Here are links from my recent lecture “Music Education
Around the World” in Latvia at the Riga Teaching Training and Educational
Management Academy (RPIVA), as well as a seminar in which I was advising the
university’s PhD students in music:
RPIVA is a very stimulating environment, with a lot of
research activity, and Riga is a pleasant city bustling with music. During my
residency I had a chance to see a stunning performance by the institution’s
extraordinary women’s choir Balta, and to perform with musicians in Riga’s fine
jazz scene, attend a final doctoral defense (disputation), and meet with
various music scholars.
Balta truly seems to be one of the most outstanding women’s
choirs in the world today. I look forward to seeing them perform again. Here is
some information about Balta from the RPIVA website:
"BALTA
is founded in 1999.
Artistic director and conductor of the choir is Prof. Dr.
Mara Marnauza.
Pianist – Laimrota Kriumane.
Students of Music teacher
program, other programs and students and graduates from other universities are
the members of the choir.
Choir BALTA has participated with a great success in
4 International competitions.
• Choir
took the 1st prize in female choir category and Grand prix in
X International choir competition in Budapest (Hungary) in 2005.
• BALTA
took the 1st prize in Female choir category, the 3rd place in Folk music
category and the special prize of jury for bright interpretation of J.Tamulonis
“The Sea” in International competition for Universities' choirs in Pardubice
(Czech Republic) in 2002.
• Choir
took the 3rd prize in International choir competition of Franz Schubert in
Vienna (Austria) in 2000.
• BALTA
took the 3rd place in International choir competition in Klaipeda (Lithuania)
in 1999.
The
choir has improved vocal and artistic master hood in several master-classes of
famous conductors such as English conductor and composer Bob Chilcot and Czech
conductor Alexander Vacek and American composer and conductor Arthur Maud.
BALTA has successfully toured coming to the front and acquiring the
acknowledgement from professional musicians and reviewers as well as from the
public in Latvia and abroad (Germany, Norway, Austria, Lithuania, Czech
Republic, Poland, Spain, Germany etc.).
There are original pieces of Latvian
classical and modern composers, Latvian folk music, music of various styles and
periods by different world composers – from renaissance to jazz - in the repertoire
of BALTA.
First CD of BALTA “Sparks of Light” is recorded in 2003 in Riga 's
Sound record studio.
In the future BALTA is looking forward to new programs,
joining highly professional singing, stage choreography and
direction."
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