Enn Vetemaa

b. June 20, 1936 Tallinn – d. March 28, 2017
Member of the Estonian Composers' Union since 1994
Member of the Estonian Writers' Union since 1966

Writer and composer Enn Vetemaa excelled in his multifaceted creative activity – he was a composer, poet, writer, dramatist, scenarist, publisher, publicist, also active in politics.

Vetemaa has studied composition in youth section of the Estonian Composers’ Union under Boris Kõrver and Edgar Arro and Tallinn Conservatory that he graduated as a student of Anatoli Garshnek and Heino Eller in 1965. In 1959, he graduated from Tallinn Polytechnical Institute as a chemistry engineer.

Vetemaa has worked as a chief editor of literature and art programme in Estonian Television (1965–1969), poet consultant in Estonian Writers’ Union (1969–1976), he was vice chairman (1987–1989) and chairman 1989–1994) of edition Kupar.

After graduating the conservatory, Vetemaa dedicated himself to writing. His diverse literary oeuvre consists of novels, plays, peoms and tales, film scripts and several opera librettos (Veljo Tormis’s Swanflight, Alo Mattiisen’s Dispute, Alo Põldmäe’s Princess Double-Bass, Heino Jürisalu’s Holy Susanna). From the second half of the 1990ies he started to compose. One of his favorite genre seems to be an instrumental concerto (concertos for bassoon, oboe, trumpet), his preferred instrumentation has been saxophone quartet (3 saxophone quartets, Saxophone Quintet, June Music).

His music has been presented at the Estonian Music Days Festival, Rapla Church Music Festival, his works have been performed by Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Tallinn Saxophone Quartet, Slumbering Tubas Quartet, oboist Aleksander Hännikäinen, trumpetist Indrek Vau, organists Aare-Paul Lattik and Kristel Aer.

Enn Vetemaa has been ascribed The IV class Order of the White Star (2001). He is the laureate of Juhan Smuul Award (1973, 1975, 1976).

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