Children now have their very own music festival – the Tallinn children’s jazz festival KRÄSH!
Organised at the initiative of Jazzkaar and Tallinn – UNESCO City of Music, the very first Tallinn children’s jazz festival KRÄSH! included 42 music events during its two festival days, receiving over 800 visits.
The week dedicated to music kicked off with music camps taking from 7 to 9 June at Tallinn School of Music and Ballet (MUBA), followed by a two-day jazz festival for audiences in every age group on 10 and 11 June at the Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences.
Held from 7 to 9 June at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet (MUBA), the KRÄSH! music camps brought together 28 young music enthusiasts who were instructed by Hanna-Liina Võsa, Pille-Rite Rei, Miina Adermann and Ahto Abner, giving young people an insight into the world of music and playing in a band, and also introducing the behind the scenes of the industry. Children were able to meet well-known musicians such as Erki Pärnoja and Kristel Aaslaid and put their skills to the test in the MUBA sound studio, recording the jingles for the upcoming festival. Together they also visited the Philly Joe’s Tallinn jazz club and the exhibition Hyperweb by the Icelandic artist Shoplifter at Kai Art Center.
Over the last weekend, five Estonian artists, who are especially popular among the young audiences, and 20 energetic collectives of young musicians took the stage at the Tallinn children’s jazz festival. The programme also included seven inspiring talks with musicians and actors, all day film screenings and eight public workshops for children and young people as well as entire families. A total of 157 young people from Harju County and Tallinn performed on the Youth to Youth stage of the festival.
According to the project manager of the festival, Maris Ajaste, interest in the music camps was very high. “It is unbelievable how many people were interested in participating in the music camps. On the one hand, this shows that we stand for the right cause. On the other hand, it points to the necessity of developing more such educational programmes in popular and jazz music. With the help of Jazzkaar, we are hoping to make the last weekend’s festival a tradition in order to lead young people to music and culture more widely in the future!”
In Aljaste’s view the biggest achievement was that the young people who took part in music camps also actively participated at the festival, both as performers and organisers. In this way, music enthusiasts could volunteer to try their hand as journalists, reporters and programme hosts. Young musicians, on the other hand, had the opportunity to perform on the Youth to Youth stage with their newly learned repertoire. They were offered a unique experience which hopefully inspires them to continue studying music. “We are happy that we were able to include children and young people in the preparation of the festival programme. It is thanks to them that their own favourite artists came to perform at the festival. Meetings and talks with musicians such villemdrillem, Inger, Alika and Ewert Sundja proved to be especially popular. We are grateful to all visitors, participants, instructors, performers, cooperation partners and children. Thanks to you, we can be sure that the future of Estonian jazz and popular music is in safe hands,” the general organiser Maris Aljaste adds.
Tallinn children’s jazz festival KRÄSH! in numbers:
– 25 concerts – 5 headliners and 20 youth band performances;
– 7 inspiring artist talks;
– 8 workshops;
– over 800 festival guests;
– 8 music films in the festival film programme;
– 157 young musicians performing on the Youth to Youth stage;
– sheet music and record market offering the the best of the children’s music.
Music camps of the Tallinn children’s jazz festival KRÄSH! at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet (MUBA) in numbers:
– 28 participants in the music camps;
– 2 visits to the cultural venues: Philly Joe’s jazz club and Kai Art Center;
– 6 music camp jam sessions;
– 3 meetings with professional musicians.
The KRÄSH! music camps took place on 7–9 June and culminated with performances at the KRÄSH! festival on 10–11 June. Tallinn children’s jazz festival KRÄSH! is part of the programme of Tallinn – UNESCO City of Music. The partners of the festival are the Tallinn Culture and Sports Board, Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences, MUBA, Jazz Estonia, Vivita and Kai Art Center. The festival is organised by Jazzkaare Sõprade Ühing MTÜ.
The festival was supported by Spläsh, Prike, Premia, Balsnack and Super Skypark.
Keep an eye on the future activities of KRÄSH! on our website, Facebook and Instagram.