puur's opera "Lalli or There is a Man in the Middle of the Sea" at the Birgitta Festival Tallinn and Cleopatra in Händel's opera "Julius Caesar" at the Vanemuine Theatre Tartu. In April 2025 she sings “L’abbé Agathon” with Stavanger Symphony and Tõnu Kaljuste.

For the Arvo Pärt album “Tractus” (ECM Records) she presents the solo part of "L'abbé Agathon" with Tõnu Kaljuste and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to theatre projects, Listra has given masterclasses, lectures, seminars, and individual lessons on various cultural and interpretation topics.

Season 2024/25