Praised for its “nearly unbearable brilliance” (Peter Dobrin, Philadelphia Inquirer), the music of Riho Esko Maimets (b. 1988) has been performed widely in Estonia and internationally. His works have been included in the repertoire of ensembles including the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Estonian National Male Choir, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and the Gryphon Trio. He has also contributed several works to the Estonian National Song Festival.
Maimets completed a Diploma in Composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2014 and is currently enrolled in the doctoral program at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where his principal teachers include Toivo Tulev and Kerri Kotta. His earlier mentors include Helena Tulve, René Eespere, Christos Hatzis, David Serkin Ludwig and Richard Danielpour. His music spans choral, chamber, and orchestral genres, as well as solo vocal works and music for children.
His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including First Prize at the Rudolf Tobias Composition Competition (2024), the Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music, the highSCORE Prize, First Prize at the Villiers Quartet Competition, the Theodore Presser Music Award, and a SOCAN Award. In 2020 he was named Choral Composer of the Year by the Estonian Choral Association, and in 2021 he received the Riho Päts Foundation Composer Award.
Despite these distinctions, Maimets considers his most important role to be father to his two children—a perspective that increasingly shapes both his artistic priorities and his understanding of time, responsibility, and meaning.