CHORAL TOUR OF LATVIA & ESTONIA – “THE SINGING NATIONS”
May 19-28, 2025
Laura Adlers of The Adlers Agency, in partnership with conductor and professor Aira Birziņa, the Riga Cathedral Choir School (RCCS), the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) are pleased to present our first Choral Tour of Latvia and Estonia – “The Singing Nations”, from May 19-28, 2025.
Canadian conductors Dr. Timothy Shantz (Edmonton), Dr. John Wiebe (Edmonton), Graeme Climie (Calgary), Thomas Burton (Toronto), Janet Stachow (Oakville) and composer Stephanie Martin (Toronto) will join Laura in Latvia and Estonia to learn about and experience the unique dynamics that define Baltic choral traditions as a UNESCO-recognized part of the nations’ cultural identities.
Dr. Timothy Shantz will present two lectures about contemporary Canadian choral music and will be joined by tour colleagues in leading reading sessions with their Latvian counterparts at the JVLMA and the RCCS.
The Canadian delegation will attend rehearsals and concerts with community and professional choirs, meet with music publisher Musica Baltica, meet with Latvian conductors and composers and visit important choral and cultural sites, including the stunning open-air stage in Mežaparks.
In Estonia, the tour group will attend regional rehearsals for this summer’s Estonian Song Celebrations in Tartu, followed by a much-anticipated visit to the Arvo Pärt Centre, meeting with Estonian conductors and composers, and attending rehearsals and concerts with community and professional choirs in Tallinn.
We are grateful to conductor Ingrid Kõrvits for her assistance in coordinating the Estonian part of the tour!
Our hope in producing this tour is that new cross-cultural partnerships and collaborations will be forged and that Latvian, Estonian and Canadian choral music will be experienced by new international audiences in the future!
For detailed information about the tour, contact Laura Adlers at [email protected] .
Tour Highlights
- attending rehearsals and concerts with amateur youth and adult and professional choirs;
- attending conducting and vocalist final exams at the JVLMA and Riga Cathedral Choir School;
- networking opportunities with Latvian composers and conductors;
- presentations by Latvian composers and conductors on Latvian choral music themes;
- the opportunity for Canadian and US choral conductors and composers to present to Latvian colleagues on themes of choral music in your countries
- a visit to the open-air stage in Mežaparks (seen above) and the Latvian Song and Dance Celebration Exhibition
- free time to visit Riga’s many cultural attractions, the craft and food markets, restaurants, cafés and shops around the city, and much more!
Our Partners
Our heartfelt thanks to the Latvian Relief Society in Canada and the Latvian National Federation in Canada and the “Līvijas Jansones un Leonarda Skreitulis Nākotnes Fonds” for their support of this tour. This funding will allow us to purchase scores of Canadian choral music for the lending library at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, and will additionally help cover the costs of documenting our tour on video for the promotion of future tours. We are so grateful for their support!
