On March 15th VEMU hosted visitors from the University of Toronto to celebrate Mother Tongue Day held on Kristjan Jaak Peterson’s birthday. The theme for the evening was “Mõtelda on mõnus, rääkida on raske” (Easy to Think, Hard to Speak), which was highlighted by Marju Toomsalu, the long-time Estonian language instructor at the University of Toronto, which brought along her students to read Hando Runnel’s poetry. Following her students’ presentation, Marju spoke of her experiences teaching Estonian in a multicultural classroom, which included examples of how confusing the Estonian language can be not only to learn, but to teach as well. The lucky audience was treated to a concert featuring music written to Hando Runnel’s texts performed by VEMU&Friends. This newly formed ensemble included: Paul Kiilaspea, Kati Kiilaspea, Toomas Heinar, Laani Heinar, Vincent Teetsov, Piret Noorhani, and Viive Sarv. The audience was invited to sing along with the final song of the evening “Maa tuleb täita lastega.”
See photos from the event here
Piret Noorhani