STATE CHOIR LATVIJA
The State Choir LATVIJA is one of the most renowned vocal ensembles in Europe, frequently invited to collaborate with leading conductors and orchestras, and regularly appearing at prestigious concert halls and festivals worldwide. Known for their musical intelligence and technical excellence, the singers effortlessly navigate both refined a cappella repertoire and large-scale symphonic works, even those involving triple orchestras. Since 1997, the choir has been led by Māris Sirmais as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, with Māris Ošlejs serving as Executive Director.
The choir is a regular guest at one of the world’s foremost concert venues, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, where it has performed Gustav Mahler’s Second and Third Symphonies and György Ligeti’s Requiem alongside the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra under Kent Nagano. In 2019, it also gave a solo concert at the Elbphilharmonie with organist Iveta Apkalna. In addition to Hamburg, the State Choir LATVIJA has appeared at many other leading concert halls, including KKL Luzern, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the National Music Auditorium in Madrid, Lincoln Center in New York, Shanghai Concert Hall, The Esplanade in Singapore, and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, among others.
The choir has collaborated with several world-class orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Cadaqués Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. It has worked under the baton of many celebrated conductors, including Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons, Zubin Mehta, Neeme Järvi, Jaap van Zweden, Paavo Järvi, David Zinman, Simone Young, Tõnu Kaljuste, Zbigniew Graca, and Tarmo Peltokoski, among others.A landmark moment in the choir’s history was its participation in a world tour with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, commemorating the 125th anniversary of the orchestra.
Internationally acclaimed for both its musical excellence and innovative spirit, the State Choir LATVIJA has contributed to recordings for Naxos, Warner Brothers, Harmonia Mundi, Wergo, and Ondine, as well as for various Latvian and international music publishers.
Since 1998, the choir has organized one of Latvia’s major classical music events: the International Sacred Music Festival. The festival features premieres by Latvian composers, large-scale works (including some previously unperformed in Latvia), and a cappella concerts conducted by renowned guest conductors from around the world. Over the years, the festival has welcomed distinguished composers such as Sven-David Sandström, Arvo Pärt, Giya Kancheli, John Tavener, Sofia Gubaidulina, Valentin Silvestrov, John Rutter, and Krzysztof Penderecki, as well as soloists like Iveta Apkalna, Gidons Krēmers, Maxim Rysanov, and Andrew Staples.
