From December 4 to 6, Nordic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its chief conductor Anu Tali, will open its 17th season with three concerts in Tartu and Tallinn. Concerts entitled „Born To Be Special“ will be held on December 4 at 7 pm at Vanemuine Concert Hall in Tartu and December 5 and 6 at 7 pm at Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn. The program consists of Silouans Song by Arvo Pärt, Symphony No. 4 by Johannes Brahms and Piano Concerto No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin, featuring pianist Ivari Ilja.Ivari Ilja has held recitals in Estonia, Russia, Sweden, Finland and performed as a soloist with several symphony orchestras such as Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra under Jüri Alperten, Veronika Dudarova, Stephen Gunzenhauser, Eri Klas, Leo Krämer, Theodore Kuchar, Peeter Lilje, Roman Matsov, Andres Mustonen, Hannu Norjanen, Vello Pähn, Urs Schneider and Arvo Volmer. He is also a recognized ensemble musician. His collaboration with renowned singers Irina Arkhipova, Maria Guleghina, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Elena Zaremba has been particularly successful. Together they have performed on several concert stages of the world, including La Scala in Milan, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, the great halls of St. Peterburg Philharmonic and Moscow Conservatory, Staatsoper Hamburg, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Suntory Hall of Tokyo, Alice Tully Hall of New York, the Kennedy Center of Washington, Musikverein of Vienna, Mozarteum of Salzburg. Ilja has also collaborated with numerous Estonian singers, including soprano Margarita Voites, Pille Lill, tenor Juhan Tralla and baritone Taimo Toomast. He has been recorded by the Estonian Radio as well as the Polish Radio (performing works of Chopin). In 2001, Ilja was awarded the Estonian National Culture Award and in 2006, the prize of the Estonian Music Council.