What Did They Do On Their Summer Vacation? They Sang in Estonia

Written By Lisa Breslin

When Carroll County teens Haley Austin, Kristen Luther and Emily Ehrgott answer the question, “What did you do during your summer vacation?” question, their responses will probably seem somewhat exotic.

The three teens journeyed to Estonia to participate in a song festival that featured more than 26,000 musicians and performed for 40,000 people.

To prepare for the 140-year-old Estonian Song Festival, the girls learned five songs in Estonian. They also studied recent the country’s history and culture.

But some confusion was inevitable. At one point, they discovered that when they thought they were saying “thank you, thank you,” they were actually saying “help me, help me;” the result of a slight shift in accented syllables.

“We were all happy to find that despite the language barrier,” said Emily, the daughter of the Rev. Curtis and Sue Erghott, “it was amazing how much we could communicate without the perfect words.”

Throughout their 10-day trip, the teens lived in a small apartment with their music mentor Diane Jones, who also directs them in the Children’s Chorus of Carroll County. They also slept on the floor of a Russian school with thousands of other song festival participants and navigated the nuances of large group living, including group showers.

Jones, who celebrates her 25th year with the choral group this year, recognized Kristen, Haley and Emily’s maturity, their musical talent and travel experiences and handpicked them for the trip. The girls’ families were responsible for the approximate $2,500 cost of the trip.

“The Song Festival was unlike anything I’ve ever seen or experienced before,” said Kristen, daughter of Jim and Tina Luther. “People came from all over the world for this tremendous tribute to Estonian culture. One tenth of the population of Estonia attended; there were flags everywhere.”

“I will always remember the impact of the director standing in front of us, speaking words that we could not possibly understand and then looking out at the crowd of people packed into the audience,” said Haley, daughter of Amy and Jay Austin.

The teens’ participation in the Estonian Song Festival is only one of many cultural and business exchanges between Westminster and its sister city, Paide. The Maryland National Guard introduced the partnership between Paide and Westminster in 2002. Several other Maryland municipalities, including Annapolis, Frostburg and Salisbury, have already paired with different Estonian cities. – L.M.B.