The farewell of Edgars Račevskis (1936 – 2022), the Honorary Chief Conductor of the General Latvian Song and Dance Festival, will take place this year. February 23 from 11.00 to 12.30 in Torņakalns Church, Riga.
A memorial service will be held after the farewell ceremony. The artist will be buried in Baltezers Cemetery.
The Latvian National Cultural Center expresses its deepest condolences to Edgars Račevskis’ relatives, friends and talent fans.
Maestro was a multiple chief conductor of the General Latvian Song and Dance Festival (since 1970), a long-time chief conductor of Tukums and Alūksne district choirs, he founded and conducted several well-known and artistically high-quality amateur choirs in Latvia – “Gaudeamus”, “Vanema”, “Sonore”. He was the initiator of important cultural and historical events – he established the tradition of Jāzeps Vītols Song Days in Gaujiena.
From the 1990s he was active in the field of composition and was an honorary member of the Latvian Composers’ Union. The contribution of Edgars Račevskis’ working life to Latvian culture is also significant in pedagogical activities and the development of professional choir art. He has worked for more than thirty years at the Latvian State Conservatory, now the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. From 1963 to 1986 he was the artistic director of the Latvian Radio Choir.
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