Lauri Jõeleht (b. 1974), member of Estonian Composers’ Union since 2002. In 1996, Lauri Jõeleht graduated as a guitarist from the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School with Tiit Peterson and improved his skills at the Conservatoire of Barcelona in José Luis Lopategui’s class in 1996–1997. In 2001, he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music, where he studied composition with Profs. Helena Tulve and Eino Tamberg, and obtained master’s degree in 2003 as a student of Helena Tulve and Toivo Tulev. Lauri Jõeleht has written chamber and orchestral music, as well as liturgical music. His works have been performed by Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Narva City Symphony Orchestra, Kaliningrad Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble U:, Ensemble Voces Musicales, Reval Ensemble, Collegium Consonante, Una Corda, Wind Quintet Estica, Ensemble Ars Nova (Rootsi), Vox Clamantis, Heinavanker, Orthodox Singers, Linnamuusikud, Voces Musicales. 

Jõeleht has written many solo works that have been performed a number of times. For example the viola player Garth Knox has presented his Chant Harmonique in several places as well as Ampla for solo oboe has been performed by several times by Kalev Kuljus. He himself has been the first performer of most of his guitar works; and these have been played also by Stefan Östersjö, Kirill Ogorodnikov and Kristo Käo. He has tightly worked together with Ene Nael, Kristel Aer, Irina Zahharenkova, Dmitri Bulgakov, Henri Zibo, Anna-Liisa Bezrodny. His music has been presented at such festivals as ISCM World Music Days, Estonian Music Days, NYYD Festival, Trialogos, AFEKT, Hiiumaa Homecoming Festival and Autumn Festival of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. In the fall of 2024, he was the composer-in-residence at the Tallinn Chamber Music Festival. Jõeleht’s piece Loobumus (Renunciation) won the first prize in a contest of solo pieces for classical guitar, organized by Estonian Guitar Society in 2003. Concordia for two guitars was awarded the Composer’s Prize at the Estonian Music Days Festival 2005. Chant Harmonique for viola and ensemble represented Estonia on the International Rostrum of Composers in 2021. Jõeleht has released 2 albums: Hommage to the Golden Age (2023) and Music for Piano (2024).

Photo: Diana Unt