Mihhail Gerts

b. February 25, 1984, Tartu

Mihhail Gerts, one of the most profiled Estonian conductor of the younger generation, is primarily known as a conductor of music theatre. His repertoire comprises the most important works in the genres of opera, ballet and symphony. He conducted his first musical (Cabaret, 2003) at the age of 19. Since september 2015, Gerts has been announced as 1. Kapellmeister and Deputy General Music Director of Hagen Theatre (Germany).

Mihhail Gerts graduated from the Tallinn Music High School in 2001 having studied piano with Maigi Pakri and choral conducting with Anneli Mäeots. In 2006, Gerts graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre as a pianist (Prof. Ivari Ilja) and conductor (Profs. Kuno Areng, Toomas Kapten and Paul Mägi). In 2007, he obtained a master’s degree on conducting under the guidance of Paul Mägi. In 2011, Mihhail Gerts obtained a PhD at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. In the same year, Gerts went on to study at the Academy of Hanns Eisler in Berlin under the guidance of Professors Christian Ehwald and Hans-Dieter Baum. He has also participated in master courses of Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Eri Klas, Jorma Panula, Leif Segerstam and Alexander Politchusky.

Mihhail Gerts has been conductor of the Tallinn 21. High School Chamber Choir in 2001–2003. In 2003, this choir was awarded a gold diploma and Gerts obtained the Young Conductor’s Prize at international contest in Budapest. Gerts has conducted Tallinn Music High School Symphony Orchestra in 2003–2005 and Tallinn Chamber Choir in 2004–2005, the choir won silver diploma at international competition in Lindenholzhausen (Germany).

Gerts has been the conductor and an assistant of chief conductor of the Estonian National Male Choir in 2005–2007 and the conductor at the Estonian National Opera in 2007–2014. Since 2013, he was accapted into the prestigious Conductor’s Forum program by the German Music Council.

Gerts conducted the first performance of Johan Tamverk’s oratorio Taavet ja Koljat (David and Goliath) and has has been the musical director and conductor of musicals such as Cabaret (Old Town Studio, 2003–2004), Grease (Estonian State Puppet Theatre, 2004), Rent (2004), Man of La Mancha (2005), Maria de Buenos Aires (Birgitta Festival, 2006), and Veljo Tormis’s opera Swan Flight (Estonian Music Days, 2007). While working at Estonian National Opera, Gerts conducted more than 30 different productions, including Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), La Cenerentola (Gioachino Rossini), William Tell (Gioachino Rossini), Un Ballo in Maschera (Giuseppe Verdi), Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi), Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi), The Love for Three Oranges (Sergei Prokofjev), Carmen (Georges Bizet), Tosca (Giuseppe Verdi), La Bohème (Giacomo Puccini), The Formula of Love (Mari Vihmand), Cyrano de Bergerac (Eino Tamberg), as well as numerous ballets and operettas.

As a guest conductor Gerts has appeared in Teatro La Fenice (Italy), Teatro delle Muse (Italy), Oper Leipzig, Mikhailovsky Theater St. Petersburg (Russia), Northern Ballet (England), National Opera of Belarus and festival Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg. He has aslo conducted orchestras such as Konzerthausorchester Berlin, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Theatre Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra etc.

Honours:
- finalist diploma of the 3rd Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition in Paris (2014)
- German Operetta Award for Young Conductors by Leipzig Opera and German Music Council (2014)
- finalist of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London (2014)
- Colleague Prize of the Estonian National Opera (2009)
- Debut Prize of Estonian National Culture Foundation for A. Piazolla’s tango-opera Maria de Buenos Aires (2006)
- II Prize and Special Prize of Estonian National Male Choir at the Contest of Estonian Young Choir Conductors (2004)
- II Prize at young pianists competition in Volhov (2000)

Look also: Homepage of Mihhail Gerts 


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(Updated in September 2015)

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