Steering Committee
Kaie Tanner (EE) / Estonian Choral Association
Kaie Tanner graduated from Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2000 as a choir conductor (BA) and as a cultural manager in 2023 (MA). She is currently working as general secretary of Estonian Choral Association and conducts preparatory choir, children’s choir and girls’choir of Estonian Radio. She is a board member of International Federation for Choral Music and the Estonian Choral Association, and the president of Choral Festival Network.
Kaie Tanner is the organiser of Tallinn International Choir Festivals (since 2001), summer seminars for Estonian choral conductors and other choral events in Estonia. She has also had close cooperation with international organisations, being involved in preparing International
Competition for Young Choral Conductors in Tallinn in 2002, EUROPA CANTAT Singing Weeks in Tartu in 2004 and 2007, IFCM conference Voices of Origin in Tallinn in 2007, the festival Europa Cantat junior 6 in 2011 and festival EUROPA CANTAT XX in Tallinn in 2018. She has been the member of artistic committee or steering committee of several EUROPA CANTAT festivals.
Marco Fornasier (IT) | European Choral Association – Board
Marco Fornasier has collaborated as continuist (harpsichord and organ) with several orchestras and choirs in Italy and he is a great fan of Renaissance and Baroque music. Marco also loves sports and competitions, especially soccer.
Ben Jacob (IE) | European Choral Association – Youth Committee
Ben Jacob is a young musician and conductor from Ireland. He studied singing, clarinet performance and conducting at the Cork School of Music, Munster Technological University.
He is a commissioned officer of the Irish Defence Forces and currently works as Conductor of Band 1 Brigade, stationed in Cork, Ireland.
Ben’s involvement in choirs began in his home city of Waterford at a young age. He has been a member of the Irish Youth Choir and Irish Youth Chamber Choir on several occasions from 2015-2022. He is currently the musical director of the University College Cork Chamber Choir, UCC Singers and has performed at festivals in Ireland, the UK and Europe. He is also a member of the Artistic Advisory Board of the Cork International Choral Festival.
In early 2022 he became a member of the Youth Committee of the European Choral Association, which has seen him taking part in meetings, projects & events over a three-year term. He is delighted to join the Steering-Committee of Leading Voices, 2025.
Kai Kiiv (EE) | Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
Kai Kiiv, a graduate of the EAMT cultural management master’s programme (2010) and violin bachelor’s degree (1997), worked in the Symphony Orchestra of the Estonian National Opera from 1995 to 2008. In 2017, she earned a second master’s degree in international relations from Tallinn University.
Since 2008, Kai has been with the EAMT international relations office, managing master classes and organizing auditions for the European Union Youth Orchestra and World Youth Choir. She has also organized numerous festivals, competitions, conferences, and international cooperation projects with European music academies.
From 2020 to 2023, Kai managed the Erasmus+ strategic partnership project “Reinventing Mentorship in Arts Management,” collaborating with partners from Latvia, Belgium, Serbia, and the Basque Country, and producing a comprehensive book, policy paper, and interactive toolkit on mentorship.
As of September 2023, Kai is the Head of Cultural Management Studies at EAMT.
Martine Spanjers (NL) | European Choral Association – Board
Martine Spanjers studied Art History in the city of Utrecht and worked for several years in museums of contemporary art on international projects as project leader, fundraiser and head of public affairs. Since 2009 she is connected to ZIMIHC, a platform for amateur arts based in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Currently, Martine is manager of different types of projects, networks and events at the department ZIMIHC Maatwerk. She works with all kinds of artists, performers and musicians.
Martine was responsible for the realisation of many international events and projects in Utrecht, most of them related to singing or wind music and many times in partnership with international organisations like the European Choral Association, the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles and the European Brass Band Association.
In 2022, Martine was general manager and fundraiser for the first edition of Leading Voices, held in Utrecht.
Since 2018, Martine is treasurer of the European Choral Association and a board member of Dirigenten Werkplaats Utrecht (Conductors Working Place Utrecht).
Karin Tuul (EE) / Estonian Choral Association
Karin Tuul (b. 1994) is a conductor and a composer from Estonia. She is also a Chairman of Estonian Chamber Choir Association, a board member of Estonian Choral Association and she also works as a head of studies at Kiili School of Arts.
Karin Tuul is a conductor of Chamber Choir Encore, founded by her in 2016. Choir consists of 32 young, dedicated singers. Choir participated in the Baltic Sea Choir Competition in 2023 in Jurmala and received 4th place. Encore is also one of the four finalists at EBU competition “Let the Peoples Sing”, taking place in October 2024. Karin Tuul is also working with the Academic Female Choir of Tallinn University of Technology and Female Choir Kaja.
More information about Karin’s work as a composer can be found here: https://karinkuulpak.voog.com/
Sonja Greiner (DE) - Permanent Guest of the Steering Commitee
Sonja Greiner (DE) is the Secretary General of the European Choral Association and a member of the Board of the World Youth Choir Foundation.
After working as the manager of the International Chamber-Choir Competition and the festival Musica Sacra International in Marktoberdorf (Germany), she started working for Europa Cantat in 1995.
She was a member and Treasurer of both the European and the International Music Council between 2000 and 2013 and was elected Honorary Member of the International Music Council in 2015.
