28 ISMF | LOVE SONGS. Krista Audere and State Choir LATVIJA
Venue:
28th International Sacred Music Festival | Krista Audere and State Choir LATVIJA
Artists:
State Choir LATVIJA
Paula Šūmane, violin
Conductor Krista Audere
Programme:
Torbjørn Dyrud “The Bride’s Dream” korim
Knut Nystedt “Ave Maria”, op.110, korim un vijolei
Pierre Vilette “Hymne à la Vierge” korim
Daniel Lesur “Le Cantique des Cantiques” korim
Eugène Ysaÿe “L’Aurore” no 5. solo sonātes vijolei
Sven-David Sandström “Four Songs of Love” korim
Martin Ødegaard “Love Me” korim un vijolei
The State Choir “Latvija” and its artistic director Māris Sirmais invite all interested parties to the 28th International Sacred Music Festival, which will take place from August 14 to September 5 at St. Peter’s Church and the Riga Congress Hall. Four concert programs will feature a stylistically rich array of sacred music, including gems of late Italian Renaissance vocal polyphony and their echoes in contemporary works, world premieres by Latvian composers, lyrical Scandinavian and French choral music, highlights of modern Estonian classical music, as well as a Latvian premiere – the first Passion to express the teachings of Buddha, merging Eastern and Western cultural traditions through music.
On August 21 at St. Peter’s Church in Riga, the concert “Love Songs” will be conducted by Krista Audere, a Latvian conductor currently living and working in the Netherlands. She is the conductor of the chamber choir at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a choral conducting lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. As a guest conductor, she regularly collaborates with the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Netherlands Radio Choir, and Cappella Amsterdam. Since 2025, she has also served as the principal guest conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir.
Krista Audere has previously collaborated with the State Choir “Latvija” at the 25th and 26th International Sacred Music Festivals and now returns with a concert program intertwining spiritual love lyricism by Scandinavian composers (Torbjørn Dyrud, Knut Nystedt, Sven–David Sandström, Martin Ødegaard) and French composer Pierre Villette.
The concert’s guest artist is violinist Paula Šūmane, whose performance will weave throughout the program — both in solo violin episodes and in organic interplay with the choir.
More information about the festival concerts: www.sgmf.lv
During the concert, photography, video, and audio recording will take place.
