Veronika Portsmuth (born 27 November 1980 in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, Estonia) is an Estonian conductor and singer.

Childhood

Portsmuth started singing at the age of 3, when she started as one of the soloists in Ave Kumpas singing studio. During that period she performed in many TV music programmes for children.

Education

*1987–1995 21. Tallinn Secondary School *1995–1998 Tallinn Music High School (conducting – Evi Eespere) *1998–2004

Estonian Music The recorded history of music in Estonia dates back as far as the 12th century. History The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing and dancing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta Danorum'' (c. 1179). Saxo speaks of Estonian warriors who s ...

Academy, MA (conducting –

Prof. Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Kuno Areng) *1999–2002 Tallinn

Georg Ots Georg Ots (21 March 1920 – 5 September 1975) was an Estonian singer, actor and People's Artist of the USSR (1960). Biography Before studying singing with the Estonian baritone Aleksander Rahnel in Yaroslavl in the rear of the Eastern Fro ...

Music School (singing – Mare Jõgeva) *2002–2004 Estonian Music Academy (singing – Prof. Nadja Kurem) *2007–present

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

, PhD programme (

Tõnu Kaljuste Tõnu Kaljuste (born August 28, 1953) is an Estonian conductor. Born in Tallinn, Kaljuste is the son of Heino Kaljuste (1925–1989), an Estonian choral conductor, and Lia Kaljuste, a radio journalist. Tõnu sang in his father's choirs as a chil ...

) *2008–2009

Royal College of Music in Stockholm The Royal College of Music, Stockholm ( sv, Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm) is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was mad ...

(Prof. Anders Eby) Further training in orchestral conducting by Jüri Alperten and Michael Bartoch, participation in conducting project led by Cecilia Rydingen-Alin,

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es by

Eri Klas Eri Klas (7 June 1939 – 26 February 2016) was an Estonian conductor. Klas was born into a Jewish family in Tallinn. His mother was pianist Anna Klas. His father, Eduard Klas, was killed in 1941, during the Holocaust.''Eesti Entsüklopeedia ...

and

Filippo Maria Bressan Filippo Maria Bressan (born 27 November 1957, in Este) is an Italian conductor. Training pianist, he studied conducting with several teachers, among whom stand out Jurgen Jürgens, for the choir conducting (of which he later became assistant), ...

Professional work

*1998–2004 Mixed Choir Helitron *2000–2002

Chamber Choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...

Tallinn University Tallinn University (TLU; et, Tallinna Ülikool, ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education ...

of Technology (choirmaster) *2002–2004 Tallinn Chamber Choir *2002–2004

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princip ...

(singer) *2004–2008 Nargen Opera choir *2004– ...

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Esto ...

Mixed Choir *2005 Estonian Academy of Science Female Choir *2006–2007 Tallinn Music High School Chamber Choir *2008– ... Young Female Choir MIINA *2010– ... Estonian Concert Choir *2010– ... Mixed Choir of the Estonian Music and Theatre (assistant-conductor)

Working with the Estonian Concert Choir

The Estonian Concert Choir was formed in June 2010 to perform oratorios and other big vocal compositions (with orchestra). The choir works on project basis. Portsmuth has been working with the choir from its very beginning. Projects: *2010 –

Veljo Tormis Veljo Tormis (7 August 1930 – 21 January 2017) was an Estonian composer, regarded as one of the great contemporary choral composers and one of the most important composers of the 20th century in Estonia.Daitz, Mimi. Ancient Song Recovered: The ...

, ''Eesti ballaadid'' (Estonian ballads), conductor Tõnu Kaljuste *2010 –

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

, ''

Ein Deutsches Requiem ''A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures'', Op. 45 (german: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, links=no) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist, com ...

