Andres Kaljuste

Viola

Estonian Andres Kaljuste was originally trained as a violinist. In his early twenties he developed an affection towards the viola and this relationship has flourished ever since. After studies in Sweden and Germany Andres went on to work in the UK with orchestras such as the Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra both as violinist and violist. He then found himself as the guest concertmaster of the Oulu Sinfonia before moving to Helsinki to study orchestral conducting with Atso Almila and Hannu Lintu at the Sibelius Academy. Throughout his conducting studies he appeared as guest principal viola of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra for three consecutive seasons.

As a conductor he has appeared with many orchestras in the Nordic region, including Helsinki Philharmonic, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and Pori Sinfonietta. This season sees his debut with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and Estonian Sinfonietta as well as return appearances with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra in the UK.

Kaljuste has also recorded chamber music of Sharon Fraber and Eleanor Alberga for  Signum Records and Navona Records respectively.