Over the decades, ETAM’s artistic identity has been shaped by distinguished Estonian choral conductors. Today the choir is led by Chief Conductor Andrus Siimon and Conductor Igor Nikiforov.
Andrus Siimon
Chief Conductor
Andrus Siimon graduated in choral conducting from Tallinn Pedagogical Institute as a student of Ants Soots and later from the Estonian Academy of Music in Jüri Rent’s conducting class.
He has been associated with ETAM as a conductor since 1991 and has again served as Chief Conductor since 2009. His work extends well beyond ETAM: he is Chief Conductor of the Estonian Academy of Sciences Women’s Choir and the Virumaa Youth Male Choir, and has long worked with the Estonian National Male Choir as a singer and chorus master.
An important part of Andrus Siimon’s work has been training new conductors. He teaches choral conducting at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet (MUBA). He has also conducted at national and youth song festivals and contributed to the development of Estonia’s choral movement through several professional organisations.
His work has been recognised with the Cultural Endowment of Estonia annual award, the Arvo Ratassepp Memorial Award and the Estonian Choral Association’s Conductor of the Year title. The Estonian Academy of Sciences Women’s Choir was named Women’s Choir of the Year 2024, and Siimon was nominated for the Estonian Choral Association’s Conductor of the Year award in 2025.
Igor Nikiforov
Conductor
Igor Nikiforov graduated in choral conducting from the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School under Andrus Siimon and continued his studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Professor Ants Soots’s class.
Nikiforov has worked as a conductor of ETAM since 2009. For many years his professional work has also been closely connected with the Estonian National Male Choir, where he works as a singer and chorus master. He has prepared major vocal-symphonic works as chorus master and has conducted projects with both the Estonian National Male Choir and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.
Nikiforov has previously conducted the Estonian Academy of Sciences Women’s Choir, the Virumaa Youth Male Choir and ETAM’s senior choir. Since 2023 he has also conducted the Patika Village Choir.
As a young conductor, Nikiforov received recognition at several conducting competitions, including special prizes from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Estonian Male Choir Association. His long collaboration with ETAM combines professional choral experience with a deep knowledge of the male-choir tradition.
