Ester Mägi is widely regarded as the First Lady of Estonian Music. Her compositional output is substantial and represents all genres, from chamber and vocal music to choral and highly regarded symphonic works.
Ester graduated from Tallinn State Conservatoire in 1952 as a student of Prof. Mart Saar and continued with postgraduate studies in Moscow Conservatoire in 1951–1954 with Prof. Visarion Shebalin. In 1954–1984, from 1977 as an associate Professor, she lectured music theory at Tallinn State Conservatoire. In 1999 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Mägi’s choral songs belong to the repertoire of numerous Estonian choirs and have been awarded at many competitions, including regular choral song contest of the Estonian National Male Choir and the Georg Ots Music Days new vocal works contest in 1985, 1986 and 1988. has been awarded the Prize of the Soviet Estonia (1980), Annual Music Award of the ESSR (1985), Estonian Culture Award (1996), Lifetime Achievement Award of the Estonian National Culture Foundation (1999), Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2001) for her creative achievements, Annual Prize of Estonian Music Council (2008) and Culture Prize of the Republic of Estonia for the longtime outstanding creative activity (2014). She has also been awarded the titles of Honorary Art Worker (1971) and People’s Artist (1984) of ESSR. In 1998 Ester Mägi received the 5th class order of the National Coat Arms.
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Bukoolika by Ester Mägi
Karolina Eiriksdottir was born in Reykjavík. She studied at the Reykjavik College of Music, where Thorkell Sigurbjornsson was her teacher of composition. She continued her studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with George Wilson and William Albright as teachers of composition, and received masters degrees in composition and music history and musicology. Since 1979 she has been active in Iceland's music life as a composer and teacher at The Reykjavik College of Music. She was chairman of the board of The Iceland Music Information Centre 1983-1988, and on the board of The Society of Icelandic Composers during 1988-1991 and again from 1995-1998 and the Reykjavík Arts Festival from 1998 - 2006 and on the board of the Iceland Academy of the Arts from 1998 - 2011.
Among her works are solo and chamber pieces, orchestral pieces, computer music and four operas the latest being Magnus Maria, premiered in Åland, July 2014.
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Heimkynni við sjó by Karolina Eiriksdottir
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