In line with tradition, the city of Hamilton brought its own interpretations and flavours to the festival, when Estonian Music Week took over Collective Arts Brewing on Saturday May 27th. With bus loads of musicians coming in, the show carried on in two phases. First off, the second session of the Nordic Connect Conference honed in on export development, Estonian diaspora artists, and the reworking of folk music. With the onset of evening, audiences were treated to perceptive, stimulating folk from both Camie and her band and the duo Tragedy Ann.
Once again, Mari Kalkun evoked Estonian history with her songs—inspired by regilaul (runic songs)—which united with Zoon's powerful, musical tidal wave, pointing to the genre they created called “moccasin gaze”.
There was a great deal of anticipation for the Canadian premieres of three compositions. Ansambel Triskele was joined by the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, performing “Symphonic Triskele”, a commissioned arrangement from Ardo Ran Varres. Kara-Lis Coverdale performed solo piano for “A Series of Actions in a Sphere of Forever”. She also played with the HPO, presenting “Composite Matter”, a piece commissioned by Alan Teder in memory of Velda and Ingvar Kattemaa. Finally, Kirke Karja premiered “Piano Concerto”.
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