RSU Mixed Choir Rīga completes concert tour of Austria
On 12-17 November, the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) mixed choir Rīga visited Austria with conductors Zane Zilberte and Evita Taranda. The choir gave concerts in Salzburg and Graz and received standing ovations from the audience. These performances not only stood out for their emotional and intense musical performance, but also became an important cultural event, which culminated in the joint celebration of the 106th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia and the 10th anniversary of the Graz Latvian Culture Society.
With the support of the University, the choir Rīga carried out an extensive concert tour in Austria, where the audience was introduced to three comprehensive concert programmes that showed the diversity of Latvia's choral music. At the church of St. Andrä in Mozart's hometown Salzburg and at the church of Herz Jesu in Graz (in collaboration with the Graz University Choir), the audience received the choir's emotional and nuanced musical performance with standing ovations.
The 106th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia and the 10th anniversary of the Graz Latvian Culture Society were commemorated with a concert at the Graz South Church. The concert was a celebration of the richness of Latvia's cultural heritage and intended to strengthen the connection between the Latvian diaspora and their native country.
A diverse and extensive programme of choral music had been prepared for this event. The conductors included both Latvian folk song arrangements, highlighting the ancient beauty and the power of simplicity of folk music, and significant original works by Latvian composers in the repertoire. The repertoire included compositions from Latvian choral music classics such as Lūcija Garūta, Alfrēds Kalniņš, Jānis Kalniņš as well as more prominent, already established names of contemporary composers such as Rihards Dubra, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Raimonds Tiguls, Jēkabs Jančevskis and Laura Jēkabsone.
Both conductors succeeded in demonstrating the quality of Latvian choral culture, as well as highlighting the unique sound of Latvian choirs. With its vivid performance, the choir Rīga was able to present a complete picture of the choir as an instrument, demonstrating the full range of its capabilities. The choir was able both to fill the vast cathedral and weave the most delicate melodies, evoking genuine admiration and enthusiasm from the audience, thus proving once again that the choir movement with its traditions is an important and inseparable part of Latvian culture.
The audience expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to be introduced to different aspects of Latvian choral music. In Salzburg and Graz, there has been a growing interest in Latvian choral culture, the Latvian amateur choir movement and young music composers.
The RSU mixed choir Rīga was established in 1951, shortly after the Rīga Medical Institute was founded, and for almost 20 years (1967–1986), its conductor was the renowned conductor, Prof. Jānis Dūmiņš. Currently the choir is led by conductors Evita Taranda, who has been working with the choir since 2000, and Zane Zilberte, who joined the choir in 2006. Uģis Meņģelis has been the choirmaster since 2015. During this time, the choir has achieved significant success in international and national competitions.
