History
The pre-war Tallinn Technical University Choir, which was made up of approximately 30 men, is often seen as the predecessor of Academic Male Choir of Tallinn University of Technology (TAM). However, since little is known of that choir's activities, TAM's beginning is generally looked at as post-war. In general, its birthday is agreed to be December 15, 1945 — the date of the first public concert.
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The initiator behind the present TAM was Arvo Ratassepp (1926-1986). He also found Arno Kallikorm (1915-1992), who was at that time still a student at the Tallinn Conservatoire and was willing to direct the choir.
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Over the years, TAM has lived through widely varying times and events. The opportunities and goals of the choir have changed accordingly. However, much remains from the beginning: academic traditions, fraternity, organization and spiritual synergism.
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The choir's name has changed several times — Tallinn Academic Male Choir, TPI Academic Male Choir, TPI Male Choir (when the term academic was forbidden), Tallinn Technical University Academic Male Choir and finally Academic Male Choir of Tallinn University of Technology.
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In general, TAM's history can be divided into two periods. A considerable part of its history falls into the period of Estonia's occupation by the Soviet Union. Due to that, TAM developed as a place for enlightened and patriotic young men to be together after its inception. Despite the fact that certain older songs were forbidden, they were still remembered and sung whenever possible. The spirit of the choir developed. This spirit was that of the same patriotic young men — a spirit that the regime was trying to kill.
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At the beginning of the 1950s, the choir saw more social and spiritual development. Essentially TAM was a fraternity. The choir's organization solidified and traditions developed. In 1951 there was a multi-day trip to Leningrad (St. Petersburg), where choir gave five concerts, one of which was in the famed hall of the Academic Chapel. Trips to Riga and concerts in the University of Latvia became a tradition. In 1956 the first Student Song Festival took place in Tartu, where choirs from all three Baltic countries performed. There were concerts in Tartu nearly every year. The desire of TAM men to be more active also gave birth to the tradition of the bi-annual Masquerade Ball, the first of which was held in 1957.
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Two choirs have grown out from TAM. In 1958 the Male Choir of Estonian Academy of Sciences was formed, and many good singers left from TAM. A similar situation occurred in 1987, when TAM's younger son, the EKE Engineer's Male Choir was born.
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In 1965 TAM began its epic restoration of Glehn's Castle, situated in a beautiful park next to the university. Built by Baron Nikolai von Glehn and finished in 1886, it had already fallen into disrepair by the 1920s. The idea of rebuilding the ruins into a student club seemed crazy, except to the choir, which took the project as its own. TAM's documents confirm that the volunteers put in nearly 5000 man hours in the first year, removing 420 m3 debris from the site. The TPI male and female choirs worked enthusiastically at the castle. The cleaning and demolition took several years. The castle was formally opened on March 24, 1977, as the TPI Performer's House, otherwise known as the students' castle. Every year in October, the choir holds its past members meeting in Glehn's Castle.
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At seventies, the choir was very successful in the festivals, winning the first place at the international choral festival Tallinn 75 and later laureate title at the Soviet Union Performance Festival. In 1978 the choir competed at the 17th Seghizzi Choir Competition in Gorizia, Italy.
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The peak achievement in Jüri Rent's time as chief conductor was certainly winning the Schubert Male Choir Competition in Austria in 1988. TAM shared the honour with the renowned male choir Chorus Viennensis.
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The early 1990s saw improvement of the singers' musical abilities, since many of the young members had a previous musical experience. Jüri Rent knew how to convince the highest quality Estonian orchestras, professional musicians and vocal soloists to perform with TAM. This was a great boost to the spirit of the choir. For many years, Jüri commissioned new works for the choir from the Estonian composers. In 1989, the choir began its annual Christmas Concerts, which had been forbidden under the Soviet regime. TAM's Christmas Concerts in Kaarli Church were one of the largest in Estonia. The choir's first CD was released at Christmas 1994, with U. Sisask's Christmas music. The choir also performed with the Estonian Border Guard Orchestra, with whom they recorded many traditional folk and student songs.
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At the 1996 Nordic University Choir Festival (NSSS) in Copenhagen, it was decided that the 1999 festival would be held in Tallinn. Even though it was not directly TAM's duty to organize the event, they took the bulk of the responsibility. This was especially so because the chairman of the Association of Estonian Student Choirs (AESC), which was responsible for organizing the event, was TAM's honourable member Enn Vilgo. At the final concert in Kalev Sports Hall, the 1400-member combined choir performed Beethoven's 9th symphony under the conducting of Eri Klas.
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In 1998 TAM undertook a mammoth month-long tour to Australia and New Zealand. In 2000 TAM travelled with its sister TTU Academic Female Choir to the US and Canada for the ESTO festival. In 2002 the choir journeyed to Busan, South Korea, for the International Choir Olympics, where TAM won a silver diploma in the men's choir category. Africa was one of the few places where TAM had never been until 2006. After choir's tour to South Africa, remaining South America was conquered in 2012.
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In 2001 TAM added a spring concert to its program tradition. These concerts have developed into large stage shows, where in addition to singing, the men are able to show off their acting and performing abilities. TAM also adds other exciting elements into their spring concerts, especially non-traditional arrangements and guest soloists. "Golden Eye" from the James Bond films and Queen's "We Will Rock You" are two recent examples that have been accepted very well with audiences.
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In 2003 the Technical University Academic Male Choir Foundation was established as a part of the Estonian National Culture Foundation. The Foundation pays a stipend to TAM members who have helped TAM to develop its core values — academic traditions, singing quality, organization, audience focus and good humour.
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TAM is a vibrant organization and always looks to the future. This is shown by TAM's development principles for 2003-2013. An organization that has clear goals is easy to lead. TAM has 5 core values which help to keep its goals clear. Two are directly related to concerts: audience focus and singing quality. Two are linked to fraternal spirit: academic traditions and organization. The fifth is humour and witty spirit, which fosters all of TAM's activities.
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TAM has provided years of challenge, entertainment and pleasure for the singers, their families and the public at large. The men of TAM would like to thank all who have been with them all through those years and those who will be there in the years to come.
