Song festivals
Song festivals have been part of Latvian culture since the 19th century. Both in Latvia and abroad, they have served as a focal point for not only defining and regenerating Latvian culture, but also as a means of political expression. And, above all, they have been a call for unity. Here we present a growing collection of stories, photographs, videos and other material related to Latvian song festivals.
The 13th Latvian Song Festival in Canada takes place July 1-5 in Hamilton. Here are the 20 most recent posts from our correspondents providing Twitter updates.
Posted 11 Jul 2009 from bit.ly
Svētku bildes http://bit.ly/b7m7p (un vel bildes! http://bit.ly/8LpWs) un Svētku “Blogs” ar Laimu Muktupāveli http://bit.ly/1xEqSX
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from web
I enjoyed Dziesmu Svetki. Kudos to everyone who made the Hamilton fest a success. Going back to work on Monday will be a downer.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from web
Lots of performers from Latvia, some from Irija. Unlike previous DzSv they were an integral part of DzSv and a key to its success.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from web
Everyone knows that DzSv are a time to reconnect but I ran into more people I haven’t met in many years than any other Dz Sv.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from web
The choir and Ceirulitis at the folk dance spectacle was an added bonus. Dancing and almost a concert. Two for one deal.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from web
Lighting at Folk dancing was a bit off, the floor empty at times. I would have put those waiting to dance at ends instead of out of sight.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from TwitterFon
The flag is being handed to the next Latvian Song Festival committee (Milwaukee in 2012) http://twitpic.com/9fv65
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from TwitterFon
Zigurds Miezītis is receiving 50 roses representing 50 years of his involvement in Latvian Folk dancing. http://twitpic.com/9fpou
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from TwitterFon
Colorful merriment at the dancing -gara sieva, plenty of children’s dances all accompanied by a impressive, swaying choir.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from mobile web
Some 500 dancers from 26 ensembles are participating in the folk dance spectacle.
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from TwitterFon
The Folk Dance Spectacle has begun. http://twitpic.com/9fazb
Posted 05 Jul 2009 from mobile web
An estimated 500-600 people attended the Latvian-language ecumenical church service this morning.
Posted 04 Jul 2009 from web
Go up John and the Jolly Cut. Then hang a right to Mountain View Park. Great view of Hamilton down below. Toronto 60km across the lake.
Posted 04 Jul 2009 from web
I have to say that Hamilton beats Toronto for a DzSv location. As the organizers said, everything is close and the parking is cheap.
Posted 04 Jul 2009 from web
The choirs from Latvia wanted to keep singing after the concert. Like they do in Latvia. Song can’t be contained in 4 walls to a schedule.
Posted 04 Jul 2009 from web
Would have liked to stand during Put vejin instead of Tev muzam dzivot. A song that was our unofficial anthem can never be just a folk song.
Posted 04 Jul 2009 from web
Swaying of the choir to Put vejini evoked words of Marju Lauristan in film Singing Revolution - Waves, a human sea that couldn’t be stopped.
Posted 04 Jul 2009 from web
My favourite choiral piece was Neba maize pate naca. The one where the women’s choir from Riga was swaying. The impromtu en core at the end.
