Good Fridays concert in Riga St. Peters church. State Choir LATVIJA, Sinfonietta Riga and conductor Māris Sirmais performs Adams Lament by Arvo Pärt and Seven Last Words from the Cross – a cantata for choir and strings by James MacMillan
In January State Choir LATVIJA is returning on the Royal Concertgebouw stage in Amsterdam. Iveta Apkalna and Maxim Rysanov are guest artists at the 23rd International Sacred Music Festival.
Concert tour in Spain. Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” with the outstanding conductor Gianandrea Noseda in Zaragoza, Barcelona and Madrid.
Germany, Bochum. Ruhrtriennale Festival. Six “Evolution” shows with performance of György Ligeti Requiem
Concert tour in Canada. Latvian Canadian Song Festival Grand Concert, Festival “Music & Beyond” , Elora Festival.
Germany, Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie. State Choir LATVIJA and Māris Sirmais debut solo in collaboration with Iveta Apkalna
On May 4th, the closing concert of the series “Latvian composers for the centenary of Latvia” brought together more than 800 singers. The choir made its debut at the National Music Auditorium in Madrid, performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orquestra de Cadaqués and conductor Antoni Wit.
Together with conductor Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the State Choir LATVIJA celebrated the 150th anniversary of Brahms’ German Requiem at Bremen Cathedral.
The choir made its debut at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. Later in 2017, the State Choir LATVIJA performed in China for the first time, joining conductor Paavo Järvi in concerts of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Shanghai and Beijing.
The choir participated in a concert celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mariss Jansons.
As part of the Latvian Presidency of the European Union, the State Choir LATVIJA presented performances of Baltic choral music at Lincoln Center and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. The choir also made its debut at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, performing Verdi’s Requiem with conductor Andris Poga. In June, the choir joined the MDR Symphony Orchestra and conductor Paavo Järvi in a Leipzig performance of Des Jona Sendung by Rudolf Tobias.
Together with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Zubin Mehta, the State Choir LATVIJA performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in Athens, Greece.
The choir performed with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for the first time, once again joining conductor Mariss Jansons for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8.
The choir made its debut performance with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with conductor Mariss Jansons.
The State Choir LATVIJA made its debut at the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center in three concerts, including collaborations with the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós. The performances received positive reviews in the New York Times and in Rolling Stone.
The choir made its debut at the prestigious Lucerne Festival, as well as presenting Rodion Shchedrin’s masterwork The Sealed Angel at the Rheingau Festival in Germany. In September, the choir participated in the season opening concert of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra at the Berlin Music Festival.
In Ireland, the State Choir LATVIJA gave the world premiere of Arvo Pärt’s A Deer’s Cry. In the same concert, the choir presented the world premieres of Rihards Dubra’s Hail, Queen of Heaven and Georgs Pelēcis’ I See His Blood Upon the Rose. In 2008, the State Choir LATVIJA also made its debut in the Helsinki Music Centre, presenting the first concert performance of Rodion Shchedrin’s opera The Enchanted Wanderer.
The 10th International Sacred Music Festival, organized by the State Choir LATVIJA, was widely celebrated. Particularly notable was the Latvian premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass
As part of the Singapore Arts Festival, the State Choir LATVIJA performed Stravinsky’s Les Noces, in addition to an a cappella programme led by Artistic Director Māris Sirmais. In February, the choir celebrated the 75th birthday of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis with a concert of his works in the Riga Latvian Society House. In April, the choir presented Luciano Berio’s Coro in Tallinn with conductor Tonu Kaljuste.
The choir performed in four European capitals—Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and Tallinn—as well as many other major cities. In the 7th International Sacred Music Festival, the choir presented the works of English composer Sir John Tavener. In May, the choir traveled to Singapore for a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and conductor Lan Shui. In Ireland, the State Choir LATVIJA represented Latvia in a concert organised by the European Union in celebration of the enlargement of the EU.
