Kristel Marand

Kristel Marand (alto) began her music studies at the Viljandi Music School, studying classical piano  and pop jazz saxophone. While singing in different choirs under inspiring conductors, she developed a love for choral music, and after high school she headed to Tallinn to study conducting.

Kristel graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in choral conducting under Professor Ants Soot. She obtained her first master’s degree in 2013 in vocal improvisation under Professor Anne-Liis Poll, and her second master’s degree in choral conducting under Professor Tõnu Kaljuste in the spring of 2021. She has furthered her education at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School, where she graduated in 2017 with a degree in sound production.

Kristel has conducted children’s, youth and adult choirs, run her own singing studio, worked as a teacher, and sung in the chamber choirs Collegium Musicale, Voces Musicales, and the Estonian Concert Choir. She currently works as the chief conductor of the Estonian Academy of Arts Chamber Choir, assistant conductor of the Collegium Musicale Chamber Choir, and conducts the Tallinn branch of the University of Tartu Wind Orchestra Popsid. She has been singing in the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir since August 2023.

Kristel loves versatility in music as well as combining different styles and vocal techniques. In addition to singing, she is passionate about vocal arrangement, playing saxophone, and travelling.