On November 10 at 7:00 p.m., the concert hall “Latvija” in Ventspils will host an 80th anniversary concert of Imants Ramiņš, which will feature the State Academic Choir “Latvija”, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, soloists Laura Zariņa (violin), Viktorija Majore (soprano), Oksana Ņikitjuka (mezzo-soprano) under the baton of conductor Māris Sirmaiss. The concert will feature the premiere of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by composer Imants Ramiņš in Latvia and the most striking choral music pieces.
This year, conductor and composer Imants Ramiņš celebrates his 80th anniversary. He was born on September 18, 1943 in Ventspils, but at the age of 11 months, the boy, together with his mother and three older sisters, went on a refugee journey to Germany. Four years later, the family arrived in Canada, where they settled in the town of Cochrane in the province of Ontario. It is with Canada that Imants Ramiņš's life and path in music are most closely connected, without losing his Latvian identity. In 1989, Imants Ramiņš, at the request of the conductor of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, composed a new arrangement of Pūt, vējiņi!. This arrangement is an integral part of the repertoire of Latvian amateur and professional choirs. The Latvian Radio archive contains almost a hundred recordings of Imants Ramiņš' music, most of which are choral music. Ramiņš' works are performed in Latvia by the Latvian Radio Choir, the State Academic Choir "Latvija", the Riga Dome Girls' Choir "Tiara", and the choirs "Ave Sol", "Kamēr..." etc.
"For me, music can never be alienated from everyday life. That's why I have always been employed in all branches of music: as a composer, conductor, teacher, violinist, from time to time even as a singer. The only thing I don't want and am unable to do is explain my music. Who can really tell how a bird flies, why nature is so beautiful, where does love come from?" - says Imants Ramiņš about his path and music.
The concert's artistic director, Māris Sirmais, has included the a cappella pieces Stabat Mater and Alleluia, Amen at the author's special request in the concert in Ventspils, as well as the choral piece Jūrai (the author's dedication to the State Academic Choir "Latvija") and Jau sauļeite (the author's dedication to Māris Sirmais), etc.
Musicologist Gunda Miķelsone has said the following about Imants Ramiņš's works: "Even if there is a darker moment in the development of the piece, it seems that light pours in, stretches out, and washes over the edges in Ramiņš's music, and the creator himself enjoys the role of its keeper and transmitter."
Imants Ramins' 80th anniversary concert on November 10 at 7:00 PM in the "Latvija" concert hall is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Ventspils City Municipality. Tickets are available at the ticket sales network "Biļešu paradīze" and at the box office of the "Latvija" concert hall.
Photography and video filming are possible during the event. The obtained materials will be used for publicity purposes of the event, on the "Latvija" concert hall's website and social media accounts.
Concert Hall “Latvija” on the Internet:
www.facebook.com/latvijahall
www.koncertzalelatvija.lv
www.instagram.lv/latvijahall
Contact:
Maruta Eistere
Marketing Specialist
SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija”
tel.: +371 20310469
e-mail: maruta.eistere@ventspils.lv
(Translated with the help of DeepL Translate)
