Kalnciema Vita

VITA KALNCIEMA is a professor at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and the head of its Organ Class since 2008. She teaches organ performance at the Riga Cathedral Choir School of the National Secondary School of Arts. V. Kalnciema is the founder and director of Latvian Organists’ Guild, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Board Music Committee and, since 1985, the organist of the Riga Evangelical Lutheran Jesus Church Latvian and German parishes. She acquired professional education at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian State Conservatory, graduating the piano performance class of Ella Strazdiņa in 1983, and organ classes of Pēteris Sīpolnieks and Vija Vismane in 1985. She further improved her education with internationally renowned masters of organ performance, such as G. Bovet, L. Rogg, E. Kooiman, L. Lohmann, L. Krämer, I. Ella, P. Cogen, H. Vogel, B. Bartelink, H. Fagius, J. Laukvik, M. Torrent, Z. Szathmáry, J. van Oortmerssen and other famous organists. She has won prizes in international organ competitions in Ukraine (1989), Poland (1989), Switzerland (1994), as well as in the International César Franck Competition in the Netherlands (1994). She has performed in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Russia, Canada, USA, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France and Italy on historic and modern instruments, in international festivals, and, on several occasions, in such notable venues as Leipzig Gewandhaus and Stockholm Konserthuset. Vita Kalnciema has made recordings for radio and TV funds, released several solo CDs, adjudicated international competitions, given numerous masterclasses and edited several volumes of Latvian organ music scores. She has performed a series of 7 concerts From Latvian Organ Music Golden Funds at the Riga Cathedral and Breath of Europe concert series, comprising organ music from various countries.