The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was the artistic director for 20 years, during which he built it up into a world-renowned award-winning vocal ensemble. His work was continued by Paul Hillier, Daniel Reuss and Kaspars Putniņš; in 2021 Tõnu Kaljuste returned as chief conductor and artistic director. The choir’s repertoire ranges from baroque to 21st century contemporary music, with a special focus on Estonian composers such as Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis. The choir performs around 70 concerts each season and is regularly invited by renowned festivals such as the BBC Proms, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the Salzburg Festival. The Estonian singers are also popular guests in concert venues including the Sydney Opera House, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Metropolitan Museum and Lincoln Center in New York, City Hall in Hong Kong, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and others.
The choir has won two Grammy Awards, the Diapason d’Or, Prix Cecilia and other prizes and has worked with many leading conductors and orchestras, including Claudio Abbado, Richard Tognetti, Gustavo Dudamel, the London Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Philip Glass Ensemble and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.