OLIVER KUUSIK

is one of the most outstanding opera-soloist ones of his generation in Estonia, who studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Associate Prof. Pille Lill and Prof. Virgilius Noreika. He received his Master’s degree in 2006 and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London), where he studied with Maestro Rudolf Piernay. Since 2008 he has been the soloist of the Estonian National Opera. His repertoire includes Nemorino (Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love), Don Ramiro (Rossini’s La Cenerentola), Nicias (Massenet’s Thaïs, PromFest), Christian (Tamberg’s Cyrano de Bergerac), Rinuccio (Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi), Ferrando (Mozart’s Così fan tutte), Don Ottavio (Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Manchester and London), Beppe and Arlecchino (Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci), Peter Quint and Prologue (Britten’s Turn of the Screw, Tallinn Birgitta Festival 2008), Freddy (Loewe’s My Fair Lady). In London: Fenton (Verdi’s Falstaff), Polidoro (Mozart’s La Finta Semplice), Der Weise (Hindemith’s Hin und Zurück), Torque- mada (Ravel L’heure Espagnol), Edwin (Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury at the International Gilber and Sullivani Festival, UK), Brighella (Jonathan Dove’s The Little Green Swallow, premiere in the UK). He has recorded Fleishman’s Rotchild’s Violin together with the Liverpool Royal Symphony Orchestra and sung Enjolras (Claude- Michel Schönberg’s Les Miserables, Cameron Macintosh Production) and a lot more. O. Kuusik is also appreciated as an oratorio and chamber music singer. He has performed over 25 different oratorios and chamber music pieces such as Händel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem etc. He has given concerts in Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Germany, France, Canada, U.S.A and England. In 2009 O. Kuusik was chosen as a laureate of the international competition of opera singers Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (Canada). In 2008 he received the annual Estonian Theatre Award for his singing of Peter Quint and Prologue in Britten’s Turn of the Screw. O. Kuusik has won the 3rd Prize at the 5th Klaudia Taev International Competition for Young Opera Singers and the Kremling’s Special Prize for the best interpretation of German Song (the jury in- cluded Barbara Hendricks, Jevgeni Nesterenko etc). He has also won the 1st Prize at the Hendrik Krumm Competition in 2006, the 1st Prize at the Competition Young Singer (2002) and the PLMF award “Young Singer 2005.

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VIRGO VELDI

is one of the most outstanding saxophonists in Estonia. He has graduated from the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School (GOTMS, Lect. Villu Veski, Prof. Olavi Kasemaa, 1988) and from the Tallinn Conservatory (Prof. Olavi Kasemaa, 1993). He obtained his master’s degree at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT, Prof. Olavi Kasemaa, 1997) and from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Prof. Pekka Savijoki, 2004). In 1990, he was awarded with the 3rd Prize at the Estonian Wind Players Competition in Tallinn and in 1996, he won the 1st Prize and Audience’s Special Prize at the “Con Brio”, a competition for young musicians in Estonia. He has worked as a saxophone teacher at the GOTMS and at the Sibelius High School in Helsinki. Since 2001 he has been a teacher of the EAMT’s saxophone major (from 2012 an associate professor) and has given numerous master classes in different European countries. V. Veldi has appeared as a saxophone soloist with Tallinn Music School String Orchestra, EAMT Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Radio Estrada Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra and he has taken part in Nyyd Ensemble’s projects. He has been invited to perform at several festivals (Tallinn Chamber Music Festival, Tallinn Winter Festival, Rapla Church Music Festival etc). V. Veldi has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Risto Joost, Lauri Sirp, Mikk Murdvee, Olari Elts, Vello Pähn, Jüri Alperten, Nikolai Alexeyev etc. and he has given numerous chamber music concerts in Estonia and abroad. His ensemble partners have been Ralf Taal, Mati Mikalai, Kai Ratassepp, Piia Paemurru, Ivari Ilja, Tatjana Lepnurm, Ulla Krigul, Aare-Paul Lattik, Ines Maidre and many others. From 1999 to 2004 V. Veldi was a member and the artistic director of the saxophone quartet “SaxEst”.

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TIIA TENNO

is one of the most valued ensemble partners in Estonia, who has graduated from Tartu Heino Eller Music School studying piano and Estonian Academy of Music and Theater as well as from Herford School of Church Music studying organ (Germany). In addition, she has furthered her skills in Hamburg School of Music and she has taken part of many distinguished organists’ master classes. From 1996 T. Tenno is working in Tallinn St. John’s Church as an organist and a choir leader. She has also worked as an organist-choir leader in Schnathorst Church in Germany and Lunde Chruch in Norway and she has been the department leader of the church music department of the Estonian Institute of Theology (2004-2007). T. Tenno has cooperated with multiple outstanding interprets (O. Sinkova, N. Ots, T. Vavilov, A. Teemets, P. Lill etc.) and she has given many solo concerts in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Estonia. She has given multiple performances at several festivals and as a soloist she has cooperated with the Finnish-Estonian Baroque Orchestra and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. A lot of the music that is played by her is on the recordings of Estonian Public Broadcasting and many other collection CD-s (“Estonian Valuable Organs” – Tallinn St. John’s church organ (publisher ERES, 2000); “Baroque Pictures” with trumpetist Neeme Ots (publisher Tanel Klesment, 2015). T. Tenno is a member of the Estonian Organ Society from 1999 and a member of the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians from 2014.

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