Greetings

I welcome you, Dear Guests, to the Singing Festival of Tartu!

Our next-door neighbours and visitors from far and wide, the Singing Festival of Tartu is also your festival. I am sure that nobody regrets the efforts of covering a few hundred kilometers to come to Tartu, in the same way as our forefathers were coming to the singing festival, the freedom celebration from serfdom, in 1869 in Tartu where they rejoiced and sang about their motherland.

The Singing Festival of Tartu is definitely not an important event for Tartu only. As it often happens, the initiative of Tartu very frequently involves the whole country of Estonia. One of the seeds sown  140 years ago germinated and the powerful evergrowing tree of singing has developed into a tradition of singing festivals  - the present Jubilee Singing Festival of Tartu and the Estonian National Singing Festival taking place in Tallinn after a couple of weeks being its branches.

I wish you hearty enjoyment of beautiful music and singing together.

Here we are all together.

Andrus Ansip




Dear participants of the Singing Festival!

In the whole world there are few celebrations having the tradition of 140 years. The Singing Festival born in Tartu is one of them. We have been marching ahead with the strides of five years and I hope we will also continue the tradition in the future. The tradition of singing together needs and deserves good care. Tartu is the home of our national university, the first Estonian professional theatre, the first students’ singing festival Gaudeamus was born here. The Estonian statehood also took roots in Tartu where good thoughts are born to bring people together.

The Singing Festival of Tartu is the result of tremendous efforts of the people gathered here, the singers and dancers performing today are more than 8,000 people.

The beautiful moment to share the results of the work done and the love of music has arrived. I hope that our festival will kindle the love for choral music, folk dancing and playing in the orchestra in all of you.

Enjoy the Festival!

Urmas Kruuse
Mayor of Tartu
Head of the Organizing Commission of the Singing Festival



Greetings from Alo Ritsing, the Chief Conductor of the Singing Festival, and Jaanus Randma, the Producer of the Singing Festival, in the form of the ancient Estonian folk song.

•    We have gathered in the sacred place – the Singing Festival Ground.
•    We admire the beauty of our mother tongue, we sing together, to be together now and in the future.
•    You came to see, to hear, to understand, to remain together.