Nr. 27
EESTI ELU reedel, 9. juulil 2021 — Friday, July 9, 2021
9
Conductor Norman Reintamm on teachable moments and taking risks Vincent Teetsov Sometimes, on the path to achieving our dreams, there are moments where things reach a standstill, and the only way to proceed is to venture into something un known. This is what Norman Reintamm did as a young man when he moved to a still-occupied Estonia in the late 80s. Readers of Eesti Elu will know about Reintamm’s deco rated career as a conductor and organist in Canada. He’s con ducted for the National Ballet of Canada, the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, and the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. But what does the path leading up to these achievements look like? Though he would laugh this off in humility, Reintamm’s memories of working in Europe show ambition and are a source of guidance for anyone today who is contemplating new career opportunities, especially young
Seedrioru July 6 On July 6th I had the pleasure of visiting the Seedrioru Estonian Children’s Summer Camp near Elora, Ontario. The purpose of my visit was two-fold. First to provide some art instruction to the campers and secondly to introduce them to the game of chess. With the art instruction I showed them perekonnamärgid (family markings from Estonia) and also some of the brands used by large cattle herd owners
artists who are interested in working abroad. Before Reintamm made the move to Estonia, there weren’t many places for him to pursue his dream of full-time operatic work outside of the Canadian Opera Company. After gaining experience through apprentice ships with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and Hamilton Philharmonic, he decided to write a letter to the Estonian National Opera, to see what might be possible. To his sur prise, they sent a letter back, saying that they could offer him a position as an assistant and pianist in the company. However, there were many challenges awaiting Reintamm. His father had concerns about the safety of living in Sovietoccupied Estonia. Then there was the language barrier: Reintamm could read through a copy of Vaba Eestlane, but his ability to speak and write in Estonian was “quite deficient.” From day one, he began
what he calls a “crash course” in the Estonian language, living with relatives while working at the Estonian National Opera. Within a year or so of spoken immersion experience, he was speaking and writing fluently. No formal lessons. No study of noun cases. Just depending on the graciousness of locals as he tried his best. Even after be coming fluent, he had to be adaptable. Communicating with a Lithuanian professor at the Estonian Academy of Music re quired the use of Italian, as it was the only language they both understood. Differences didn’t just take the form of language, though. Throughout his time in Europe, until just after the millennium, he witnessed scenes of “10 to 90 year olds, screaming their lungs out at the end of a perfor mance, or when somebody did a fabulous pirouette.” Even social interactions were different. At one point, Reintamm was speaking with a
to identify their livestock. Each camper was given the task to come up with their own family marking based on the first let ters of their first and second name. They all came up with excel lent designs. Next, using acrylic colours, I then asked them all to create three solid circles using primary colours and have them overlapping. Highlights were added using the black and white colours. For the older children, I also asked them to sketch both Häli and Sten wearing Viking props
like a helmet, shield and sword. We definitely have some artists in the groups.
Chess tournament winners (senior) Wynter 3rd place, Sten 3rd place, Brendan 1st place, Joosep 2nd place. Photo: Jaak Järve
After a delicious lunch of mini pizzas and salad we held two chess tournaments for the campers. Since most of the campers already knew the rules of the game, I decided to run two mini tournaments for the two age groups. Each tourna ment was 4 rounds of 15 minutes each. The winner was decided by accumulated oppo nent’s pieces. The winners for the Junior campers were: Hudson 1st place, tied for second Halle and Tanner, tied for third Hazel and Gwenny. The winners for the Senior campers were: Brendan 1st place, second place Joosep and tied for third place Wynter and Sten. Kudos to Karen Must and the entire Summer camp staff and counsellors for providing such an activity-laden day for the campers. Thank you to both Häli and Sten who provided piano background classical music during the art sessions. The music added so much to strengthen the creative spirit in each of the campers during the art session. It was a good day. JAAK JÄRVE
Norman Reintamm at the 1992 Estonian National Opera premiere of Kevade by Ülo Vinter.
member of the Estonian National Opera, working in the supplemental position of “fifth bassoon,” who asked what his plans were one evening. Reintamm told the company member about going on a date with a young choreographer, and this he did. The following morning, while talking about the previous evening, the mem ber proceeded to tell Reintamm about exactly where the couple had gone throughout the eve ning and how long they were at each place. As it turned out, this individual was associated with the KGB, whose agents had been following Reintamm throughout the evening. In these kinds of experiences and with the oppression of Soviet times on the whole, he believes there is a great deal to be remembered, so that history is not repeated. However, despite the situa tion, music endured as a trium phant force. No memory ac counts for this better than when Reintamm was conducting in January 1991, as Soviet tanks rolled into Vilnius and Riga, and there was fear of what danger might arrive in Tallinn. During one particular show, he turned around to face the audience and dedicated the per formance to free Estonia, hop ing that they would all make it through another day and that things would turn out for the better. In this moment, what held him together was the power of the music and the audience. When he conducts especially moving pieces of music, like the last movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, he has a feel ing of weightlessness, and can sense things around him becom ing blurred. Fifteen minutes feels like a lifetime, and hun dreds of musicians and audi ence members become one. He describes these moments as “communicating with God”, or like the state of nirvana. Reintamm embraces risk and the testing of limits in music, including works like Stravin sky’s The Rite of Spring, where intense focus is required. To be prepared for the job of conduct ing specifically, he considers it essential for conductors to have strong instrumental skills, parti cularly on the piano. If one
doesn’t have that, he argues that there will be difficulties in lead ing rehearsals, preparing in divid ual soloists, and putting ideas together. For preparing him in this way as a young pianist, Reintamm gives thanks to his mentor Armas Maiste. Reintamm espouses the benefits of going abroad, to get practical experience at some where like an opera house in Europe. Here, one may learn the rudiments of music and about working with people. But there’s more to achiev ing your goals than just follow ing one track without deviations. Reintamm advocates for things like playing tennis, going to the pub, spending time with friends, or, as he enjoys doing, teaching people how to fly small aircraft at Brantford Flight Centre. There are educational moments in all of these pursuits. Over the last two years, Reintamm has been taking a “gentle hiatus” from music. However, more recently, his wife Ingrid encouraged him to apply for a conducting position at the Georgian Bay Concert Choir, which felt just right to him. As a boy, he was a choris ter at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton, and so he says, “This is getting me back to my roots, with a fine choir in the [Georgian Triangle] area.” He’s also been preparing for a recital that will take place at Organ Festival Canada 2021, orga nized by the Royal Canadian College of Organists. Once again, he is back at the organ and piano, taking a leap into something new. Actions like these – when you continue learning, when you take chances, and when you connect with other people – always lead to something memorable.
Quotes I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done. Steven Wright There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate. Linda Grayson “Fries or salad?” sums up every adult decision you have to make. Aparna Nancherla When a teacher calls a boy by his entire name, it means trouble. Mark Twain
