Elke Unt

November 11, 1972, Kohila
Member of the Estonian Organ Society since 1999

Church musician and organist Elke Unt graduated from Tallinn Music High School as a choral conductor with Reet Ratassepp in 1991 and Church Music Department at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland in 1998. She has studied organ under the supervision of Kari Jussila. Elke Unt has participated in several international organ master courses in Göteborg, Paris and Helsinki. 

Elke Unt regularly gives solo organ recitals, performs as a chamber musician and organises Peipsi Organ Festival (since 2014). Since November 2018, she works as an organist at Lapua Dome Church in Finland. She has organised a quarter of an hour of music of St. John’s Church in Tartu (2006–2018), summer concert series Summer Sounds in South Estonian churches and she has been the initiator of Tartu Winter Music Festival (2014–2018). Elke Unt has been the musical director of several church and state church services, taught church music at Viljandi Cultural Academy and worked as a music director of Tartu St. John’s Church congregation (2011–2018). She is the founder and the member of the board of Hugo Lepnurm Music Society and Luteerius Friends Society (Luteeriuse Sõprade Ühing). In 2015–2018, Elke Unt led the project of building the baroque pipe organ in St. John’s Church in Tartu.

As a composer, Elke Unt has mainly composed music for organ and sacred choral music for mixed choir and solo voices. Her music can be heard on CD Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy (2010), performed by Atlan Karp (baritone), Karmen Puis (soprano) and Tartu Youth Choir. Unt’s Five Psalms for solo voice and organ has been published by Finnish publisher Sulasol. She is also the author of children book Church-Rat Luteerius and His Friends (Kirikurott Luteerius ja tema sõbrad) which introduces Tartu St. John’s Church, holidays in both the Folk Calendar and the Church Calendar and the city of Tartu (2010).

Elke Unt is awarded the annual prize of Folk culture endowment of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia for her creative activity (2012).

© EMIC 2016
(updated in September 2019)

The texts on the EMIC's homepage are protected by the copyright law. They can be used for non-commercial purposes referring to the author (when specified) and source (Estonian Music Information Centre).