Station Narva 2023 will start on Thursday, 7th September at Narva College with a free concert featuring beloved singers Ott Lepland and INGA (Inga Tislar), accompanied by a soul-funk band and the Narva City Symphony Orchestra conducted by its artistic director Anatoli Štšura.

About the performers:

INGA is a young singer with roots in Ida-Viru County. She graduated from the Georg Ots Tallinn Music College majoring in pop-jazz singing, has sung in the group La La Ladies and gained attention competing in the Estonian ESC selection Eesti Laul. Her repertoire combines R’n’B, soul, pop and funk classics with original compositions by her current band Soul Now.

Singer and songwriter Ott Lepland gained wider attention in 2009, winning the third season of Estonian “Idol” equivalent “Eesti otsib superstaari”. In 2012, Ott represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest, where his entry “Kuula” took 6th place. He has studied pop-jazz singing at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music College and the WAF vocal school where he now serves as a teacher. His albums have been repeatedly nominated at the Estonian Music Awards.

The Narva City Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1994 by conductor Anatoli Štšura. The collective has participated in various music and theatre projects, incl. in collaboration with the Estonian Drama Theatre and international all-stars’ project “Legends of Rock”. In collaboration with Station Narva and TMW festivals, the orchestra has presented concert programmes featuring beloved Estonian singers Uku Suviste, Alika Milova, Chalice and Elina Nechayeva.

Anatoli Štšura graduated from the Belarusian State Conservatory with a degree in composition. In 1994, he created the Narva City Symphony Orchestra, which he also conducts, on the basis of an ensemble of teaching staff and alumni of the Narva Music School. Štšura has toured all over Europe with his orchestra and has conducted other orchestras like the Szczecin Philharmonic, the Polish Philharmonic Zielonogórska and the Pärnu Symphony Orchestra. 

Štšura is a laureate of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia’s Award for popularisation of classical music, and the Ida-Virumaa Culture Pearl Award. In 2008, Štšura was awarded with the Order of the White Star Class V medal from the President of the Republic of Estonia. In 2016 he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of Narva by Narva City Council.

In addition to the Narva City Symphony Orchestra, the soloists are accompanied by a soul-funk band consisting of Dmitri Nikolajevski (drums), Kalle Pilli (guitar), Janno Trump (bass) and Mairo Marjamaa (keyboards).