Alisson Kruusmaa (b. 1992) holds both Bachelor and Master of Arts Diploma from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (prof. Helena Tulve and Tõnu Kõrvits). She is currently focusing on her doctoral studies under the supervision of prof. Helena Tulve and Toivo Tulev.
Kruusmaa has written music for symphony orchestras, ensembles and choirs as well as soloists. Her music is best described through ethereal, fragile and spacious soundscapes featuring a delicate and sparse orchestration. Her music has been performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. Among many others, Kruusmaa has worked with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, Orkest de Ereprijs, Phion, Pelargos Quartet, Eclipse Quartet and Rookh Quartet. She has participated in several festivals, including the Gaudeamus Muziekweek and Andriessen Festival in the Netherlands, international cello festival CelloFest in Finland, Mise-En Festival and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Festival in the USA.
In 2013, Kruusmaa was awarded Erkki-Sven Tüür Young Composer’s Scholarship. In 2018, she was selected to participate at the 24th Young Composers Meeting by the world-renowned contemporary ensemble Orkest de Ereprijs where her Rain (2018) for mezzo-soprano and orchestra won the Best Composition Prize and was in the programme of Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht. In the same year, she was selected among the finalists of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra’s competition in Los Angeles. In 2019, Kruusmaa was the guest composer of the Mise-En Festival in New York City. This year, she participated in Andriessen Festival in the Netherlands where her piece … and the Great Winds Come and Go (2021) for soprano and symphony orchestra was premiered (conductor Manoj Kamps). She was also selected for the second time as a featured composer by the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles (2021). Recently, she was awarded the Annual Prize of Endowment for Music of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2021).