A special exchange year in Estonia – it´s all about the MUSIC

Every year several of exchange students come to Estonia to the music program we offer. Today we have a chance to see how are two of those students living they dream today:

Lara with her cello

„Hello I am Lara and I am 16 years old and I come from Germany. I am doing right now an exchange year in Estonia. But my year is not ordinary, my year is very special. YFU gave me the chance to play music in a foreign country for a whole year.“

„Hi, everyone! My name is Sophia, I am sixteen years old and I'm from Switzerland. I've already been in Estonia for two great months now, eight still to go.“

Lara and Sophia both attend the Heino Elleri nimeline Tartu Muusikakool (Heino Eller music school in Tartu: http://www.tmk.ee/en ). Besides usual subjects as mathematics, natural sciences, history, English and Estonian, they have music theory,solfeggio, music history, three instrumental lessons per week and the ones whose first instrument isn't the piano, also get one piano lesson per week.

Lara: „I play the cello and the piano and one of my biggest dreams is to become a musician. I am living in Tartu which is the second largest city in Estonia. The school I am going to is a really highly educated school. The school is very modern and everything is about music!”

Sophia with her violin

Sophia: „Of course, the music program is perfect for people who dream of becoming a musician, but I don't want to be a professional musician, and I can recommend it to everyone who simply likes do music a lot. I chose the music program because I wanted to spend more time with my violin and learn more about music in general. It's motivating and not (too) intimidating to be surrounded by students who are very ambitious and already very good musicians and I like the overall atmosphere because everyone is there voluntarily and willing to learn, to practice and to improve and of course crazy for music.

Even though I have to practice a lot (in view of the first violin exams), I still have time to learn Estonian, dance and experience my exchange year. I think the music program is a nice extra to your exchange year that doesn't take anything away and everyone who loves music should at least consider taking part in it because it is a truly amazing opportunity!“

In 2011 Monique from Australia attended the music program exactly in the same school. Here you can see and hear yourself, how much this experience have influenced her way to be musician :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHvqecbh-QU

So, if you want to become a professional musician one day or you just love making music, then Estonia can offer you very much and you should take Lara`s advice: „The music program from YFU is one of the best possibilities for those who want to improve their skills on their instruments and for those who are dreaming of their dream profession as musician like me. It is also the best way to get to know the cultural side of the country. I regularly go to the theater and the opera and to many concerts. Every day I dive deeper into this country and learn to understand it better. But not just the country, I also learn better to understand me. You can learn to trust yourself, to be able to do things you never thought you can do. To see your own progresses playing your instruments every day. To be on stage...and to make music! This is the moment for which it pays to work hard.

If you want to make such a musical exchange year, you don´t have to play like a really good musician, you just have to love your music like a really good musician.

PS. you can follow Lara and Sophia in Instagram as well for one week: https://instagram.com/yfuestonia/