Mirjam Tally

Mirjam Tally (b. 1976) is an Estonian composer based on the island of Gotland, Sweden. Her music blends playful contrasts with a poetic use of sound, weaving elements from contemporary classical, electronic, and Estonian folk traditions. She is also active as a performer of electroacoustic music, performing in the duo Unejögi ("Dream River") with folk musician Meelika Hainsoo.

Tally studied with Lepo Sumera at the Estonian Academy of Music, graduating in 2000. She was Composer in Residence at Swedish Radio P2 (2009–10), Studio Acusticum in Piteå and Västerås Sinfonietta (2017). Her album Interferences received Sweden’s Manifest Prize in 2018 for “Best Experimental.”

Her orchestral work Turbulence (2007) gained international attention, earning awards from the Estonian Music Days and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 2021, she received the Carin Malmlöf-Forssling Prize from the same Academy, praised for her “rich and headstrong art” and a “magical, captivating sound world.”

Tally’s music has been performed in over 30 countries at festivals including Mixtur (Barcelona), Dark Music Days (Iceland), Summartónar (Faroe Islands), the Venice Biennale (Italy), ISCM World Music Days, Sound of Stockholm, and Svensk Musikvår.

She has collaborated with Nordic Affect, BIT20 Ensemble, Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, and many others. Frequent collaborators include filmmaker Ülo Pikkov, conductor Risto Joost, flutist Monika Mattiesen, and kannel player Kristi Mühling.

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