Estonian Voices and other artists at the festival Via Baltica

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On the 18th of August festival Via Baltica will be opened with the concert Northern Voices – Estonian Voices at the Liepaja’s concert hall Great Amber by guests from Estonia – the vocal a cappella sextet Estonian Voices. Every year in August, around the Remembrance Day of the Baltic Way, the festival introduces its audience of thousands to concerts, art exhibitions and other different cultural events. This is already the sixth year when the festival takes place in two beautiful cities of South-East Latvia – Liepaja and Kuldiga, but for the first time most of concerts will be held in the new treasure of Liepaja – the concert hall Great Amber.

Estonian Voices (Kadri Voorand – alto, Mikk Dede – tenor, Mirjam Dede – soprano, Maria Väli – soprano, Rasmus Erismaa – baritone, Aare Külama – bass) is a unique vocal group. Some of the field’s greatest like Peder Karlsson from The Real Group and Britt Quentin from M-Pact have recognized Estonian Voices as a unique sounding vocal ensemble not only in Estonia, but in Europe and even worldwide. Music critics and other musicians have said, that even the ones, who hate a capella music, generally love Estonian Voices. Kadri Voorand, the singer of Estonian Voices and one of the group’s founders, explains it might be so, because they do music on the same circumstances as instrumentalists and other musicians. Their goal has never been to present famous pop hits a cappella, but simply to do music using six voices.

Estonian Voices sings jazz, folk and pop influenced music, mostly original compositions and arrangements of folk music, but also some well known worldwide hits. But comparing to other a cappella groups Estonian Voices generally distinguishes, because the group always tends to present personal emotion and energy with as high musical quality as possible.

The group has given many concerts not only in Estonia, but also in Germany, Russia and Sweden. In 2013 the group was invited as the guest artists on New York Voices concert, thereby wining the hearts of a worldwide audience. It is interesting that the concert in Liepaja will be the first one for Estonian Voices in Latvia. Musicians admit that it is rather odd but Estonians do not get to play that much in Latvia unfortunately and vice versa. Nevertheless, the group is very excited about coming to Latvia, especially because they have also collaborated with Latvian Voices and, in Kadri Voorand’s words, it has seemed like they had known each other for a long time.

The concert Northern Voices – Estonian Voices will be held in the concert hall Great Amber with its acclaimed acoustics. When asked about the performance in Liepaja, musicians admit that they are excited to experiment with the acoustics of the hall. Next to their usual concert program, the group plans to introduce audience in Liepaja with compositions by two of the greatest composers in Estonia, Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis, only maybe not in the most expected way.

In 2016 the festival Via Baltica is being held from July 28th to September 2nd in Liepaja and Kuldiga. This year’s festival will consist of eight chamber and jazz music concerts by artists from all the countries of the Baltic States, exhibition of graphic on canvas by two contemporary Lithuanian artists, documental exhibition The Baltic Way – A Campaign In The Name Of Freedom, a screening of the movie Obliging Collaborators (Uz spēles Latvija) by the Latvian director Pēteris Krilovs and the Night of Ancient Bonfires when many places along the coastline of the Baltic Sea light a bonfire to honor the Baltic Sea.

The festival is organized with the financial support of the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, Liepaja and Kuldiga City Councils. Tickets are available for purchase at  from 7 to 25 Euros. Student and senior discounts are available. Free admission to children under the age of 7.