Maris Sirmais
conductor
Māris Sirmais is the Artistic Director of the State Choir LATVIA since 1997. An active supporter and developer of Latvian choral culture, he a charismatic conductor capable of inspiring both professional musicians and thousands of amateur singers at the National Song Festival. He is also noted as founder of one of the most important symbols of the Latvian choral culture, the Youth Choir Kamēr… . Along with his role as Associate Professor of Choir Conducting at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Sirmais is frequently invited to adjudicate at international choral and conducting competitions. He has participated in many prestigious festivals worldwide with the State Choir LATVIA and Kamēr… , where he also has given master-classes.
Recognized as a leading generator of ideas which result in triumphant projects, he is also an ardent Latvian patriot of wide international scope when it comes to his work.
Having achieved a bachelor’s and master’s degree in choral conducting from Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Sirmais later pursued studies in orchestra conducting at the College of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. He has received many awards for choral conducting and for contribution to the international cultural reputation of Latvia. Amongst these awards is the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia’s highest civilian honour, and membership of the Latvian Academy of Sciences.
He has led concerts with the Berlin Radio Choir, MDR Leipzig Radio Choir, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, ONE Chamber Choir Singapore, Šiauliai State Chamber Choir Polifonija and many other choirs around the world. Sirmais has also collaborated with such acclaimed soloists as Maxim Rysanov, Iveta Apkalna, Kristīne Blaumane, Egils Siliņš, Aleksandrs Antoņenko, Julius Berger, Gidon Kremer, Nicolas Altstaedt, Douglas Webster, and others. He performs regularly with Latvian National Opera Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Rīga, Kremerata Baltica, Moscow chamber orchestra Musica Viva, Umeå Symphony Orchestra, and string orchestra Helsinki Strings.
