On September 11, Arvo Pärt turns 90.

"By now, it's become tradition that we usually go out to eat with the family — my uncle's birthday happens to be the same day — followed by a concert in the evening," Anna Pärt said.

Pärt described her grandfather as bright and quiet. "Like, well, a grandfather," she continued. "Just that music has always been an important part of our everyday life too. We visit them in Laulasmaa often, and there's always a little piano ditty or tune to go along with it."

At 20, Pärt has already lived in Estonia, Iceland, Germany and the U.K., but she says that, for her, home has always been Estonia — where her family returned in 2010 after an extended stay abroad.

"My school years and the way home have always been in Estonia," she explained. "With its teachers, language, culture and everything."

Pärt's first language was Icelandic, and learning Estonian later was a challenge at first.

"I started around seven years old," she recalled. "I clearly remember struggling with the word õun [apple] and getting that õ sound right — it took years. Thankfully, I've got it now."

Anna Pärt began writing music at age six. Her early compositions were shaped by mythology and Icelandic folklore. "It carried over into my music," she added.

"As a child, the piano was my closest friend," Pärt said. "Over time, I've gotten very into chamber choirs, and my music has followed."

The Estonian-Icelandic composer has also performed her works for her grandfather Arvo Pärt.

"He listens quietly and smiles," she said. "Sometimes he'll share a little about the feelings the music stirs up in him, or how he liked a particular passage, and how it might continue."

This fall, Anna Pärt will head to London to study at the Guildhall Conservatory.

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