Roland Viilukas became the chief conductor of the Tartu Academic Male Choir

22.08.2024

The summer between the two seasons has brought new energy to the artistic leadership of the Tartu Academic Male Choir (TAM). Namely, TAM will soon enter the upcoming choir season with a new chief conductor. The general meeting of the male choir approved the candidacy of Roland Viilukas, who will take over the baton from Kuno Kerge, who has led the choir for seven years.

 

When asked what motivated Viilukas to apply for the position of chief conductor of Estonia’s best amateur male choir, the man responded as follows: “Love for male choir music and Tartu. I like to think of Tartu as my hometown, although I am actually from Saaremaa. It was in Tartu that I became a professional musician, and since I happened to conduct a male choir early in my studies, male choir music became a fundamental part of my musical-genetic code.”

 

Chief Conductor Viilukas considers conducting Estonia’s oldest male choir a great responsibility.

 

“The long and rich creative history of the choir is extremely impressive. It truly requires having good conductors, and one cannot deny that this responsibility is somewhat intimidating,” said Viilukas.

 

The conductor sees great potential in the choir, which won first place in the A-category at last year’s Estonian Male Singing Society competition, and wants to find new challenges and experiences for the choir.

 

“My future vision is largely based on TAM’s role in the Estonian choral music landscape and more broadly in the Estonian cultural space. A group of this caliber and potential has the power to create bridges and opportunities, and in the big picture, this is the direction I intend to pursue,” said the conductor, who will soon begin working with the choir.

 

Kuno Kerge, who steered TAM as the chief conductor for the past seven years and led the choir to first place in the Estonian male choir competition twice during this time, stepped down from the position at the end of the last season. According to Kerge, who lives in Tallinn, he is leaving the choir primarily due to the fatigue caused by commuting between Tallinn and Tartu.

 

Roland Viilukas was born in 1988 and during this time has conducted the mixed choir Noorus, the mixed choir of the Police and Border Guard Board, the male choir of the Rotalia Corporation, and others. Since 2017, he has been a singer in the Estonian National Male Choir. Viilukas began his career as a choral conductor at the Heino Eller Music School in Tartu. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in choral conducting from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, studying under Tõnu Kaljuste and Toomas Kapten, respectively. He graduated with a cum laude distinction. In addition, he has been an active participant in various choral and orchestral conducting masterclasses both at home and abroad.

 

Tartu Academic Male Choir is the oldest continuously operating male choir in Estonia. Last season, TAM celebrated its 111th year of activity, culminating in first place in the A-category choirs at the 35th-anniversary male choir competition of the Estonian Male Singing Society. Currently, the choir has slightly fewer than 50 active members, including students, alumni, and lecturers from Tartu universities. The choir has given numerous concerts abroad, with the most distant destinations being the United States and Japan.

 

Originally in Estonian. Translation provided by ChatGPT.

 

Contacts:
 
Chairman of the Board of the Tartu Academic Male Choir Jako Arula, 5544356, president@tam.eu
 
Chief Conductor of the Tartu Academic Male Choir Roland Viilukas, 55926303, roland.viilukas@gmail.com