University of Tartu and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre sign a cooperation agreement to offer students lots of concert experiences

On 9 December, the rectors of the University of Tartu and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre will sign a cooperation agreement to start the “Harmonia Universitatis” concert series. The opening concert will include the Tartu premiere of "Islands” by Tõnu Kõrvits.

According to Toomas Asser, Rector of the University of Tartu, the new concert series is a gift from the two universities to all Estonian students. “The University of Tartu offers its magnificent assembly hall for the concerts, and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre brings top-class musicians to Tartu to perform timeless classics as well as the most recent works by Estonian composers. As university education is much broader than just acquiring professional knowledge, it was our firm wish that the concerts should be free for students," said Asser.

“I am extremely pleased with the new concert series and the cooperation. The University of Tartu assembly hall, a landmark concert venue throughout its long history, adds a special value to the cooperation between our institutions,” said Ivari Ilja, Rector of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. The idea sparked from the festive concert in March 2022, when the University of Tartu and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre jointly celebrated the 180^th anniversary of Ferenc Liszt’s performance in the university’s assembly hall. “I hope the concert series will be of interest to the people of Tartu, the university staff and students, and that it will become a tradition of academic cooperation and friendship,” Ilja added.

At the “Harmonia Universitatis” concerts, the students and lecturers of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre take the audience on a journey of musical discovery, performing solo programmes and in various ensembles. In the opening concert on 9 December at 18:00, the audience will hear the Trio Poll-Varema-Poll. This season, there will be two more concerts in Tartu: 29 February and 28 March.

Mari Poll (violin), Henry-David Varema (cello) and Mihkel Poll (piano) are internationally renowned performers and acclaimed teachers. They have played as a trio and performed in Europe, Russia and China since 2013, playing the widest possible range of repertoire from Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms to contemporary composers. Works by Estonian composers, including our national classics Artur Lemba and Heino Eller and modern-day composers such as Erkki-Sven Tüür, Arvo Pärt and Riho Esko Maimets have an important place in their concert programmes. Tõnu Kõrvits composed his work “Islands” specifically for the trio. Its premiere was in the grand hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre on 29 November. In 2023, the trio received the annual award of the Music Endowment of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia for a wide-range and international year in chamber music.

Programme:
Ester Mägi. Piano trio in D minor
Tõnu Kõrvits. “Islands” (premiere)
Heino Eller. Two Lyrical Pieces for Piano Trio
Artur Lemba. Piano trio No. 1 in B flat major

The concert is free for students. Ticket information at Piletikeskus.