written by Vincent Teetsov
In November 2019 at WE: Global Learning Centre, Ensemble U performed for Latitude 44 and Estonian Music Week audiences with scenes of Marimetsa Raba (Marimetsa Bog) displayed on virtual reality headsets. It was a one-of-a-kind live music moment for many, and has prompted the question: “Where else can we find technological innovation like this in Estonian music?”
A thorough answer to this question could easily require several more festivals and conferences, but one individual who exemplifies this pursuit of new ideas and intellectual expansion is Estonian-Canadian composer and music educator Kristi Allik. Kristi has created at least 55 performed and recorded compositions since 1975, for a broad range of instruments. This includes music for keyboards, English horn, violin, percussion, electro-acoustic instruments, and orchestras with soloists. “Lend Me Your Harp”, a chorus and chamber orchestra piece from 1981, sets the scene for the beginning of the Kalevipoeg epic. Her music continues to be performed by the next generation of classical musicians, including pianist Jana Luksts.
Kristi is Professor Emeritus of Queen's University School of Music, having taught there from 1988 to her retirement from teaching in 2013. Through the Electroacoustic Music Studios and the Computer Laboratory for Applications in Music (CLAM), she has championed electronics and a broadened sonic palette for musicians and sound artists.
(Pikemalt Eesti Elu 17.07.2020 paber- ja PDF/digilehes)
