Kerri Kotta

Photo: Ragnar Vutt

Composer, musicologist and teacher, ECU member since 2000
Born on 29.10.1969

Kerri Kotta studied composition (MA, 1997) and musicology (PhD, 2004) at the Estonian Academy of Music. He is a Professor of Music Theory at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and serves as Head of Studies in Musicology and Music Culture.

Kotta’s compositions are characterized by playful postminimalism, theatricality, and humour. His works have been performed by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the NYYD Ensemble, and others, and have been featured at contemporary music festivals in Estonia and abroad.

As a musicologist, Kotta focuses on form theory and music analysis, examining the development of musical form over time and its rhetorical and dramaturgical significance. His research encompasses classical sonata form and the works of Estonian composers. He is the editor-in-chief of the Complete Works of Eduard Tubin.

Selected works and creative achievements:

  • Variations for piano (2002)
  • Dominant Seventh for piano (1996)
  • Kärg, a cantata for women’s choir, organ, and string quartet (2004)
  • The online textbook Music Theory, which received joint first prize in the 2019 competition for the best Estonian-language university textbook.

In 1997, Kotta’s Col legno for violin and orchestra placed fourth in the instrumental concerto competition organized by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

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