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KRISTIANS KALVA
Kristians is one of Latvia’s brightest young jazz trumpeters. He studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with famous European trumpeters Rik Mol and Martijn de Laat, studied at the Malta College of Music, and has received recognition in various international competitions. This year he passed the competition and was selected as a member of the Jong Metropole Orkest for future projects, as well as won the UMO Big Band Freelancer competition in Finland. Currently, he is actively playing in a concert tour with the Dutch pop/jazz diva Trijntje Oosterhuis. He regularly collaborates with the most important Latvian orchestras – the Latvian Radio Big Band, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the chamber orchestra “Sinfonietta Riga”, the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the orchestra “Riga”. He has also performed in foreign projects – in the USA, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Spain, etc., and has also played with famous musicians – Randy Brecker, Shayna Steele, Michelle David, Jochen Neuffer, Ksenija Sidorova, Denis Matsuev, Raimonds Paulus, Normunds Rutulis and the group ‘Instrumenti’, etc.

AGNESE EGLIŅA 
I am a pianist. My professionalism is confirmed by two master’s degrees in music. One was obtained in Latvia, the other in Switzerland. I regularly collaborate with wonderful musicians, creating chamber music programs. I play concerts in Latvia, Europe, and African countries. I have won the highest Latvian state award in music – the Great Music Award – three times!
As well as the “Golden Microphone” for the best academic album of 2018!
I have experience in musically “bloody” fights!
Critics and friends often say that I am a bomb!

RIHARDS PLEŠANOVS
Rihards Plešanovs is a middleweight pianist. A multiple participant in pianist fights, he has shaken his fingers with such distinguished Latvian pianists as Agnes Egliņa, Mārtiņš Zilberts, Artūrs Tsingujevs, Dainēs Tenis, etc. Plešanovs also has a master’s degree, which indicates great professionalism and mastery. He has performed in such prestigious concert halls as “Tu jau zini kur” etc.

TOMS TIMOFEEJEVS
Toms began studying double bass at a music school in his hometown of Ventspils. He continued his musical career by studying at the Emīls Dārziņš Music Secondary School in Riga and then at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. During his studies, he moved to live and study in Odense, Denmark through the Erasmus exchange program. In Denmark, he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, as well as another master’s degree in Lübeck, Germany. In 2011, Toms passed the competition for the position of deputy concertmaster of the double bass group at the Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark, where he worked until 2018, periodically assisting at the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra in Copenhagen. After 7 years of work in Denmark, in 2018, Toms passed the competition for the position of deputy concertmaster of the double bass group at the Latvian National Opera Orchestra and decided to return to Latvia. Currently, he also collaborates with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Riga, Sinfonietta Riga, and participates in various pop and jazz music projects. In recent years, Toms has also taught double bass to the younger generation at the Augustas Dombrovskis Music School, the Ogre Music and Art School, and the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.

VIJA MOORE
Vija is studying for a Bachelor of Global Music at the Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki, Finland. As a child, she played the kokle, violin, sang and danced in the folklore ensemble “Kokle”. In high school, Vija graduated from the NMV Emīls Dārziņš Music School, percussion class. With the folklore ensemble “Kokle”, Vija participated in several international Nordic folk music projects and got to know a new world of music with different musical traditions. There, she discovered other ways of creating and playing music. In her studies, Vija studies traditional marimbas and is currently learning the West African marimba – the diatonic balafon. Playing the balafon is accompanied by familiarization with related musical traditions and playing techniques. Combining the acquired academic knowledge and marimba playing with traditional music, Vija experiments and combines it with her cherished Latvian folk music. The current goal of the studio is to create and cultivate one’s own personal playing style, inspired by various folk music traditions.

