Ensemble U: is the most active and renowned contemporary music ensemble in Estonia. The ensemble is characterized by openness for bold experimental ideas and sensitivity for sound. This year's festival concert includes three premieres from esteemed Estonian composers (Liina Sumera, Marianna Liik, and Malle Maltis), we will also hear intriguing works by Mārtiņš Viļums and Justina Repečkaitė.

Ensemble U: has performed in many important international festivals like Time of Music (Viitasaari, Finland), GAIDA (Vilnius, Lithuania), Sounds New (Canterbury, UK), Nordic Music Days (Helsinki, Finland), Nuova Consonanza (Rome, Italy), Third Practice (Richmond, USA), Biennale di Musica Venezia (Italy), Virtuosi of XXI Century (Recife, Brasil), Dark Music Days (Iceland).

U: performs the masterworks of modern composers as well as experimental compositions. One distinct field for U: is to delve into improvisational works and perform pieces that require the rendering of non-traditional notation. The repertoire includes works from Estonia and abroad and the ensemble values the opportunity to continuously commission new music to be written for them. Among others, Toivo Tulev, Mari Vihmand, Tatjana Kozlova-Johannes, Märt-Matis Lill, Tauno Aints, Helena Tulve, Ülo Krigul, Andrus Kallastu, Andres Lõo (Estonia), Roméo Monteiro and Gérard Pape (France), Antti Auvinen and Kimmo Kuitunen (Finland), Arash Yazdani (Iran), Benjamin Broening, Brian Christian Scott Miller, Heather Stebbins, Christopher Chandler (USA) and Eugen Birman (Estonia/USA), Fausto Sebastiani (Italy) have composed for U:.

PROGRAMME
Liina Sumera – New Work for cello and electronics (2024, world premiere)
Justina Repečkaitė – “Incantare” (2018) for flute and electronics (version for bass flute by Tarmo Johannes)
Marianna Liik – “Maaalune” for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello and electronics (2024, world premiere)
Mārtiņš Viļums – LUM (2004) for flute, violin and phonogramme
Malle Maltis – New Work for clarinet, percussion and electronics (2024, world premiere)

Estonian Music Days is the most important continuously held contemporary music festival in Estonia. Over the decades it has become undeniably the most significant platform for Estonian composers, new musical creations, and artistic growth. What makes the festival unique is the abundance of premieres of Estonian composers' newly commissioned works.

In 2024 Tartu is the cultural capital of Europe. Therefore the festival Estonian Music Days will join forces with three neighboring countries to become a larger event that unites Baltic and Estonian Music Days. In addition to recognized Estonian ensembles and soloists, musicians from Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland are also expected.

The Festival Baltic and Estonian Music Days is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.