Silvi Vrait

Silvi Vrait
Silvi Vrait in 1989
Background information
Born	(1951-04-28)28 April 1951 Kehra, Estonia
Died	28 June 2013(2013-06-28) (aged 62) Tallinn, Estonia
Genres	Jazz, country, rock, folk
Occupation(s)	Singer, music teacher
Instrument(s)	Vocals, piano
Years active	1972–2013

Silvi Vrait (28 April 1951 – 28 June 2013) was an Estonian singer and music teacher.^[1]

Biography

Vrait was born in Kehra in 1951 to Einar "Edward" Wright, a Minnesota-born American of Finnish ancestry and his Estonian wife Senta (née Schönberg).^[2] She had a half-sister, Pille, five years her senior.^[2]

Vrait graduated from the Kehra Music School in 1968 on piano. In 1974 she graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in English philology. From 1994, she taught English in a secondary school in Tallinn. Vrait coached vocalists, Evelin Samuel and Kaire Vilgats among many at the Georg Ots Music School in Tallinn.^[1]

Stage career

Silvi Vrait first appeared on stage in 1972 when she performed in a TV show. She was a member of several pop and rock musical ensembles, including Viker 5, Suuk, Initsiaal and in 1975, she joined the popular band Fix. From 1976 to 1983 she was active in theatre Vanemuine in Tartu. Her style varies from jazz to country and from rock to folk. In the late 1980s, she was an important figure within the Estonian armless struggle for restoring the independence, the Singing Revolution, for at least two recordings, "Väikene rahvas, väikene maa" ("Small Nation, Tiny Country") and "Ei ole üksi ükski maa" ("No Land Is Alone").^[1]

She appeared in musicals and operas, such as "Põhjaneitsi" ("The Maid of the North") (Mutik, 1980), Porgy and Bess (Bess, 1985), The King and I (Lady Thiang, 1998), Zorba (Storyteller, 2000), Gypsy (Mama Rose, 2001), Chicago (Mama Morton, 2004) and The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess, 2003, reprised in 2010), Cabaret (Fräulein Schneider, 2012).^[1]

In 1994, Vrait was the representative of Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin that year. Her song "Nagu merelaine" ended up on 24th out of 25 places, beating only Lithuania who didn't receive any points.^[1]

Death

Silvi Vrait memorial bench in Kehra

In 2013 Vrait was hospitalized with a brain tumour and died on 28 June 2013, aged 62.^[3] She was buried at Tallinn's Forest Cemetery.^[2] Vrait is survived by her son, Silver Vrait.^[4][5] A memorial bench in honour of her was opened at her hometown Kehra in August 2014.^[6]

References

1. Vihmand, Jaak (4 February 2006). "Silvi Vrait — staar elu lõpuni" (in Estonian). Postimees. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
2. Tali, Piret (4 October 2017). "Salapärane Silvi Vrait – nii jää kui tulikuum". Eesti Naine (in Estonian). Retrieved 6 December 2020.
3. "Suri lauljanna Silvi Vrait" (in Estonian). Ohtuleht. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013.
4. "Silvi Vrait: "Kõige tähtsamad on inimesed laua ümber."" (in Estonian). Ohtuleht. 23 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
5. William Lee Adams (June 28, 2013). "In Memoriam: Estonia's Silvi Vrait". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024.
6. "Silvi Vraidile avati Kehras mälestuspink "Vana pildiraam"" (in Estonian). Ohtuleht. 4 August 2014.

External links

• Silvi Vrait discography at MusicBrainz
• Silvi Vrait at IMDb

Awards and achievements
Preceded by none	Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994	Succeeded by Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna with "Kaelakee hääl"