Pärt Uusberg awarded the first Estonian scholarship for creative work at the Arvo Pärt Centre

This year, the Arvo Pärdi Centre is awarding three scholarships for creative work within its residency programme. For the first time, one scholarship is reserved for a creative artist in Estonia’s music field and has been awarded to composer Pärt Uusberg. The other scholarship in music was awarded to Lithuanian composer Justė Janulytė, while this year’s scholarship in another creative field goes to Estonian children’s author Liis Sein. In total, 430 applications from 60 countries were submitted for the scholarships.

The core of Pärt Uusberg’s work is choral music, although he has also composed ensemble works, piano pieces, orchestral works and film scores. His choral compositions are largely settings of texts by Estonian authors, such as Juhan Liiv, Ernst Enno, Viivi Luik, Karl Ristikivi and Indrek Hirv, as well as liturgical texts. Their consonant, introspective sound is marked by simplicity, tenderness and emotional intensity. Pärt Uusberg has received recognition both in Estonia and internationally. In 2023, he was awarded the Annual Prize of the Endowment for Music of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia for his distinguished preparation and artistic direction of the 13th Youth Song Festival. Estonian Public Broadcasting named him Musician of the Year 2023.

The works by Justė Janulytė (born in Vilnius) are mostly written for dense monochromatic ensembles (only strings, only winds or only voices). In 2009 Janulytė won the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (in the category of composers under 30). In 2017 she was awarded the Lithuanian National Arts and Culture Prize, the highest artistic distinction in Lithuania. In 2019 she won the ‘Musica femina München’ competition. She has collaborated with the world’s leading ensembles and soloists including the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, WDR Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra of Wales, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, The Warsaw Philharmonic, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Sinfonietta Rīga, London Sinfonietta, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Estonian National Male Choir and the Latvian Radio Choir.

Liis Sein has written several books for children, and her manuscript Linn (City) won the Põlvepikuraamat competition in 2019. She presents the world through a child’s eyes, allowing even adults to experience it as larger, brighter and more vivid. In recent years she has published two books in the biographical series Väike algus, suur lugu (Small Beginnings, Great Stories) for children and young people: Lennart Meri. President (2025) and Leelo Tungal. Lastekirjanik (Leelo Tungal: Children’s Author, 2026). These volumes recount the lives of significant figures in Estonian cultural history as if narrated by the protagonists themselves.

The Arvo Pärt Centre Creative Residency provides an inspiring and supportive environment for creative work and the development of new ideas. It also offers additional professional services, including recording facilities, as well as the opportunity to engage with the centre’s programme and explore the works of composer Arvo Pärt.

The duration of the residency is from 3 to 4 weeks. The scholarship covers travel expenses, accommodation in the contemporary residency house next to the Centre, and a daily allowance.

The Arvo Pärt Centre launched its creative residency programme in 2021. The recipients of the scholarships so far have been Austrian composer Annamaria Kowalsky; Belarusian composer Volha Padhajskaya; Estonian playwright, stage director and theatre figure Ivar Põllu; Iranian composer and guitarist Golfam Khayam; Estonian writer and translator Indrek Koff; German composer Sophia Jani; French composer Benoît Sitzia; Spanish poet Elena Medel; British composer Graham Fitkin and North Macedonian poet and essayist Nikola Madžirov.

Residencies at the Arvo Pärt Centre are also available outside the scholarship programme by sending an enquiry to residency@arvopart.ee.

Further information can be found at: https://www.arvopart.ee/en/residency/.