Harry Põlda

Heldur Harry Põlda is studying violin and conducting at the Tallinn Music High School. For the Estonian audience Põlda is mostly known as a brilliant soprano singer and an outstanding musician. He began his violin studies at the Kuressaare Children’s Music School at the age of five, under the guidance of Laine Sepp, and his first singing teacher was Pilvi Karu. Põlda continued to study conducting with Hirvo Surva, violin with M. Tampere-Bezrodny and singing with Zoja Hertz at the Tallinn Music High School.

Harry has sung in the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir, his first stage debut being at the age of 8. His repertoire comprised of several roles in operas and musicals, including Miles (Benjamin Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw”), Amor (Christoph W. Gluck’s “Orfeus and Euridice”), Arno (Anti Marguste’s mono-opera “Monologues”), Nuki (Theatre Estonia children’s musical “Pipi!Nuki!Puhh!”), Erik (Maury Yeston’s musical “Fantom”). Põlda has also sung solo parts in large-scale forms such as: Lera Auerbach’s “Russian Requiem” (in Germany, Spain, Latvia, Estonia), Roxanna Paunufnik’s “Westminster Mass”, and Galina Ustvolskaya’s “Symphony No. 1” (in Spain and in the Czech Republic). He has sung a soloist part in Aare Kruusimäe’s song “Discovering the World” at the 25th Song Celebration with United Choirs.

In 2008, Harry was awarded the Annual Prize of Estonian Cultural Endowment for Music for his role in Benjamin Britten’s opera ’’The Turn of the Screw’’, which made him the youngest musician to have ever received the award. He was awarded the Cooperation Prize of the
Estonian Choral Union in 2010. In 2011, Harry performed Arvo Pärt’s “Vater Unser”, while being accompanied on the piano by Arvo Pärt.
In 2012, he was the conductor of United Choirs at Suure-Jaani Spiritual Songs Day (Edgar Arro’s “We Love This Country”). As of 2015 he is a vocal student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, under the guidance of David Pollard.