Mixed choir ‘Juventus’ of University of Latvia to celebrate its 95th anniversary on November 7

This journey will lead the listeners through the musical paths of Lithuania and Estonia, and enchant them with the magical sounds of distant Japan and Australia. In addition to the choir’s musical performance, the celebration will include tales of singers’ adventures (carefully stored in the choir’s archives) and of that special feeling experienced by all who have enjoyed a “Juventus” performance.  During this musical journey, the choir will perform works by Peteris Barisons, Anton Bruckner, Stephen Leek, Aleksandre Machavariani, Arvo Part, Eric Whitacre, Heinrich Schutz, and others. Valdis Tomsons,  artistic director of ‘Juventus’: “This anniversary is a summary of what we have experienced so far; we look back at who we are now, the long way we have come, and the vision of how far and where we are headed.  Surely, a choir’s birthday can only be properly celebrated with a splendid concert in which the singers give their all to the moment, the music, and the stage. The former singers, on the other hand, will gather, remember their experience, carefully evaluate the choir’s progress, and, of course, join together in song. We promise that the event will be woven with sincerity and a festive mood. Happy 95th birthday, JUVENTUS!” ‘Juventus’ will celebrate its birthday together with artistic director Valdis Tomsons, conductor Mikus Abaronins, and the choir’s long-time director Juris Klavins. The choir’s treasures - Inese Romancane and Ilze Dzerve, will also join the celebration. The concert is free of charge. About the choir ‘Juventus’ was founded in 1920 as the student choir of the Latvian Higher School (now the University of Latvia) and is inseparable from the conductor Arturs Bobkovics (1885-1959), who had already gone down in history as the ‘king of Latvian symphonic music’ by organizing concerts and popularising symphonic music. The choir’s first meeting took place on the evening of October 18, 1920, whereas on November 24, the Organisational Committee of the Latvian Higher School approved the ‘student choir’ to be the first and official choir to represent it. Former artistic directors of the choir include legendary Latvian choir conductor Haralds Mednis, conductor Daumants Gailis under whose guidance the choir started climbing the stairway to fame, which in turn was successfully continued by long-time conductor Juris Klavins. Now, the artistic direction is in the hands of Valdis Tomsons and Mikus Abaronins. More information about ‘Juventus’ can be found here:
www.juventus.lv
www.facebook.com/choir.juventus