ALEKSANDRS KALĒJS
Aleksandrs Kalējs is a passionate Latvian musician who enchants with his search for new ideas and colors. He has performed in almost all European countries, including the oldest music festival in the Netherlands, and has given a concert tour in the USA. He became a laureate of the Gershwin Competition in New York, as well as received recognition for his interpretations of Bach, Latvian, Scriabin and contemporary music. At the same time, in a duet with viola Dāvis Sliecāns, he constantly creates new concert programs, as well as wins the Grand Prix at the Blackhead Brotherhood Competition and the 24th Brussels International Music Competition. Performing with orchestras, he collaborates with conductors such as Vytautas Lukočius, Andris Vecumnieks and Robert W. Butts. He studied piano in Riga and Vienna with Sergejs Osokin (JVLMA), Dinas Attes (EDMV) and Avedis Kouyoumdjian (MDW). Alexander is grateful to countless mentors such as Mikhail Voskresensky, Shunske Sato, Herta Hansen, François Killian, Hortense Cartier-Bresson, Yefim Bronfman, Eliso Virsaladze, Ellen Corver and many others.

LAURA MUCENIECE
I am currently an orchestra musician in the Vanemuine Theatre Orchestra in Tartu, Estonia (I have been there since last year). I started my musical career in Skrīveri (where I am from), moved to Riga in high school, where I studied at the Riga State Gymnasium 1 and the Music High School, followed by my bachelor’s studies at the JVLMA, during which I was also on an exchange program in Denmark. This in turn encouraged me to continue my studies abroad, and I obtained my master’s degree in Stavanger (Norway), where, in parallel with my studies, I actively participated in various chamber music and contemporary music projects, as well as playing solo programs.

In Latvia, I have performed as a guest musician in the National Symphony Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and Simfonietta Rīga, as well as participated in countless project/festival orchestras.

I also actively participate in various master classes both in Latvia and abroad, which is one of the most important incentives in my growth.

EDGARS KARPENSKIS ALLAŽS
Edgars Karpenskis-Allažs is a student of Bram Vam Sambeek at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the bassoon class. The bassoonist is a laureate of several international competitions and has participated in master classes with Gustavo Nunez, Simon Van Holen, Audun Halvorsen and others.
Edgars has given concerts in the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Germany and Norway.

DANIILS KUZMINS
Academic baritone, artist of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Choir, laureate of international competitions, winner of the JVLMA and LMT Young Musician of the Year Award 2021. He made his debut with distinction in the role of Malatesta from Gaetano Donizetti’s opera “Don Pasquale” (as part of the opera singing diploma exam), is actively engaged in concert activities as a chamber music performer, while also working in the spheres of baroque music (in collaboration with Collegium Musicum Riga) and contemporary music. In October of this year, as the only representative of Latvia, Daniils was nominated for the first round of the world’s most prestigious vocal competition Operalia by Placido Domingo.

KĀRLIS TIRZĪTIS 
Kārlis Gunārs Tirzītis (b. 1996) is a student of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music in the class of Herta Hansen. The pianist has participated in various international competitions in Latvia and abroad. The Jurmala International Piano Competition, the Lyon International Piano Competition, and the Latvian National Young Pianist Competitions are worth mentioning. Kārlis has had master classes with Vsevolod Dvorkin, Reinis Zariņš, Konstantin Lifšits, Dina Joffé, Dominique Merle, Graham Scott, Diana Kettler and others. The pianist regularly gives solo and chamber music concerts in Latvia, has performed in the USA, and has played with orchestras in Latvia and the Czech Republic.

MARKS VIĻENSKIS
Marks Viļenskis is an internationally recognized young musician from Latvia, having received a master’s degree in music from the Latvian Academy of Music, and has also studied at the Porto Music Academy in Portugal. During his studies abroad, he performed with the Porto Music Academy Big Band at the Guimaraes Jazz 2017 festival and studied jazz piano privately with Portuguese pianist Pedro Gedeš. Marks is a finalist of the Latvian Television classical music competition ”Made for Music”. He regularly performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles in Latvia and abroad, and in parallel works as a cello teacher at the Iķšķile Music and Art School. Marks is the founder of the classical and tango music ensemble “Tangoriginales” known in Latvia and abroad and the new jazz music project “The Old World Blues”. In 2022, Marks has received invitations to perform with his ensembles in Portugal (Porto Cello Festival) and France (Nice Jazz Festival). He has performed on the same stage with such world-renowned jazz musicians as Jeff Lederer, Joe Fiedler, Sebastian Noelle, Janet Lawson as well as Latvian jazz music stars Olga and Diana Pirags, Intara Busuli, Indriki Veitner, Andrejs Jevsjukovs and many others.

