Today, On September 11, 70 years passed since the birth of Estonian choral conductor and pedagogue Venno Laul. During his musical career, he has achieved recognition above all as a highly regarded choir specialist – he has participated in the jury of over 60 international competitions for choirs, choral conductors and new choral compositions and has been lecturer in many international summer courses. As a guest conductor, Laul has been invited to conduct choirs in Italy, Finland and Belgium.
1972 to 2001 he worked as a choral conducting teacher in Estonian Academy of Music (since 2001 professor emeritus) and 1982–1992 as a rector. He founded the boys’ choir of the State Academic Male Choir in 1971 (since 1991 Estonian Boys’ Choir, nowadays The Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir) and has been its artistic director and chief conductor for 30 years. One of the most popular boys’ choir in Estonia has introduced and promoted Estonian music to audiences both at home and abroad. Since 2005, Laul works as a chairman of Estonia Piano Factory. He has been awarded the Estonian Republic’s IV Class Order of the White Star in 2001.
Agnes Toomla