The Revalia Men's Chorus under the direction of Hirvo Surva will give four concerts of Estonian and Scandinavian music while on tour in the Pacific Northwest. The four concerts are as follows:

1) CONCERT IN EUGENE, OREGON:
"New Bridge of Song: Music of Estonia and Scandinavia"
Revalia Men's Chorus; Hirvo Surva, Director
University of Oregon Chamber Choir; Sharon Paul, Director
University of Oregon Women's Choir; Christopher Olin, Director
Monday, November 16, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Beall Concert Hall
University of Oregon School of Music & Dance
961 E 18 St., Eugene OR 97403-1225

2) CONCERT IN PORTLAND, OREGON:
"New Bridge of Song: Music of Estonia and Scandinavia"
Revalia Men's Chorus; Hirvo Surva, Director
Oregon Repertory Singers; Gil Seeley, conductor
Pacific Youth Choir; Mia Hall Savage, conductor
University of Oregon Chamber Choir; Sharon Paul, conductor
Unistus Chamber Chorus; Lonnie Cline, conductor
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:30 pm
First United Methodist Church
1838 SW Jefferson St.
Portland OR 97201-2496

3) CONCERT IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON:
"New Bridge of Song: Music of Estonia and Scandinavia"
Revalia Men's Chorus; Hirvo Surva, Director
University of Washington Choruses; Geoffrey Boers & Giselle Wyers, conductors
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7:30 pm
First Christian Church of Kent
11717 SE 240th St.
Kent WA 98030

4) CONCERT IN VANCOUVER, B.C.:
"Bridge of Song: Revalia & Chor Leoni"
Revalia Men's Chorus; Hirvo Surva, Director
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Shaughnessy Heights United Church
1550 W 33rd Ave, Vancouver BC

On the first half of the concert, Revalia and Surva will perform a diverse repertoire of music from Estonia and Scandinavia, including music by Veljo Tormis (often regarded as Estonia's greatest living choral composer), Rene Eespere (Estonia), Ester Magi (Estonia), Gustav Ernesaks (the "Song Father" of Estonia), Sven-David Sandstrom (Sweden), Kurt Nystedt (Norway), and Vytautas Miskinis (Lithuania).

For the final half of the concert, Revalia will be joined by its partner choruses in each venue, and together, they will perform several works, including "The Beginning of Song" by Veljo Tormis and "Ave Mater, Ave Pater" by Rene Eespere. These two works were featured in the most recent Estonian Song Festival (2009) and were sung by the 25,000 member festival chorus for an audience of 150,000 listeners. In 2009, Hirvo Surva was again featured as one of the principal conductors at the festival, and he directed a performance of "The Beginning of Song."

Revalia Men's Chorus is regarded as one of Europe's finest male choirs, having won numerous international competitions, such as the First British International Male Voice Choral Festival (2005) and "Best Male Choir" (2008) awarded by the Estonian Men's Choir Society. Hirvo Surva is one of Estonia's most highly acclaimed choral directors and is frequently featured as one of the principal conductors of the Estonian Song Festival; moreover, he has recently been appointed the director of the highly acclaimed Tallinn Festival for April 2011. Surva is prominently featured in "The Singing Revolution," a deeply moving film about Estonia's use of song as a means of nonviolent resistance to the fifty-year Soviet occupation.

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