Reet Kromel: Ei saa mitte vaiki olla! (I Cannot Stay Silent)

Estonian musician Reet Kromel, who has lived and worked in London for nearly 30 years, has used music to maintain her connection with Estonia.

My name is Reet Kromel, and I am an Estonian musician living and working in London.

Music has always been, and remains, my life.

Living abroad has made me especially aware of the immense and powerful role that our roots play in preserving our identity. As proof of this, I have continuously maintained close ties with my homeland while promoting Estonianness and Estonian musical culture in England, where I have now lived for almost 30 years.

Living in the vast metropolis of London, I have come to understand even more clearly the importance of being Estonian, and I know that even far from home, I simply cannot remain silent.

I have lived my entire life through music.

Throughout these long years abroad, music has been the means of communication that has built a bridge between me and Estonia. Over time, that connection has only grown stronger.

I am a singer, choir conductor, cocktail pianist, composer and music educator, and England has given me countless opportunities to fulfil my potential as a musician, to grow and to develop.

While living in England, I have always sought to preserve and promote Estonian music and introduce our rich musical heritage to the wider world. Over many years, I have brought Estonians in England together through music and helped create and strengthen Estonian communities in London and across the country.

I have also introduced our rich choral heritage to Estonian communities elsewhere in Europe by organising singing camps and concerts for the International Estonian Experimental Choir (REE) and arranging concert activities in various European countries.

In a way, this has fulfilled my greatest dream: to introduce our musical culture – and especially our rich choral tradition – to the world.

Under the spell of the Song Festival

Estonia’s Song Festivals are our pride and joy. The Song Festival phenomenon has played such a significant role in our history, helping to strengthen the self-awareness of the Estonian people and shape a deep national identity.

Although I have conducted various choirs in England and project choirs across Europe for many years, it was a particular joy to participate as a conductor with the London Estonian Mixed Choir at the 2025 Estonian Song Celebration Iseoma in Tallinn.

It was a magnificent and uplifting experience unlike anything in everyday life. Knowing that we, as an expatriate Estonian choir, were able to contribute to our cultural history was immensely rewarding and further strengthened our sense of national identity and shared spirit.

The feeling is so powerful and inspiring that it carries us forward in all our activities until the next Song Festival in 2028, which we are already eagerly awaiting.

I also have warm memories of the ESTO song and dance festivals. These gatherings have become global meeting places where Estonians living abroad and friends of Estonia can come together and jointly write another chapter in the story of Estonianness.

There, one can feel how our lovingly preserved cultural heritage comes alive once more and looks confidently towards the future. New connections are formed, and the promotion of Estonianness around the world continues with renewed inspiration. It is a powerful feeling.

Music as my greatest form of expression

Over the years I have composed and arranged a great deal of vocal music, primarily for mixed and women’s choirs, as well as a number of duets and solo songs.

I have published a collection of my work entitled Seven Songs and Seven Arrangements for Choirs, and my music has been performed by many choirs in Estonia and within Estonian communities abroad.

It was thanks to the encouragement of singers from expatriate Estonian choirs that this collection became a reality, in the hope that my songs would one day also find their way to audiences in Estonia.

A particularly important place in my work is occupied by arrangements of Estonian folk songs, in which I have experimented stylistically with both contemporary ethnic influences and jazz-inspired colours and textures. In these works, my deep Estonian roots meet the experiences I have gained while living in the West.

Our London-based vocal trio ÕieHääled, comprising Annaliisa Asveit, Kristiina Killo and myself, together with producer Madis Mälgand, is a trio of remarkable musical strength. Together we perform my folk-song arrangements with an ethno-jazz flavour, and by early autumn we will release our first album, which is set to become the most significant musical event of our year.

I wish for song to endure. I wish for the joy of singing to endure.

I wish you all a wonderful start to the summer.

Let us cherish our roots, and may the joy of music shared together inspire us throughout our lives and give us wings.

Reet Kromel
Singer, choir conductor, composer and music educator
Chair of the Estonian Music Association in England