Kaspars Zemītis celebrates life in music with the Riga Guitar Quartet

Kaspars Zemīš’s guitar has the ability to sound unforgettable in the rhythms of academic music, jazz, rock or pop. He makes music with the most special musicians in Latvia, but often also with his family – his wife Anda and his sons Kārli, Mārtiņa Matīsa and Jēkab Roberta, all of whom have chosen to be in a close relationship with music

“At the Music Academy, my job is to help us together [ar studentu] find out which direction to go. Do we need another, I don’t know, another Aivars Hermanis, or another Kaspars Zemītis? No! So how do we find out where you will be, where you will understand yourself?

Come violinists, if you are good enough, you can be the first violin of the National Symphony Orchestra, let’s say, or any other orchestra. For us [ģitāristiem] there are no staff positions, the only staff position for Radio Big Band is Guitarist, and that is still a rhythmic position. Because of this we are looking. We also play Bach music, lutes and Bach suites are great challenges for guitar players, but we are looking for who you are, how do you change? ” says Kaspars Zemītis about his work at the Music Academy.

Kaspars Zemītis agrees with a smile that it is dangerous to choose such a profession. But also admitting that it’s good that not everyone is going to be a great artist.

“This is how we see our place. If I’m successful, active enough, ambitious enough, then they’ll notice me and say: hey, we want to hear you again. If it doesn’t happen that, well, maybe I can just be your girlfriend and play with a band someday,” Kaspars Zemītis assesses.

“(..) I have bad news. Not everyone who graduates from the Music Academy can feed themselves and their families with this activity. Latvia is a very small place, and no everyone who gets a musical education in America can feed themselves. That’s the way it is. This research has to go on and on, and the lucky few will. become a source of inspiration for the next one.

They are few, as I said. Well, yes, they may remain bitter, but I hope their bitterness is not so great that they will not continue to enjoy music and play the guitar,” continued Kaspars Zemītis.

“I will tell you how my life is going. And I keep thinking, maybe I should be less of a teacher, because I still want to play on the high- floor. they can be teachers. Play guitar I’ve been getting teachers since the first year of vacation where you might be offered.

to play somewhere. That’s how you see that you can balance, because this is what my professor told me: “Kaspar, if you are lucky in your life, you had a teacher who helped you to be better, you must you pay that debt back to someone.”

And I also say this to my students: don’t forget, the work of a teacher also cleans us, that is, the channels through which we can learn, these channels are cleaned by the work of a teacher, because you see how you can help other people to learn something. Well, it’s not so crazy there!” says Kaspars Zemītis.

Kaspars believes that it is necessary to learn how to play classically correctly and masterfully, and only then can he start playing non-controversially and differently. Currently, Kaspars works at the Latvian Academy of Music as a lecturer and teaches classical guitar playing to young students. He also works as a guitar teacher at Jāzeps Mediņas Riga High School of Music. But in the Torniakalns church congregation house, which is called the musician’s spiritual home – he has been a member of this church for years, actively involved in service work.

The program reads:

1. Riga guitar quartet. “Morning Memory”
2. Kaspars Zemitis. “Summer Night”
3. Renars Kauper, Anda Zemite. “Simple”
4. Land and sons. “Over time”