Toomas Siitan

Toomas Siitan (1958) graduated as a composer from the Tallinn State Conservatoire in 1981 and received his doctorate in musicology from the University of Lund. Since 1986 he has taught music history at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT). He was promoted to professor in 2004 and has been the head of the Department of Musicology (2013–2023). Siitan’s main areas of research are the history and aesthetics of early Western music and musical life in Estonia up to the 20th century, as well as the music of Arvo Pärt. He has taught courses on Pärt’s music at the University of Tartu and the EAMT.

Toomas Siitan was chairman of the board of the Estonian Musicological Society (1992–1997, 2003–2013), vice-chairman of the board of the Estonian Music Council (1999–2017) and board member of the International Fellowship for Research in Hymnology (1993–2005). He has been a member of the Artistic Advisory Board of the Arvo Pärt Centre since 2019. He is also active as a conductor and has been the artistic director of the Haapsalu Early Music Festival since 1994.