Kuno Areng

b. 23.07.1929 Järsi village, Võhmuta parish, Järvamaa

Kuno Areng was born 23.07.1929, in Võhmuta parish, Järvamaa.
In 1959, he graduated from the Tallinn State Conservatoire under the guidance of Gustav Ernesaks, and completed the postgraduate level at the Leningrad Conservatoire in 1965 on supervision by Jelizaveta Kudrjavtseva.

Kuno Areng has been active as choir conductor consistently for tens of years. He has also been a valued teacher of choir conducting. Kuno Areng has worked at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre since 1962, he became Professor in 1982, and in years 1985–1992, he worked as the head of choir conducting department. Of his students, many acknowledged conductors have risen, among them Anne Dorbek, Toomas Kapten, Elo Forsel (Üleoja), Laine Jänes, Indrek Vijard, Olari Elts, Lauri Sirp, Risto Joost, Peeter Perens jun., Triin Koch, Veronika Portsmuth and many others. Since 2003, Kuno Areng is Professor Emeritus of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

During tens of years, Kuno areng has been conducting most leading choirs of Estonia. With numerous concerts all over the world, he has introduced Estonian singing traditions and choir works of Estonian composers.
In 1966–1990, Kuno Areng was conductor of the Estonian National Male Choir. These years included concerts in Germany, Finland, Russia, Sweden, Italy, United States and elswhere, the performances took place in several world’s most imporant venues, such as the Large Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, the Large Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonics, concert hall of Washington Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall in New York and others.

In 1961–2000, Kuno Areng conducted the Republican Choir Conductors’ Mixed Choir and from 1989, the Male Choir of the Male Singing Association. He has also been the head conducor of the Academy of Sciences’ Male Choir.
In 1962–1993, he conducted the Tallinn Chamber Choir, 1978–1993 as the head conductor, thereafter as the Honorary Conductor of the choir. Under his hand, the Tallinn Chamber Choir earned several prizes at international contests.
Since 1965, Kuno areng has repeatedly been the general leader and conductor of Estonian Song Fests. He also conducted the Estonian premiere of Eduard Tubin’s large-scale work Requiem for Fallen Soldiers.

Kuno Areng’s work has earned recognition many times – in addition to victorious choir performances under his leadership, and conductor prizes at international contests (in Arrezzo 1971 and Gorizia 1992), he was awarded G. Ernesaks’s choral music prize (1994), the Year’s Prize of Estonian Cultural Endowment (1999), the 3rd Class White Star Order (2000), the Culture Prize of Estonian Republic (2003) and the Life’s Work Award by Estonian National Culture Foundation in 2009. In 2014 Areng was given Tallinn city award "Tallinna Raemedal" for long-time distinguished work as a conductor and pedagogue.

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