Estonian diaspora choirs and dance groups participate in the youth song and dance festival
Silver Lumi leads the Helsinki Estonian Children’s Choir, whose mission is to preserve culture, which can only be done by actively practicing every day; his choir – 15 children from Estonian families – is coming to the youth song festival for the second time, as well as nine other choirs from different European countries and four dance groups from both sides of the Atlantic.
Previously 30.6.-2.7. there have been some “foreign” choirs among the international participants of the organized youth song festival, but this time they all have Estonian roots, said Kersti Seitam, coordinator of the youth song festival. foreign choirs. The Helsinki Children’s Choir is one of them, and according to conductor Silver Lum, the choir is made up of children of male origin, because the choir’s mission is to nurture the Estonian language and culture.
“Since my own child sings in this choir, it is a great opportunity and responsibility for me as a parent to give him the opportunity to be part of a great event in our culture, which is still quite unique in the world. Since our home language here in Finland is Estonian and we identify ourselves as Estonians, it is very important that our Estonian heritage is passed on to our children,” said Lumi.
“Therefore, I cannot limit myself to the idea that my children should be allowed to participate in such cultural events. It is important to instill in them the idea that one day it will be their turn to keep alive and carry forward everything that I am working for today. Otherwise, everything will be lost. Quietly and discreetly. And to do that, you have to do more than just give them a scorebook every Monday and send them to practice,” he added.
The conductor introduces the children to the singing party and explains the whole process from preparing the repertoire to going home. “I have tried to do everything with great enthusiasm, because the children themselves have no experience of the Song Festival. That’s why they’re interested in it, they’re very, very much looking forward to it, and they’re excited about it, mainly based on my stories.
The challenges of a choir leader
For everyone, getting to the youth singing festival as a conductor is a great achievement. “First of all, the children in the choir have never been involved in polyphonic singing before. But this means that a group of singers with rather modest preparation must be prepared. I have the honor and responsibility to start introducing children to polyphonic singing.
“If everything goes well, these little singers will one day become adults in amateur and professional choirs. We have created a new chapter in the history of Estonians in Finland by being the first Estonian children’s and youth choir that has passed a strict series of competitions and made it to the song festival as an independent choir. I am particularly happy about this,” Lumi said.
He has three big challenges on the way to the singing festival.
“Repertoire – I feel that a child living in Finland is not attracted to beautiful and solemn songs from free Estonia. There is no such thematic focus for them. They still don’t know how to value freedom and independence. But it’s really not the children’s fault. I think it all starts at home though – how people talk about Estonia, its people, relationships with friends and neighbors. All of this cultural background eventually shapes what songs the kids want to sing – whatever it is pokemon or something more important,” he explained.
Second, children have a much wider range of hobbies than 30 years ago. “When comparing choral singing to any other hobby, you might think that a good choral sound means a lot of work and commitment. Nowadays, however, concentrating on something that takes up time is a rather boring activity. After all, it’s very easy to start a new game on your phone when the last one went wrong, or ditch a soured friendship and meet new friends online. The child chooses a hobby where the result is achieved faster and with less effort,” said Lumi.
“Thirdly, it is difficult for families to understand the importance of exercises. Sometimes children don’t come to practice because they are going to a friend’s birthday on the only practice day of the week or because they are participating in another event with their family on the same day. Parents may not always fully understand bringing a choir to a singing party. The exercise is compared to all the other opportunities, and then we participate in whatever feels the most fun at that moment. But in the worst case, it can also deprive other singers of the opportunity to participate in the singing festival.”
In addition to the feeling of missionary work, Lumia is motivated by the fact that the choir is one of the most beautiful instruments and “playing” it is a great joy. “Through singing in the choir, many new friends have been found before us and will also be found after us. I like the German proverb that says: if you hear a song somewhere, go there – there are good people there! It’s always nice to be in the company of good people, and it’s great to have a shared hobby – music and choir singing.”
They want Estonian singers and dancers for the party
Foreign choirs also have to pass an exam to enter the festival. So far, the choirs have sent their first videos to the audition board. In addition to Finland, choirs from Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany and Austria want to participate.
According to Kersti Seitam, three choirs were coming from both Sweden and Luxembourg. Anneli Aken has led these choirs in Luxembourg for many years and the children have moved from a preschool choir to a children’s choir and then to a girl’s choir.
Most of the choirs have already received their first feedback and can start planning their trip and rehearsing to be ready to send recordings of the entire repertoire to the committee in April.
Vaike Rajaste, who coordinates with foreign dance groups, said that four dance groups from Latvia, Holland, Belgium and the United States have currently applied to participate. The biggest challenge for dancers is to assemble a complete group, so the inclusion of a new kind of family group has helped many. For example, a Dutch women’s group now wants to come to the Dance Party together with their children.
For many Estonians living abroad, starting a dance group and participating in the Dance Festival is a way to maintain and strengthen ties to Estonia. “The language of the dance stadium is Estonian, and without understanding it, the patterns immediately get mixed up. That’s why we can’t degrade anyone because the dance models are there in front of the audience, Rajaste said.