2025 Young Artist Grant Winners

The Foundation for Estonian Arts and Letters announced the 2025 Youth Cultural Scholarships. This year's winners are musician and composer Ingmar Kiviloo, and bassoonist Robert Nael. Each receives a $2,000 scholarship to develop their creative activities and ties to Estonian cultural heritage in the United States.

Ingmar Kiviloo is a violinist, singer, and composer from Tallinn who is studying composition, violin, and music production at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is best known as a finalist on the TV show "Estonia is Searching for a Superstar" (Eesti otsib superstaari, 2021) and a semi-finalist on the “Estonian Song” (Eesti Laul, 2024). He has performed in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, and among several other countries. In 2022, he initiated a charity concert “The World That Remains to Us” (Maailm, mis jääb meile) in support of Ukraine.

Robert Nael is an award-winning bassoonist who has performed in the NATO Symphony Orchestra and the Pärnu Music Festival. He is currently studying at the Lamont School of Music in Denver under Grammy-nominated bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann. In the spring of 2025, he graduated from the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, where he received the school’s highest recognition – the Outstanding Artist Award.

In addition to the scholarship recipients, Tjorven Hairfield, the choir director of the Baltimore Washington Estonian Chorus, received honorable mention, whose contribution to promoting local Estonian cultural activities was recognized.

The scholarships are made possible thanks to donations from local Estonians in the U.S. The Foundation for Estonian Arts and Letters is a community based initiative of volunteers and patrons, with the goal of ensuring the continuity and sustainability of Estonian culture outside of Estonia.