Arvo Volmer Photo: Ants Liigus

On January 5, Arvo Volmer conducts London Schools Symphony Orchestra in Barbican Hall. The program consists of music by John Adams, Benjamin Britten and Antonín Dvořák. Piano soloist is Edward Pick, who recently graduated from London Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Arvo Volmer is conducting the Schools Symphony Orchestra for the first time. The orchestra was founded in 1951 and it offers school-age children the opportunity to study symphonic repertoire under the guidance of professional conductors (such as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle, Meredith Davies, John Lubbock and Christopher Adey).

Arvo Volmer is one of the most acclaimed conductors in Estonia. He is considered as one of the foremost performer of music by Jean Sibelius and Eduard Tubin in the world, he is also highly regarded for his interpretations of Russian composers and contemporary music. In 1985, he graduated from the Tallinn State Conservatory (the current Estonian Music and Theatre Academy) and 1990 the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory with Professor Ravil Martynov. In addition, he has participated in the master classes of Helmuth Rilling in the USA. He has been the artistic director and chief conductor of Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Oulu City Orchestra. Since 2004, Arvo Volmer has been the artistic director and chief conductor of the Estonian National Opera as well as the music director and chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Australia. He has regularly conducted the following renowned orchestras: The BBC Philharmonic (Manchester), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Orchestre National de France and all the major Australian orchestras including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Arvo Volmer is a regular guest conductor at the leading Scandinavian theatres, also in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Ireland, France, Portugal, New Zealand, Israel, Russia, Poland and Lithuania.

Back