Roman Toi

Roman Toi ( born June 18, 1916 in Kõo, today Viljandi County, Estonia) is an Estonian composer.

Life

Roman Toi studied from 1932 to 1936 at the Tallinn Conservatory (now the Music and Theatre Academy ) choral conducting and organ. From 1936 to 1940 Toi studied law at the University of Tartu, before he studied from 1941 to 1944 Heino Eller and composition with conducting with Olav Roots. During the German occupation of Estonia was Toi 1941-1944 music editor at Estonian Radio. In 1943 he attended a training at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Prior to the Soviet occupation of Estonia Toi 1944 fled to Germany. He was very active in refugee circles. Toi was the organizer of the first song festivals of foreign Estonians in 1946 in the Old City and a year later in Augsburg.

By 1949, Toi lived in Canada. In 1953 he graduated in distance learning from the composition class at the University of Chicago. From 1973 to 1977 he studied in Montreux, then at the University of Cincinnati and Toronto. From 1974 Toi was a lecturer in music theory and composition at the Conservatory of Toronto. In addition, he worked as an organist, conductor and leader exilestnischer choirs. He composed many pieces of music, especially cantatas and songs for choirs. In 1995, he headed the general Estonian Song Festival in Tallinn.

Works (selection)

• Sümfoonia (1952)
• Suur on JUMAL, su ram ( cantata, 1967)
• Mängumees ( cantata, 1970)
• Psalm 100 ( for mixed choir, 1981)