Age Juurikas

b. November 27, 1979 Tallinn
Member of the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians since 2004
Member of the International Eduard Tubin Society since 2001

In 1986, Age Juurikas started her music studies at Tallinn Music High School in the piano class of Merike Brüger and Toivo Nahkur which she graduated from in 1998. She continued her studies at the Estonian Academy of Music with Peep Lassmann and Toivo Nahkur, receiving Bachelor’s degree in 2004. In 2004–2007, she studied at the Moscow Conservatoire in the class of Vera Gornostayeva and her assistants Sergei Glavatski, Maksim Filippov and Darja Petrova where she obtained Master’s degree in 2007. In 2008, Juurikas started her PhD studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
To improve her skills, Age Juurikas was an exchange student at Sibelius Academy in 2000/2001 with Matti Raekallio and Liisa Pohjola and in 2002/2003, at the University of Music Karlsruhe with Kalle Randalu. Age Juurikas has repeatedly participated in the master courses of Viktor Meržanov and Nina Serjogina.

Since 2007, Age Juurikas works as a lecturer at the piano department of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Age Juurikas has gained recognition at several competitions: third prize at the contest of interpreters of the Baltic States “Alternative ‘97” in Riga, in 1998, first prize and three special-prizes at the Vainiunas International Piano Competition in Lithuania, main prize and two special prizes at the contest festival “Con Brio ‘98” in Tallinn. She also won forth prize and a special prize at the international piano competition “Arthur Rubinstein in memoriam” in Bydgoszcz and in 2002, first prize at the national piano competition in Tallinn.

Juurikas has held recitals and performed as a chamber musician in Estonia, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, Poland, Ukraine and U.S. Juurikas has performed with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and the National Academic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. She has given concerts at several international music festivals, including The Piano in Tallinn, Eduard Tubin and his time, Glasperlenspiel Music Festival in Estonia and Upbeat/Nordic Talents in Norway.
Since 2003, Juurikas plays in a duo with pianist Mihkel Mattisen.

Age Juurikas’s favorite authors are Sergei Rachmaninov, Sergei Prokofiev and other Russian composers. Her repertoire also includes works by Estonian authors like Eduard Tubin.

In 2003 Age Juurikas won the first Neeme Järvi Young Musician Award.

© EMIC 2008

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