On April 6th, the Vastseliina Community Center hosted a major event - a double event where the 20th Vocal Ensemble Day of Southeast Estonia and the 27th Vocal Ensemble Day of Võru County took place, with a total of 17 adult vocal ensembles from Valga, Põlva, and Võru counties coming together.
Greetings, words of gratitude, and good wishes from the cultural community of Võru County were brought by Aigi Pall, Folk Culture Specialist of the Estonian Folk Culture Center in Võru County, Kristi Vals, Cultural Specialist of the Development Center of Võrumaa, and Maarika Rosenberg, the Director of the Võru Municipality's Culture and Youth Work Center.
"Such a longstanding tradition values our cultural field here in Võru County," said Aigi Pall. She thanked both the ensemble leaders and the singers for their work in preserving the tradition of polyphonic ensemble singing. "It is a special way of singing and at the same time, singing is a special way to express emotions," Pall added.
Võru Mayor Kalmer Puusepp said at the event opening that as the head of the municipality, he is sincerely pleased that the Vocal Ensemble Day took place this year at the Vastseliina Cultural Hall - Vastseliina Community Center, and expressed hope that the activities of vocal ensembles would continue their tradition and be passed on to future generations.
Participating in this year's Vocal Ensemble Day, themed "I've Always Been Joyful," were the mixed ensemble Spirea from Valgamaa (conducted by Reet Laanoja), the mixed and female ensembles of the Valga Chamber Choir (conducted by Maarika Reinhold), the female and male ensembles from Puka (conducted by Evald Raidma), the female ensemble Laululust from Vana-Koiola Community Center in Põlvamaa (conducted by Heli Vestla), and Vannamuudu ensemble from Võru County (led by Liilia Vildo and Erja Arop), Heldela Club's choir from Vastseliina Community Center (led by Edda-Karin Luht), Pihlapuu female ensemble from Tsolgo (conducted by Helga Ilves), Elurõõm ensemble from Võrumaa Disability Chamber (conducted by Eero Paltsepp), the Helin ensemble from Sulbi (conducted by Kristi Serv), the Meribel ensemble (conducted by Elenora Aida), the ALEAA female ensemble (conducted by Ain Tarro), the Kannel senior ensemble from Võru Day Center (conducted by Erja Arop), the senior men's ensemble from Võru (conducted by Ara Bander-Nurmeots), the mixed ensemble Hellermed (conducted by Ara Bander-Nurmeots), and the Viitina men (conducted by Ive Ruusamäe). Each ensemble performed two songs at the event.
According to Kristi Vals, Cultural Specialist at the Võrumaa Development Center, the Vocal Ensemble Day brought joyful tears. "It's such an amazing feeling when you drive to the community center on a Sunday and there's nowhere to park. The parties at Vastseliina Community Center are one of a kind in the county. When something is done here, much more is given than we might expect," praised Vals.
The Southeast Estonia Vocal Ensemble Day takes place in a different Southeast Estonian county each year. Edda-Karin Luht, a circle leader at Vastseliina Community Center and a long-time organizer of the county's Vocal Ensemble Day, said that the creators of the idea for the Southeast Estonia Vocal Ensemble Day were Peeter Laurson, Director of Võrumaa Cultural Department, and Peeter Aas, Director of Põlvamaa Cultural Department. "At that time, there were many different ensembles in Valga, Põlva, and Võru counties," recalled Luht, mentioning that there were once 24 or even 26 ensembles at Misso Community Center. "We wondered how everyone would fit, but we always managed. People wanted to sing and came together," Luht explained. She also recalled that in the beginning, there was a jury at the vocal ensemble day to select the best ensembles. The most prestigious ensembles to perform at the Southeast Estonia Vocal Ensemble Day include Puka Men, Viitina Men, Vannamuudu, Misso Community Center's female ensemble ALEAA, and Misso Meelespea. Over the years, the Southeast Estonia Vocal Ensemble Day has been held in venues such as Valga Cultural Center, Räpina, Vastse-Kuuste, Tõrva Church Chamber Hall, Nõuni Community Center, Otepää Cultural Center, and Misso Community Center. The last Southeast Estonia Vocal Ensemble Day in Võrumaa took place in December 2021.
However, the Võru County Vocal Ensemble Day has even longer traditions and has been held as a genre day in the county for 27 years. The initiator was the former director of Misso Community Center and cultural worker Lehi Sulg. Edda-Karin Luht continued the organization afterward. Until 2022, the event was held at Misso Community Center. The Vastseliina Community Center hosted the county's Vocal Ensemble Day for the third year in a row.
The surprise performers at this year's Vocal Ensemble Day were: at the beginning of the event, Tõnis Sarap, a singer, conductor, and host from Võru, and at the end, the mixed choir Claro from Puiga Community Center. At the end of the event, all the ensemble leaders who participated this year and other conductors who have led ensembles at the Southeast Estonia Vocal Ensemble Day over the past 20 years were thanked. Among them were Lenel Rand (Enelas from Valgamaa), Kaido Teemägi (Mõniste Mehkarid), Valdur Helm (Mahe ensemble), Koidu Vider (Toomõpuukõ), and Aime Oppar (Metsalilled). Former Mayor of Misso, Lembit Sikk, who was always a support in organizing the Vocal Ensemble Day in the early years, also received a letter of appreciation.
This year's event was organized by the Vastseliina Community Center in collaboration with the Võru Municipality's Culture and Youth Work Center, Võrumaa Development Center, and Estonian Folk Culture Center. The event was supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment's Võrumaa Expert Group and Võrumaa Development Center. The event was catered by Café Romelina.
