Olav Roots

Olav Roots (born February 26, 1910 in Uderna , Livonia Governorate , † January 30, 1974 in Bogotá , Colombia ) was an Estonian conductor and pianist.

Olav Roots studied piano with Artur Lemba and composition with Heino Eller at the music school in Tartu from 1923 to 1928 . Until 1931 he studied at the Estonian Music Academy in Tallinn , where he then taught piano and music theory until 1935. He also completed his piano training with Alfred Cortot in Paris.

Until 1937 he led a class for ensemble playing, then the symphony orchestra of the Tallinn Conservatory. In 1937, a scholarship enabled him to study with Felix Weingartner in Vienna and to attend summer courses with Nikolai Malko in Salzburg. In 1939 he became chief conductor of the Estonian Radio Orchestra . In 1942 he studied with Clemens Krauss in Salzburg .

In 1944 Roots moved to Sigtuna in Sweden. He taught there at the Estonian High School and directed the Stockholm Mixed Youth Choir . In 1952 he became conductor of the Orquestra Sinfonica de Colombia in Bogotá. He also directed a chamber choir and a mixed choir there and taught at the city's conservatory.