Erle Kont - Conductor and clarinettist

About

Estonian conductor Erle Kont holds two Masters degrees from Sibelius Academy as a symphony orchestra conductor (studying under Sakari Oramo) and clarinettist (Kari Kriikku and Harri Mäki). She has also studied wind orchestra conducting with Petri Komulainen and choir conducting with Nils Schweckendiek and has been mentored by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Paavo Järvi, Jorma Panula and Eva Ollikainen among others.

Upcoming engagements include conducting the Tapiola Sinfonietta, Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Joensuu City Orchestra. In recent years Kont has conducted orchestras such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Joensuu City Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Vaasa City Orchestra, Seinäjoki City Orchestra and Ploiesti Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kont is the founder and artistic director of the contemporary music organisation Tartu Sound (2017), which premiers the music of young Estonian composers at the start of their careers. It is a community driven organisation that brings together new music lovers, composers and instrumentalists in Estonia.

As a prolific prize winner on the clarinet, Erle Kont is the prize winner of 14 competitions, including 1st prize from international Eduard Medinš competition (2011, Latvia), Bohuslav Martinu and Viktor Kalabis competitions (2015, Austria) and Estonian national competitions (2009, 2011). She has performed as an orchestral soloist in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Latvia and Estonia.