Silvi Vrait


Silvi Vrait was an Estonian singer and music teacher.

Biography

Born in Kehra in 1951, Vrait graduated from the Kehra Music School in 1968 on piano. In 1974 she graduated from the Tartu University with a degree in English philology. From 1994, she taught English in a secondary school in Tallinn. Vrait coached vocalists at the Georg Ots Music School in Tallinn.

Stage career

Silvi Vrait first appeared on stage in 1972 when she performed in a TV show, and 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" and "Ei ole üksi ükski maa".
She appeared in musicals and operas, such as Porgy and Bess, Zorba, Cabaret, Gypsy, The King and I, Chicago and The Sound of Music.
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.

Death

In 2013 Vrait was hospitalized with a brain tumour and died on 28 June 2013, aged 62. She was survived by her son, Silver Vrait.