'', conductor

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

*2010 – Gija Kantšeli 75, conductor Andres Mustonen *2011 – Dieterich Buxtehude, Giovanni Gabrieli, Michael Praetorius and other works for two choirs setting (in Saint Petersburg's St. John's church), conductor Andres Mustonen *2011 – Ludwig van Beethoven, oratorio ''

Christus am Ölberge ''Christus am Ölberge'' (in English, ''Christ on the Mount of Olives''), Op. 85, is an oratorio by Ludwig van Beethoven portraying the emotional turmoil of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane prior to his crucifixion. It was begun in the fall of ...

'', conductor

Paul Mägi Paul Mägi (born 13 October 1953) is an Estonian conductor in concert and opera and is also an academic teacher and violinist. He has commissioned works for the Estonian National Opera. Life and music Born in Tallinn (then Soviet Union), Mägi ...

*2011 –

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, Symphony No. 3 (choir's female section), conductor Nikolai Aleksejev *2011 – John Adams, oratorio '' El Niño'', conductor

*2012 –

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

cantatas ''

Song of the Forests The ''Song of the Forests'' (''Песнь о лесах''), Op. 81, is an oratorio by Dmitri Shostakovich composed in the summer of 1949. It was written to celebrate the forestation of the Russian steppes (Great Plan for the Transformation of Nat ...

'', ''The Sun Shines on Our Motherland'', conductor Paavo Järvi

Academic work

Portsmuth has been teaching choir conducting and vocal training from 2005 in Tallinn Music Highschool. Since 2010 she is teaching conducting in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Interest in Nordic culture and arts

Portsmuth is focused on Nordic culture and

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

. In September 2008 she presented in Tallinn the first Faroese opera '' The Madman's Garden'' by Sunleif Rasmussen. She has created a series of concerts with the overall Nordic theme, where Nordic contemporary choir music has been performed. *2003 – "Põhjala piisad" (Nordic raindrops), Tallinn Chamber Choir *2004 – Nordic contemporary choir music in Vaal Gallery, Tallinn Chamber Choir *2008 – "Vihmast ja enesest" (About the rain and myself), Nargen Opera Choir, Mixed Choir of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and vocal group I.C.E. *2010 – "Päike läbi tuhapilve" (Sun through the dustcloud), vocal group I.C.E., female choir MIINA and NordArt Ensemble *2012 – "Armastusest ja enesest" (About love and myself), Mixed Choir of the European Capital of Culture, female choir MIINA and male ensemble KARL, the Mixed Choir of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and the Chamber Orchestra of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Song Celebrations

In July 2007 Portsmuth conducted the mixed choirs section in the 10th Estonian Youth Song Celebration (work by Olav Ehala "Ma tahan olla öö..."). In 2009 at the XXV Song Celebration "Üheshingamine" ("To Breathe as One") Portsmuth conducted mixed choir sections a cappella work by Piret Rips-Laul "Mehed ja naised" ("Men and women"), which was specially composed for the event. In 2011 Portsmuth was the artistic director of the Estonian 11th Youth Song Celebration "The Wide World begins in a Small Land".11th Youth Song and Dance Celebration (2011)

Other

In 2011, Portsmuth participated as a celebrity contestant on the fifth season of ''

Tantsud tähtedega ''Tantsud tähtedega'' ( Estonian: ''Dancing with the Stars'') is an Estonian television reality show that aired on Kanal 2 and season six on TV3. It debuted on 8 October 2006, and it became a popular television show in Estonia. It is based o ...

'', an Estonian version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. Her professional dancing partner was Märt Agu.

References

External links

Contact

"''Hullu mehe aias'' – hull ooper Kultuurikatlas"
by Tui Hirv (10 September 2008)
"Ooperi risttolmlemine draama ja tantsuga kultuurikatlas"
by Alvar Loog (18 September 2008)
"Eesti mehe vägev utireetu"
by Veiko Märka (23 May 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Portsmuth, Veronika 1980 births Living people Estonian conductors (music) Estonian women conductors (music) 21st-century Estonian women singers Musicians from Tallinn Singers from Tallinn Royal College of Music, Stockholm alumni Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 20th-century Estonian women singers 20th-century conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music)