Entrance by invitation only

With:
State Choir Latvija
Conductor Māris Sirmais

Opening the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the State Choir Latvija will give a solo concert in Berlin with an a cappella music programme and choral music from the creative work of Latvian composers Pēteris Vasks, Ēriks Ešenvalds and Gundega Šmite, as well as Valentyn Sylvestrov, Veljo Tormis, Paweł Łukaszewski, and Josef Rheinberger.

The State Choir Latvija is a frequent guest in German concert life, often being asked to work together with the best German orchestras. After the choir’s outstanding performance of Rodion Shchedrin’s lengthy a cappella liturgy, The Sealed Angel, in 2009 at the largest music event in Germany, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the composer called the State Choir Latvija “the best choir in the world”.

The State Choir Latvija with its perfect, warm, instrumentally nuanced vocal culture, and the special sound of Latvian choir culture, is a thing of wonder to the rest of the world. It is the largest professional choir in the Baltics. Since 1997 the artistic leader and chief conductor of the choir has been Māris Sirmais. In 2017, the State Choir Latvija will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

The choir will also perform songs from the Amber Vein thematic line of the Riga 2014 European Capital of Culture programme.