About Kadri Voorand

She grew up in a fishing village on the northern Estonian coast, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, in a family of traditional musicians and village entertainers. Classical piano, fiddle playing and coastal folk traditions formed the first musical ground before jazz became her central language.

Voorand studied jazz voice at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and continued her education at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm. Her work has since moved across solo performance, duo music with bassist Mihkel Mälgand, vocal ensemble writing and large-scale choral composition.

She is a founding member, artistic director and main composer of Estonian Voices, an acclaimed a cappella ensemble whose albums have won Estonian Music Awards. As a solo artist, she has also received major recognition in Estonia, including multiple Estonian Music Awards and Musician of the Year from Estonian Public Broadcasting.

Her composition work extends beyond the stage. Voorand has written for the Grammy-winning Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and for chamber orchestra, including large-scale work shaped by Estonian legends and folk traditions. Six of her choral works have been performed at Estonia's Song and Dance Celebrations between 2017 and 2025.

Her 2020 duo album with Mihkel Mälgand was released by ACT, bringing her music into one of Europe's most visible jazz catalogues. Since then, Voorand has continued to release on her own terms, building concerts around voice, piano, electronics and bass that invite the audience into the performance rather than placing them outside it.

Jazzwise has described listeners as "hanging on her every note," a quality that runs through her live history across major festivals and venues in Europe and beyond.