Tauno Aints

Biography

Tauno Aints has graduated from the piano class of Ene Koppel in Tartu I Children’s Music School and Miina Härma Tartu II Secondary School. In 1998, Aints graduated from the Viljandi Culture College in popular music (tutors Evald Raidma and Guldžahon Jussufi) and in 2004, Estonian Academy of Music cum laude in composition with Prof. Lepo Sumera and Helena Tulve.

From among Aints’s earlier works, contemporary arrangement of Gustav Ernesaks’s famous song for children Train Trip for X Youth Song Celebration in 2007 (conductor Aarne Saluveer), staged cantata Time to Love performed in 2009 at Birgitta Festival (stage director Mare Tommingas, conductor Mihhail Gerts), dance performance Mowgli premiered in Theatre Vanemuine in 2010 (stage director Mare Tommingas, conductor Aivo Välja) and ballet The Giving Tree first performed at Nargenfestival in 2011 (stage director Marina Kesler, conductor Tõnu Kaljuste) have received widest public attention.

Stage music plays an important role in his oeuvre. In 2012, Thomas Edur’s ballet Modigliani – the Cursed Artist to the music of Tauno Aints premiered in the Estonian National Opera followed by children’s musical Karlsson on the Roof in 2015. In October 2013, opera Rehepapp premiered in Theatre Vanemuine and gained wide-spread resonance and in 2017 opera Guugelmuugelpunktkomm reached its premiere in the same theatre.

In September 2013, Aints’s Concerto for Electric Guitar and Mixed Choir was first performed by Marzi Nyman and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Daniel Reuss. In July 2014, overture Estonia was first performed under the baton of Paavo Järvi at Pärnu Music Festival.

As a highly valued arranger, Aints has cooperated with Liisi Koikson, Lenna Kuurmaa, Tõnis Mägi, Sepo Seeman, Lauri Saatpalu and other notable Estonian artists. His creative versatility was vividly expressed in 2006 when he attracted the international attention with the program Raua needmine (Curse upon Iron) created of arrangements of music by Veljo Tormis and ensemble Metsatöll. Aints in cooperation with Arvo Pärt made an instrumental arrangments to Pärt’s children’s songs that was released on CD Songs from Childhood in 2015 which achieved the title Golden Disc 2016 in the category of Album of the Year.

He has worked as a concertmaster at the male choir Sakala in Viljandi (1995–97) and the Drama School of Estonian Academy of Music (2000–01) and teacher of theoretical subjects at the choir studio Ellerhein (1999–2004). From 2002, Aints is a teacher of music theory and music history subjects in Tallinn Music High School and from 2012, in University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy.

2002–07, Aints was active as a pop musician in the ensemble Genialistid. Aints was a composer-in-residence at the Estonian National Male Choir for the season 2007/2008. In 2007, Tauno Aints was ascribed the Riho Päts School Music Foundation Stipendium, in 2009, the Heino Eller Music Prize.