The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies is pleased to announce that Ingmar Kiviloo has been awarded the 2025-2026 Baumanis Grant for Creative Projects in Baltic Studies for his project “Laulu võim” (The Power of Song).
The Baumanis Grant is an award made to honor Velta Marija Baumanis of Mount Brydges, Ontario, who left a generous bequest to AABS at the end of her career as an architect. An award of up to $7,000 is available for any creative project (e.g., book, film, exhibit, etc.) that promotes Baltic studies. Preference is given to topics with a pan-Baltic or comparative aspect. Applicants must be members of the AABS at the time of application.
The 2025 applications were evaluated by the AABS 2025-2026 Grants and Awards Committee consisting of AABS VP for Professional Development Dr. Kaarel Piirimäe, AABS President Dr. Jörg Hackmann, and AABS Director-at-Large Dr. Dovilė Budrytė. Learn about the other 2025-2026 recipients here.
Ingmar Kiviloo (b. 2004) is an Estonian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Born and raised in Tallinn, he began his musical journey early, performing with the Estonian Television’s Children’s Choir and studying in the music program at Vanalinna Hariduskolleegium, from which he graduated in 2022. That same year, he began studying composition, music production, and violin at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Kiviloo has participated in and won prizes at over 20 international and national violin competitions and has performed across Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Finland, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Spain. He has given numerous concerts for Estonian diaspora communities across North America, as well as performances in Washington, D.C. at the NATO 75th Anniversary Gala and at Carnegie Hall, representing Estonia at a charity concert for Ukraine. Kiviloo gained national recognition through his participation in Estonian Idol in 2021, and in 2024, he competed in Eesti Laul with his original song “Dreaming.” In 2022, he also organized the large-scale charity concert Maailm, mis jääb meile (“The World That Remains to Us”) to support Ukrainian refugee children in Estonia.
Project Overview: Laulu võim (The Power of Song)
The project Laulu võim (The Power of Song) aims to create an interactive virtual book that explores the cultural and historical significance of song festivals across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, as well as in their diaspora communities and among exiles in Siberia. It investigates how these festivals—through communal singing, folk traditions, and choral music—have played a pivotal role in preserving national identity, especially in the face of political oppression, forced displacement, and cultural assimilation. The project examines how music has served as a unifying force and a tool for cultural resilience across multiple generations and geographies.
The comparative study will focus on several key areas: the preservation of national identity through musical traditions, the evolution of song festivals under Soviet rule, the continuity of these traditions in diaspora communities (particularly in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Australia), and the deeply emotional and resistant role of singing among deported individuals in Siberia. A particular emphasis will be placed on the emotional depth and historical symbolism carried by the so-called “Siberian Songs”—informal expressions of identity and solidarity under duress.
Laulu võim is both a historical and ethnomusicological endeavor. It will include personal interviews conducted across the Baltics and diaspora communities, archival footage and recordings, and visual documentation to form a compelling digital publication. The project not only documents musical practices but also seeks to answer pressing questions about the evolving role of folk and choral music in shaping collective memory, cultural continuity, and political resistance. It aims to highlight the adaptation of these festivals to external pressures—from Soviet censorship to Western influences in exile—tracing how melodies, lyrics, and arrangements shifted over time.
Ultimately, this project is a cultural preservation initiative, a historical study, and a celebration of communal resilience through song. By comparing the lived experiences of singers, organizers, and audiences across different eras and regions, Laulu võim will offer new insights into how song festivals have shaped and carried forward national identity in the Baltics. A secondary phase of the project envisions a traveling exhibition that will further disseminate these findings to diaspora communities around the world, strengthening cross-generational cultural ties and reaffirming the power of music in maintaining a sense of home and belonging.