Anitra Niedre to receive highest Latvian state awards – Order of Three Stars, Order of Viestura, Cross of Valor

Last week, the Orders Chapter decided to award several representatives from different fields the highest awards of the Latvian state – the Order of Three Stars, the Order of Viestura and the Cross of Valor. Anitra Niedre, teacher at the Ventspils High School of Music, artistic director and director of the women’s choir of the Ventspils Cultural Center “Venda”, leader of several vocal ensembles will also receive the Cross of Recognition. A solemn presentation ceremony of the highest state awards is planned for the 34th anniversary of the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia – on May 4 in the Riga Palace.

Anitra Niedre in her teaching career since 1983 at the Ventspils Music High School, she has trained several pedagogues and young directors. Through continuous teamwork, students with internationally recognized results have won prizes in several local and international competitions. Members of the vocal ensemble “Mundus” led by Anitra, who started their musical journey in the choir of the Ventspils High School of Music “Nošu planets”, the ensembles of the Ventspils Culture Center “Planets Mazā Prinča” and “Cita plentė” to be very successful in various local and international competitions. In Anitra’s artistic expressions, she is always looking for new forms that have never been seen before, new collaboration opportunities, believing that teamwork is the basis of her work success- team with her colleague and director Rudīti Tālberga, who was once Anitra’s student. The “Star of the Sea” competition was created and created by Anitra Niedres and Rudīte Thalberga and has been taking place since 2009. Anitra can be described as a persistent leader with good working abilities and good music, which has been leading the women’s choir “Venda” for more than 45 years, which in the long run has steadily maintained the status of the best women’s choir in Latvia. . The female vocals of “Venda” have delighted audiences in Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, the Czech Republic, Spain, where she brought home several awards and diplomas from festivals and competitions. In the final of the XXVII General Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival competition “War of Wars”, the women’s choir “Venda” won the highest level in the country – the Grand Prize. The choir participated in the international competition “Lisbon Sings 2023” in the autumn of 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, competing in two categories: the category of homogeneous choirs and the category of oral -recitation, winning the highest first place. It should be noted that at the beginning of this year, “Venda” was nominated for the choral music award in three categories, which is the only award in Latvia, which aims to highlight the best achievements in the business of choral music, creativity, as well as educational work in 2023. The cultural life of Ventspils is unimaginable without the collections led by Anitra Niedres. Ventspils City Council has also appreciated Anitra’s significant contribution to the cultural development of the city and in 2023 they won the Great City Award for the outstanding music teacher and director.