Women's choir "Venda" – 50th. Grand Concert
Fifty years in the Latvian choral music landscape is a story of perseverance, growth and the ability to preserve its sound through generations. This fall, the Ventspils Culture Center women's choir "Venda" will celebrate its significant anniversary, inviting listeners to the anniversary concert "Venda – 50".
Since its founding in 1975, the choir “Venda” has become one of the brightest female choirs in Latvia. Over the years, the group has achieved great success in the Song and Dance Festival choir competitions, international festivals and competitions in Europe, while maintaining close ties with the cultural life of Ventspils, creating interesting original programs every year.
But “Venda” is much more than a choir. Over the past fifty years, it has become a meeting place for different generations and life stories. The choir has been and continues to be sung by mothers and daughters, sisters, friends and colleagues, united by a love of song.
For many years, the choir's artistic path was shaped shoulder to shoulder by the choir's artistic directors Anitra Niedre and Rudīte Tālberga, creating concert programs that have captivated both singers and listeners. The heart and soul of the choir, Anitra Niedre, passed away last year, but her presence and contribution are an integral part of the choir's story.
The story of succession that runs through the history of the choir is also special. Rudīte Tālberga was once a student of Anitra Niedre, while today she is working alongside conductor Valerija Saveka, who is also a student of Rudīte. For many of Rudīte Tālberga's students, the choir "Venda" has become the first step in the conductor's profession. This is where the first experience of working with a choir is gained, qualification exams are taken and confidence in the chosen path in music is strengthened.
The anniversary concert will not only be a look back at what has been accomplished in the past fifty years, but also a testament to the choir's creative vitality. The central event of the concert will be the premiere of the song cycle "Truvēru dziesmas" by composer Henrijs Poikāns, which was created especially for the anniversary event. The program will include, in addition to new works, the brightest compositions from the most significant choir projects of recent years, allowing the audience to trace the musical path of "Venda" through different eras.
On stage, the choir will be joined by long-time friends and associates, the vocal ensemble “Mundus”, singers Daumants Kalniņš, Kaspars Zemītis, Karīna Tatarinova, Roberts Dinters, conductors Gints Ceplenieks and Mārtiņš Klišāns. The concert will also feature the mixed choir “Atpuhta”, former members of the choir “Venda”, students of the Ventspils Music Secondary School and the instrumental ensemble. The artistic director of the concert is Rudīte Tālberga, and the director is Inita Pelse.
The anniversary concert “Vendai – 50” will be an evening where memories, present and future will meet. It will be a story about a song that has united hundreds of women's voices for five decades, and about a tradition that continues to live, grow and inspire today. Because fifty years is not the end for the choir, but it is the beginning of the next story.
Participating:
Ventspils Culture Center Women's Choir "Venda" and former choir singers
Daumants Kalniņš, singer
Kaspars Zemītis, guitar
Karina Tatarinova, actress
Roberts Dinter, guitar
Gints Ceplenieks, conductor
Martins Klisans, conductor
Vocal Ensemble “Mundus”
Students of MIKC “Ventspils Music Secondary School”
Instrumental ensemble
Inita Pelse, director
Valerija Saveka, conductor
Rudīte Tālberga, conductor, artistic director
In the program:
Premiere of the song cycle “Songs of the Trouvères” by Henriks Poikāns,
the brightest pieces from the repertoire of the choir "Venda"
The concert is supported by the State Cultural Capital Foundation, Ventspils Freeport Authority, Ventspils Library, MIKC “Ventspils Music High School”, Ventspils City Municipality. The concert is organized by SIA “Kurzemes Filharmonija”.
Photography and video recording are possible during the event. The obtained materials will be used for publicity purposes of the event, the concert hall "Latvija” website and social media accounts, as well as for the publicity of the Ventspils Culture Center women's choir “Venda”.