Estonia

Urban Symphony were formed two years ago, when singer Sandra Nurmsalu took part in Estonian Television's most popular young soloist competition "Kaks takti ette", which included a bands round. That was what sparked the idea to combine modern electronic music with acoustic instruments to find new and sometimes surprising resonance and colour.

Urban Symphony comprises singer and violinist Sandra Nurmsalu (20), cellists Johanna Mängel (18) and Mari Möldre (16) and viola player Mann Helstein (21), all of whom have been deeply involved in music since childhood. For performing the Eurovision song, Marilin Kongo and Mirjam Mesak joined the group to provide backing vocals.

Urban Symphony's singer is Sandra Nurmsalu. She has two passions - singing and violin playing, and Urban Symphony has given her the chance to combine these. 10 years of violin studies in classic music have also taken her to the roots of Estonian folk music - for 7 years, she played and sang in folk group "Pillipiigad" giving concerts and performing at festivals all over Estonia and in Europe; for 3 years, she has also been part of folk band "Virre".

Urban Symphony

Johanna Mängel has been playing cello for twelve years. She doesn't just perform classical music, but has also played in several well-known Estonian rock bands. The baby of the band is the 16-year-old Mari Möldre, who started practicing cello already at the age of 6. Numerous performances have taken her to different places in the world - even Australia.

Mann Helstein is Urban Symphony's viola player. As a member of various international orchestras, she has travelled all over Europe. In addition, she is currently studying quality and environmental management.

Backing vocal singer Marilin Kongo is 22. She got introduced to music through dancing, which she has been practicing since the age of 5. 18-year-old Mirjam Mesak is also singing backing vocals, and is a bit of a Eurovision veteran. She first appeared on the Eurovision stage at the age of 12, when she was part of an interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Tallinn in 2002. At the Eurovision in Helsinki in 2006, Mirjam sang back vocals to Gerli Padar in the Estonian entry "Partners in Crime".