ROBERT FLEITZ 
Born in Lakeland, Florida, where his father taught him piano from the age of four, Robert is a graduate of the Juilliard School (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees). He is a passionate interpreter of new music, having collaborated with composers such as Tan Dunn, Paola Prestini, Jeffrey Mumford, and Liisa Hirsch. Recent honors include the 2021 Pro Musicis International Prize, the André Boucourechliev Prize at the 2020 Orleans International Piano Competition, and the 2021 Robert Turnbull Piano Music Foundation Musician’s Fellowship. His self-produced album Leaving a Room was released in September 2021 and features works by new composers recorded in his New York apartment on a 1970 Kawai.

IEVA PARŠA
Since 2000, she has participated in productions of the Latvian National Opera (initially as a choir artist, but since 2008 as a soloist) and in various performances of large-scale vocal-instrumental works, specializing in interpretations of baroque and contemporary music, although one of the brightest artistic expressions is precisely the chamber music genre. Ieva’s focus is mainly on contemporary and Latvian composers’ music, but she also enjoys singing baroque and romantic repertoire, paying particular attention to the revelation of text and content in all these musical areas. The singer received the Latvian Music Award in 2008 for her premieres of solo songs by Latvian composers and especially experimental vocal lyrics. Nominated for the Great Music Award in 2008 and 2009.

AIGARS RAUMANIS
Aigars is one of the brightest Latvian musicians of the younger generation, a laureate of several international competitions, winner of the Great Music Award in the category “Young Artist of the Year” (2019), as well as the winner of the JVLMA and LMT Young Musician of the Year Award 2018 and several other awards. He has premiered Platons Buravicks’ concerto “Temperature of Plastics”, Pauls Dambys’ “Blaumanis brauc uz Brakiem” for saxophone and orchestra and Andris Dzenītis’ “Pierrot” for saxophone solo, as well as many compositions by composers of the younger generation. In parallel with playing the saxophone, he devotes time to composition; Aigars Raumanis’s works have been performed in the USA, Israel, Germany and in the largest Latvian concert halls and churches, including Latvian Radio Studio 1, Concert Hall Latvia, Great Guild Hall, University of Latvia Aula, Riga Cathedral..

Second pair

LĪGA GRIĶE
One of the most successful young musicians and concert kokle players. Līga has set as her goal the popularization of the concert kokle as a solo instrument in the academic music environment of Latvia and the world. She has participated in countless international competitions, concerts and festivals as a soloist, kokle ensemble member, chamber musician in Finland, Slovakia, England, USA, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc. She has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Royal Alberthall), Baruch Music Center, New York (Baruch Performing Arts Center). In 2017, she won the JVLMA Young Musician of the Year Award, in 2022. nominated for the Great Music Award in the category “Young Artist”. She has performed as a soloist with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, Professional Wind Orchestra “Rīga”, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and other well-known orchestras and ensembles in Latvia.

MĀRIS ROZENFELDS
A professional accordionist, in the spring of 2019, Māris completed a master’s degree at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music – the musician learned to play the accordion with the teacher Artūrs Noviks. With the musicians of the ensemble “Arcandela”, Māris has participated in the premiere of Gundega Šmite’s opus “Es karā aiziedams: dainu kammermisterija”. In turn, most recently, as part of the international composers’ course “Composers+”, the musician created and then premiered several compositions together with composers from Norway, Serbia and Great Britain. The accordionist has collaborated with such renowned musicians as Sandis Šteinbergs, Kristīne Balanas and world-renowned conductors – Tena Kaljusti, Ainārs Rubiķi, Normunds Šnē, as well as with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Riga.

Winner of the first season
Pianist
Roberts Fleics

A look at the first season

Winner of the second season
Opera singer
Tīna Gelnere

A look at the second season

Winner of the third season
Cymbal instrumentalist
Ernests Ervīns Dovgāns

A look at the third season