TALLINN CHAMBER CHOIR is the first chamber choir in Estonia and in the entire former Soviet Union. The choir was founded on 15 February 1962 by composer Uno Naissoo, originally as an experimental ensemble of professional musicians. Its aim was to perform and test new and demanding choral repertoire. In its early years, the singers also included jazz musicians, and the repertoire featured both light music and contemporary works. Conductors included Kuno Areng, Ants Üleoja, and Arvo Ratassepp. The first concerts were partly lecture-like due to the limited repertoire, and included works by Cyrillus Kreek and Lembit Veevo. In 1967, the choir gave its first full concert at the Estonia Concert Hall, gaining wider recognition and international touring opportunities. In 1971, it won two first prizes at the Arezzo festival in Italy, becoming the first choir from the Soviet Union to achieve this. Today, the choir is known for performing key works of Estonian choral music and commissioning new compositions.

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HELI JÜRGENSON has conducted the Tallinn Chamber Choir since 2019. She studied choral conducting at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School and graduated in 1993 from the Tallinn Conservatory in choral conducting under Ants Soots. Jürgenson has received the Cultural Endowment of Estonia annual award (2002) and the Grand Prize for the XII Youth Song Festival “I Will Stay” as chief conductor (2018). She was awarded the Gustav Ernesaks Foundation choral music scholarship (2013) and named Conductor of the Year by the Estonian Choral Association (2013). At the 2019 Song Festival she conducted mixed and selected mixed choirs. She is Chair of the Estonian Choral Conductors’ Association and a board member of the Estonian Choral Association. In 2020 she was awarded the Order of the White Star, Class IV, and in 2022 she was selected as artistic director of the XXVIII Song Festival in 2025.

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MIXED CHOIR CANTUS is a long-established choir from Raplamaa, founded in 1964 as the Rapla Consumer Cooperative Mixed Choir, under which name it operated until 1988. The founders and first conductors were Laila Hakkaja and Ülo Väling. From 1973 to 1998, the choir was shaped artistically by conductor Linda Kardna. In 1999, Vahur Soonberg became chief conductor, leading the choir in successful competitions in Estonia and abroad and performing major sacred works. Since 2019, the choir’s chief conductor has been Martin Trudnikov. The choir has collaborated with both Estonian and international orchestras and soloists, performing works ranging from Handel and Bach to Arvo Pärt and Estonian composers. Cantus is known for its diverse repertoire, including sacred music, large-scale works, and contemporary Estonian choral music.

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MARTIN TRUDNIKOV graduated from Nõmme Music School in accordion. From 2012 to 2016 he studied rhythm music accordion at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School under Tiit Kalluste. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music pedagogy from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2019, and master’s degrees in choral conducting (2021, under Professor Toomas Kapten) and orchestral conducting (2023, under Professor Arvo Volmer) at the same institution.