8
H he CI ac I< amas P rînt
Estonia exchange program enriches both lands
JOEL P. SHEMPERT
Feature Editor
summer, then was approached again
by Surva in the fall, who wondered
why she wasn’t in America yet.
“So the whole thing started again,”
Raud relates. “I had about seven dif
ferent goodbye parties with my
friends, because it was, like, on and
off.”
In fact, it wasn’t until Cline arrived
in Estonia in January for his month
of jazz clinician work that Raud fi
nally was able to come to Clackamas.
She came with Cline on his flight
back, but was unable to study right
away. Unfortunately, because Chan
was not a US citizen, and because he
had already graduated Clackamas, an
exchange of classes was not so
simple to arrange. So Raud was un
able to enroll in classes here, and
found herself simply singing in the
chamber choir.
Eventually this was straightened
out, however, when College Presi
dent John Keyser was contacted.
Now Raud is able to sit in on music
classes for the remainder of Spring
You’d never know it from looking
at her. Her blond hair, mannerisms,
quick and easy speech, and carefree
spirit all seem to mark her as Ameri
can as apple pie. But truth be told,
Kairi Raud is not from around here.
She is Estonian.
You can tell, on the other hand, by
looking at Christopher Chan, that he
isn’t Estonian. He may live in Esto
nia, study in Estonia, eat, sleep, and
breathe Estonia, and even speak a
little Estonian, but the former
Clackamas student is a Hong Kong
native.
This unlikely pair forms the van
guard of a daring and innovative new
international venture—an exchange
program between Clackamas and
Tallinn, Estonia’s Georg Ots Music
School. Orchestrated by Clackamas’
Lonnie Cline and Georg Ots’ Hirvo
Surva, this fledgling program has
brought first Chan to Estonia, then
Raud to America
to study in the
Clackamas music
department.
This endeavor
was born when
Surva and com
poser
Veljo
Tormis visited
Clackamas
in
May of ’97 and
invited Chan to
study in Estonia.
Thrilled at the
concept, Chan ea
gerly accepted,
and events were
thus set in motion.
The next fall Chan
began to jump
through the vari
JOEL P. SHEMPERT / Clackamas Print
ous hoops to gain
access to the Bal Christopher Chan, graduate of Clackamas'
tic State, finally music program, is continuing his quest for
arriving in De excellence at Estonia's Georg Ots Music School.
cember. Raud similarly was ap Term, and next year will begin en
proached with the prospect of going rollment. She is finally involved in
to America, and arrived at last in her main purpose in coming here, the
January of 1998.
study of jazz.
As both students attest, the jour
“Lonnie did everything he could,”
ney was not without its difficulties. affirms Raud. “I’m sure the music
Chan, who is not a US or even Brit department did everything they
ish citizen, but rather (after Hong could. There was not anything they
Kong’s reassimilation) Chinese, had could do about it; there had to be
a doubly hard time attaining his visa, someone higher to make the deci
and was subjected to a battery of sions.”
frustrating tests. To top it off, there
Though the ride may have been a
is no Estonian embassy anywhere rocky one, it is to be expected when
near here, and all applications had forging an academic bond between
to go through Washington DC.
to schools of differing nationality, to
Meanwhile, Raud experienced nu say nothing of differing govern
merous false starts and stops, and ments. Still and all, through the walls
though she had agreed in the spring of red tape there is a real treasure to
to go, she heard nothing about it all be gleaned from the exchange.
“It’s just an
other way to get
people deeper into
the culture [of Es
tonia],” explains
Cline, pointing
out that students
will be able to
“understand mu
sic from an East
ern
European
standpoint.”
Cline’s
love
Estonia’s music
and culture is no
secret, of course,
and he is firmly
convinced of its
value to students.
Besides expo
sure to a unique
culture, American
musicians can ex
pect to benefit for
the great intensity
of Estonian study
as well. Music
JOEL P. SHEMPERT / Clackamas Print
schools in Estonia
Estonian Kairi Raud (right) rehearses with fellow jazz singer and
start from an early
Clackamas student Micah McCool. Kairi has persevered through
age and at the col
many obstacles to study American music at Clackamas.
lege level students
are immersed in singing, voice les dence in 1991, musicians are hungry
sons, conducting lessons,, instrumen for instruction in this area, which
tal lessons, and music theory.
happily is something that Cline and
“Studying is about just like the Clackamas can provide.
Here you can
United States, but the only difference
This exchange is about more than
study mote
is that here you can study more in music, however: it is about culture.
tensely than the U.S.,” Chan says. “I Raud and Chan are both receiving a
intensely than
can focus on music pretty much crash course in a way of thinking dif
in the US I
100% every day. Students may ferent from their own.
choose to go to two or more schools
“The people love parties,” re
can focus on
at the same time as long as they have lates Chan of Estonian life. “They
music pretty
time for them. The young people see enjoy friends. They may not talk
education as a very valuable thing.” to you if you are a stranger, but
much 100%
Estonia has much to benefit from once they know you, they are very
everyday.
as well, says Cline. “Hopefully it open.”
will be beneficial to students [from
The bottom line is that both coun
Estonia] who can’t get instruction in tries have a lot to offer each other’s
certain areas such as jazz, and also I students, both as musicians and as
Chris Chan
think our Theory program is a direct people. This exchange then, given
Exchange
benefit.”
Cline’s Estonian passion, is as he
student to
Jazz is significant to Estonians, for says “the most logical thing to do.
Estonia
as a uniquely American form of mu-, It’s just another opportunity for stu
sic, its study was not allowed under dent success, now on an interna
Soviet rule. Since Estonia’s indepen tional, global level.”
The next big pop stars?
______
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Wednesday, May 6, 1998
JEREMY STALLWOOD / Clackamas Print
Not exactly. ASG President Jacob Boenisch (left) and presidential candidate David
LeDoux belted one out last Thursday at ASG and Coyote Circle's karaoke benefit.
Free pizza and a, um, wide range of musical entertainment were available to all.