One of the leading Latvian choirs – the youth choir “Kamēr…” will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a concert cycle this year, reports TV3’s program “900 Seconds”.
To mark the 30th anniversary, a number of musical events will take place, in which the choir will reveal various aspects of its activities to the audience.
The first “While” concert is expected this weekend. The anniversary will take place on September 12, at 7 pm, a concert of vocal symphonic music “Lux aeterna” in Riga Dome Church together with the State Chamber Orchestra “Sinfonietta Rīga”. It will feature compositions by composers Pēteris Butāns and Rihards Dubras, as well as Jēkabs Jančevskis’ new work “How to Say a Song” by Knut Skujenieks, which is dedicated to the choir’s anniversary and will have its world premiere this evening under the direction of conductor Aivis Greters.
“Thinking about the thirtieth anniversary, my intention was to reveal to the listeners the various characteristics of the choir – in addition to high-quality vocal abilities, also the cooperation and stage skills that have been characteristic of it for a long time. Thus, I continue the path taken by Māris Sirmas and Jānis Liepiņš. It was also important for me to address the composers to dedicate compositions to the choir that will enrich Latvian choral music. I am very pleased that the concerts will be an opportunity not only to meet the choir’s long-term stage partners, but also to start new collaborations, ”says the choir’s artistic director, conductor Aivis Greters.
Further “Kamēr…” concerts are expected in autumn, winter and next summer. A cappella choral music program “Reflections of Waves” will be performed in two concerts in the Great Hall of the University of Latvia on October 30 and 31. The first part of the concert will feature a meditative, contemporary choral music program rich in natural images of the Baltic Sea region, including several Latvian premieres. In the second part – significant compositions in the history of the choir, which were once dedicated to the choir by such Latvian composers as Pēteris Vasks, Selga Mence, Ēriks Ešenvalds and Raimonds Pauls.
During the anniversary season, the choir “Kamēr…” will also delight the audience with the annual charity concert at Christmas and solo concerts in the regions of Latvia, while the festive season will end with a concert performance within the framework of the Cēsis Art Festival next summer.
The visual identity of the choir’s anniversary is formed by the artist Paulis Liepa.
The youth choir “Kamēr…” was founded in 1990 by conductor Māris Sirmais, who has also been its artistic director for a long time, but since 2018 the choir has been taken over by conductor Jānis Liepiņš from Aivis Greters. The choir “Kamēr…” has become a symbol of excellence in Latvian choral singing: the ensemble is a six-time winner of the Song Festival Choir Wars, winner of three European choral singing “Grand Prix”, as well as twice won the Latvian Grand Music Prize. The choir has collaborated with various Latvian and world composers and directors, enriching his artistic work with various productions.
On the anniversary sign, the choir is also organizing a reception of new singers, which will take place on August 24 and 25, 2020 at 18.15 at Riga State 1st Gymnasium, encouraging every singer to become a part of the unique choir. Prior musical training is not mandatory, more information on the website www.kamer.lv and on social networks.
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