Our Valga Journey to Places of Muses

Our initial plan for the Our Valja tours scheduled the first walk in October to be led by writer Kuido Merits, but due to his illness, the event will be led by director of Valga Museum, Neeme Punder. The focus of the theme will also change, and we will explore places in Valga associated with muses. 

Neeme Punder says the following about his tour, "If music comes from the muses, then the museum is the place of muses – that is my Valga. We will begin our journey full of sounds from the museum, proceed through Valga Cultural Centre and Music School to St. John's Church."

Neeme Punder is a musician, educator, and cultural organiser who, alongside his long creative career, has been closely connected to the cultural life of Valga. He graduated in 1981 from  Tallinn State Conservatory with a major in the flute and later continued his studies in the Netherlands. From 1979 to 2005, he was soloist with the group Hortus Musicus, performing both in Estonia and at many international festivals in Europe, America, Israel, Japan, and elsewhere. He has trained musicians at Tallinn Music High School, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Viljandi Music School, the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, Riga Academy of Music, has been director of Võru Music School, and has led early music interpretation courses in Estonia and abroad. He has been the artistic director of Viljandi Early Music Festival for 32 years, initiator of several concert series, and from 2005 to 2018 producer at Eesti Kontsert.

Since 2019, Neeme Punder has been the director of Valga Museum. His work has brought him close to the history, people, and places of Valga and has given him the opportunity to delve into the cultural history of the city.