Ants Soots
b. 19.02.1956 RõnguAnts Soots graduated from the Heino Eller Tartu Music College in the choral conducting class of Alo Ritsing in 1978. In 1983, Soots graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (former Tallinn State Conservatory) under the guidance of Prof. Ants Üleoja.
In 1982–1990, Ants Soots was the singer of the Mixed Choir of Television and Radio, where he also prepared choral programs as a choirmaster and conductor. In 1982–1986, he taught choral conducting at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School and 1986–1989 at the Tallinn University (former Tallinn Pedagogical Institute). Since 1988, Ants Soots is a choral conducting pedagogue at the Estonia Academy of Music and Theatre (in 1991–1995 head of choir conducting department, since 2004 professor). His students include among others Jaan-Eik Tulve, Mihkel Kütson, Heli Jürgenson, Jüri-Ruut Kangur, Darja Selivanova, Maarja Helstein, Merle Liblik, Ave Sopp, Tiiu Sinipalu etc.
Ants Soots has been conductor of several choirs as male choir Forestalia (1976–1991), the Academic Male Choir of Tallinn University of Technology (1981–1986), the Male Choir of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (1986–1991), the Female Choir of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (1990–1991) and the Estonian National Male Choir (1991–2005, since 1994 principal conductor, also 2008–2011 artistic director of the choir).
Concert tours with the Estonian National Male Choir have taken him both in Estonia and abroad including Israel, Canada, Poland, France, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Hungary, and the USA. He has prepared with the choir 45 large-scale vocal works and over 70 a cappella programs with a remarkable amount of compositions and premieres of Estonian composers. His discography with the Estonian National Male Choir includes several albums which are dedicated to the music by Estonian composers Veljo Tormis, Eduard Tubin, Ester Mägi, Peeter Vähi. In 2003, Ants Soots participated as a choirmaster at the recording of CD Sibelius. Cantatas performed by the Estonian National Male Choir, the Girls' Choir Ellerhein, and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (conductor Paavo Järvi), which won the Grammy Award for the Best Choral Performance in 2004. In addition, Ants Soots has cooperated as a guest conductor with the Nagoyas Tohkai Male Choir in Japan (2004, 2006, 2008).
Ants Soots has been the principal conductor of the 22nd Song Celebration (1994) and the 24th Song Celebration (2004). He has been artistic director of the 23rd Song Celebration (1999) and the 25th Song Celebration (2009) as well as choral festivals Nordic-Baltic Choral Festival (1997, 2002), Pärnu 2002, and Tallinn 2007.
Ants Soots has led seminars and master courses in Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, Sweden, Israel, Finland, and Spain (including colloquium of Estonian choral music at an international choir music conference in Altea, 2000). In 1996–2000, Soots was chairman of the Estonian Choral Association.
Ants Soots has been awarded the Gustav Ernesaks Scholarship (1999), the Annual Prize of the Endowment for Folk Culture of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2002), the Estonian Order of the White Star, 5th class (2003), the Annual Prizes of the Endowment for Music and the Endowment for Folk Culture of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2004), the Estonian State Cultural Award (2008) and the Lifetime achievement award of the Endowment for Music of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2021). He was named the Choir Conductor of the Year by the Estonian Choral Society (2004). He is the honorary conductor of the Estonian National Male Choir (since 2006).
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(updated in February 2021)
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