Estonian National Male Choir

The Estonian National Male Choir (Eesti Rahvusmeeskoor, otherwise known as RAM) was founded in 1944 by the conductor Gustav Ernesaks, a leader of choral music in Estonia. The male choir, which originally sang a cappella, is now a world-renowned professional choir noted for its renditions of large-scale choral works.

http://concert.ee/estonian-national-male-choir

The choir regularly records for broadcasting companies, and has collaborated with Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, Finlandia, Alba Records, Virgin Classics and GB Records. Over the past 5 years, the choir has released 3 albums, the last of which “In Paradisum” (with the music of Galina Grigoryeva) won the honorary prize and title of The Best Classical Music Album 2014.

In 2004, RAM won the Grammy Award in the category of Choral Music for the recording of Sibelius’ Cantatas (Virgin Classics), an album which featured the Estonian National Male Choir, the Girls’ Choir Ellerhein and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi. The album of Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt”, recorded by the same musicians, was named the best album of orchestral music in 2005 by BBC Music Magazine.

As of the 2011–2012 season, Mikk Üleoja has acted as the principal conductor and artistic director of the choir. Among the long-term artistic directors of the choir, there have been conductors Olev Oja, Kuno Areng, Ants Üleoja, Uno Järvela, Harald Uibo and Ants Soots from Estonia, as well as Kaspars Putninsh from Latvia. The choir’s repertoire ranges from the renaissance period to the music of the 21st century. Estonian composers aside, the choir has performed works from Shostakovich to Taktakishvili, and from Bryars to Bonato in recent programmes.

The Estonian National Male Choir has performed more than 6,300 concerts in Estonia, in major cities of the former Soviet Union and in various countries across Western Europe as well as in Israel, Canada, Asia and the United States.

Mikk Üleoja and Estonian National Male Choir were awarded the Estonian state cultural award for the outstanding work that have reached the public in 2015.