Martin Pajumaa
Kammerphilharmonie Graubünden
Sinfonieorchester Basel
“In Pajumaa’s performance, the trumpet’s convincing command of musical qualities stood out, betraying masterly and ample technical reserves.”
“He is probably one of the youngest authors to have been featured at the Song Celebration.”
Translated from Estonian
An American in Paris
Listen to my performance of this trumpet solo in George Gershwin's "An American in Paris", which I performed at the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra's New Year's Concert on January 1, 2024.
About Martin
Martin Pajumaa is an Estonian trumpet player, currently Solo Trumpet of Kammerphilharmonie Graubünden and a member of Sinfonieorchester Basel (fixed-term contract) in Switzerland.
Previously, he was a member of the Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra, and has since also performed with orchestras such as the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, European Union Youth Orchestra and Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Junge Philharmonie Zentralschweiz, and has worked under conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Antonio Pappano, Manfred Honeck and Neeme Järvi.
Alongside his performance career, Martin is active as an arranger and composer. His orchestrations are regularly performed by professional orchestras and have been featured at events such as the Estonian and Latvian Youth Song Celebrations.
From September 2026 he will continue his musical development at the Zurich University of the Arts with Laurent Tinguely and Immanuel Richter, having previously completed his Bachelor’s at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts under Immanuel Richter and Huw Morgan.
-
Martin Pajumaa is an Estonian trumpeter, currently Solo Trumpet of Kammerphilharmonie Graubünden and a member of Sinfonieorchester Basel (fixed-term contract). From September 2026 he continues his studies at the Zurich University of the Arts with Laurent Tinguely and Immanuel Richter, having completed his Bachelor's at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts under Immanuel Richter and Huw Morgan. He is a prize-winner of numerous competitions and has taken part in masterclasses with Omar Tomasoni, Miroslav Petkov, Uwe Köller, Hannes Läubin and Jeroen Berwaerts, among others.
As an orchestral musician, Martin first held a position with the Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra at 17 and has since performed with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and European Union Youth Orchestra. He regularly freelances with professional Estonian and Swiss orchestras and ensembles, and has collaborated with conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Antonio Pappano, Manfred Honeck, Neeme Järvi, Markus Poschner, Sir Mark Elder, Arvo Volmer, Olari Elts, Tõnu Kaljuste and Risto Joost. As a soloist he has appeared with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Junge Philharmonie Zentralschweiz.
Martin is an avid chamber musician and a member of the brass quintet Tuulisbrass; he has also performed with the Estonian Academic Brass Quintet. He is dedicated to presenting Estonian music, performing works by composers such as Eino Tamberg, Tõnu Kõrvits, Rein Rannap, Peeter Vähi, Erich Jalajas, Uno Naissoo and Hillar Kareva. In February 2024 he premiered the original piano version of Ülo Vinter's Trumpet Concerto.
Alongside his performance career, Martin is active as a composer and arranger, with projects for the Estonian National Opera, Pärnu City Orchestra and Tallinn Police Orchestra. In the summer of 2023 his orchestration of "Little House by the Sea" was performed at the Estonian Youth Song Celebration, and in 2025 at the Latvian Youth Song Celebration. His most extensive work as a composer to date, "as I walk past the street…" (2021/2024) for brass quintet and percussion, has been performed in Estonia and Sweden, and recorded by Tuulisbrass on "Estonian Music for Brass" (2023).
Martin began his trumpet studies at the age of seven at the Tabasalu Music School with Valdo Rüütelmaa, and later continued at the Tallinn Music High School in Indrek Vau's trumpet class. In 2023 he graduated from the Tallinn College of Music and Ballet with the highest distinction.