| Martin Laurent Sander | |
|---|---|
Mart Sander |
|
| Born | August 10, 1967 Tallinn, Estonia |
| Occupation | Singer, Actor, Director, Author |
| Years active | 1985 - present |
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Website | |
| www.martsander.com | |
Martin Laurent Sander (born 10 August 1967 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian singer, actor, director, author and television host.
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Sander began his musical education at the age of 7, studying violin at the Tallinn Music School, followed by terms at the State Choreography School, and the Estonian Music Academy where he majored in piano and conducting.[1]
Sander was a member of the Estonian National Opera from 1986-92.[1][2] Since the early 1990s, when Estonia regained its independence, Sander has performed in a number of European venues in English-language comic operas (especially those of Gilbert and Sullivan) and Edwardian musical comedy, including several roles in amateur productions at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.[3] He also sang the role of the Spanish Officer in a concert production of The Contrabandista in 2002 at Cheltenham, England, at the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Festival, with professional soloists and the Cotswold Savoyards (the first modern professional performance of this comic opera)[4] and with orchestras such as Estonian Dream Big Band [5] and Wanemuine Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has performed at and hosted Andrew Lloyd Webber galas.[6]
Sander has appeared in several films, including Kallis härra Q (Dear Mister Moon) (Estonia, 1998) as Saara's and Sigrid's father, Senkiföldje (Parallel Lives) (Hungary/France, 1993) as a sympathetic Nazi,[7] and Iskelmäprinssi (Finland, 1991) as Martti. He has also directed three films, including 1992's Varas (The Thief)[8] and the controversial Berlin 1945: Musik Unter Bomben (2007), which was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 (Short Film Corner) [9].
In 1993 he appeared on American television for the first time in the made-for-cable movie Candles in the Dark, which starred Austrian actor Maximilian Schell and American actress Alyssa Milano.[10][11] Other TV appearances included Eurolaul (1993) and the TV series Tantsud tähtedega (Dancing with the Stars), which he hosts.[12] He also hosted Kissed By the Muse from 1990 to 1993 [13] and Tähed muusikas (Stars in the Music) from 1997 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2010.[14] Both Tantsud tähtedega and Tähed muusikas are aired on Estonia's Kanal 2 station.[15]
In 2004, Sander was featured in the BBC documentary Estonia Dreams of Eurovision! (directed by American filmmaker Marina Zenovich) about the preparations for the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest in which Estonia was the host nation.[16] Sander met Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit to Estonia in October 2006. In May 2008 he was featured as the celebrity guest in the Deal Or No Deal World Tour special on NBC.
In 2010, Sander returned to the Estonian National Opera, where he engaged as a producer and director. [17]
In 2000, Sander helped establish, and began to conduct, the Tallinn-based Bel-Etage Concert Orchestra, which has performed many works of Edwardian musical comedy and several Gilbert and Sullivan operas.[18] In 2004, Sander and Bel-Etage released their first album in Great Britain entitled The Monckton Album, with selections from three musicals composed by Lionel Monckton, on the Divine Art Records label, receiving many favorable reviews and was a Gramophone magazine Critic's Choice 2004 selection.[19][20] Also in 2004, Bel-Etage songs from Edwardian musical comedies were featured on Brian Kay's BBC program. On another occasion, the same program dedicated an episode to his musical fantasy The Vaudevillains, composed and recorded in 2005.[21]
In 2005, Sander established the Swing Swindlers dance orchestra.[22] In 2005, the Swing Swindlers issued an album in the UK called Five-Fifteen: A Tribute to the BBC Dance Orchestra[23] Another album, released by Divine Art in 2007, The Finck Album, is dedicated to the music of British composer Herman Finck.[24] The Swing Swindlers has released 12 albums of swing music and 3 albums of theatre and concert music.
Sander has written novels in English: Mercator, published in 1994[25] and Lux Gravis, 2008, as well as a collection of short stories, Z, The Terminal Letter, 2005.[26]
Sander is also a painter and had an exhibition (copies of old masters) at the Estonian State Art Museum in spring 2006.[27] His first solo exhibition took place in Tallinn in July and August 2008,[28] followed by similar exhibitions in 2009 and 2010.[29]
Mart Sander is Roman Catholic and a Knight of the Order of St. Stanislaus.[2]