Bird icon courtesy of Smashing Magazine
Under the direction of Laura Rokpelne-Mičule, the men's choir performs "Jūŗa, plašā jūŗa" in Symphony Center during 2002 U.S. song festival in Chicago. (Photo by Andris Straumanis)
Song festival archive
15 Sep 2008
Computer crash doesn’t stop festival success
Even a computer crash two days before the start of the West Coast Latvian Song Festival could not stop the…
28 Aug 2008
West Coast song festival gets under way
It has already been a busy summer for Latvians, so what’s one more big event? The West Coast Latvian Song…
12 Jul 2008
Šie svētki ir, lai vienotu mūsu tautu nākotnei
Šodien mūsu visu sirdis ir atvērtas dziesmai un dejai, lai godinātu brīvo Latviju tās 90-tās dzimšanas dienas gadā. Reizē ar…
04 Jul 2008
State TV also streams song festival events
Latvian State Television now also will stream a limited number of 2008 Latvian Song and Dance Festival events live over…
03 Jul 2008
Song festival events to air on radio, TV, Web
If you can’t be there in person for the 2008 Latvian Song and Dance Festival in Rīga, you can still…
19 Jun 2008
Library opens online exhibit about song festivals
An online exhibit showcasing the history of Latvian song festivals from 1864-1940 has been opened by the National Library of…
12 Jun 2008
Koncerts Īrijā varētu būt aizsākums jauniem dziesmu svētkiem
Pirmais Īrijas latviešu mākslas pašdarbnieku koncerts “Ieskandēsim vasaru” notika 7.jūnijā Dublinas priekšpilsētā Lucanā un saveda kopā dziedātājus, dejotājus un aktierus…
05 Jun 2008
Extra song festival tickets go on sale June 7
Nearly 22,000 more seats to events will become available when the second round of ticket sales for the 2008 Latvian…
27 May 2008
Bank of Latvia releases coin honoring song festivals
A commemorative 1-lat coin honoring Latvia’s song festival tradition, which began in 1873, has been released by the Bank of…
12 May 2008
More festival tickets to go on sale after June 10
Additional tickets for this summer’s song festival in Latvia will not be available until after June 10, says Romāns Vanags,…
06 May 2008
500 diaspora Latvians to be among song festival performers
About 500 Latvians from abroad—including a folklore ensemble from Luxembourg that accounts for nearly 10 percent of the total—will be…
04 Apr 2008
Dublin’s eLVe joins Irish choir for April 5 concert
Concertgoers in Ireland will get a taste of the 2008 Latvian Song and Dance Festival when two choirs—one Irish and…
19 Mar 2008
Photo exhibit examines song festival tradition
A photographic exhibit about the tradition of song and dance festivals in Latvia will see its first presentation abroad on…
17 Mar 2008
Culture minister wants more song festival tickets
Organizers of the 2008 Latvian Song and Dance Festival this summer in Rīga must guarantee that more concert tickets will…
10 Mar 2008
Rīga song festival tickets selling quickly
Just hours after going on sale, tickets all but sold out to the most popular concerts of the 2008 Song…
27 Feb 2008
Ticket prices announced for Latvian song festival
Tickets for the 2008 Song and Dance Festival in Latvia will range from LVL 1 to LVL 25, organizers have…
21 Feb 2008
Milwaukee begins planning for next U.S. song festival
Almost three decades after last hosting one, Milwaukee is organizing the next U.S. Latvian Song and Dance Festival (XIII Vispārējie…
12 Feb 2008
Indianapolis festival seeks to erase deficit
Organizers of last year’s Latvian Song Festival in Indianapolis, which ended USD 65,000 in the red, are turning to community…
04 Jul 2007
Indianapolis song fest runs July 4-8
Thirty-one choirs totaling about 500 singers and 34 folk dance ensembles with about 720 dancers are expected to perform during…
01 Aug 2005
Gaŗezers songfest draws 1,200 spectators
An estimated 1,200 spectators watched more than 500 singers and dancers perform during the grand concert of the 13th Gaŗezers…
27 Jul 2005
More than 500 performers set for Gaŗezers festival
More than 500 singers and dancers from the United States, Canada and Latvia are expected to perform during the 13th…
29 Dec 2004
Australia marks 50th annual arts festival
The 50th annual Australian Latvian Arts Festival (Austrālijas latviešu 50. Kultūras dienas), a celebration of Latvian identity in Australia, took…
15 Jul 2004
One choir singer’s view of the song festival
Back in Rīga after an exhausting eight-day trip to the 12th Latvian Song Festival in Canada, I wanted to put…
06 Jul 2004
Why did we cry at ‘Eslingena’?
Why did we cry at the close of the musical “Eslingena”? Because we were happy that Andrejs and Ilze stayed…
14 Apr 2004
Song fest visitors to see normal border delays
As Latvians prepare to visit this summer’s biggest Latvian ethnic event in North America—the song festival in Toronto—they should also…
07 Nov 2003
UNESCO proclaims song festivals as masterpieces
The traditional song festivals of the Baltic states have been proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization…
12 Sep 2003
San Francisco festival brings out the sun
According to a West Coast Latvian Song Festival insider, the management of last summer’s song festival hotel in Chicago had…
28 Jun 2003
Song festival donates profit to Gaŗezers
Programs at the Latvian center Gaŗezers have received a USD 41,000 donation from profit made during last year’s song festival…
21 Jul 2002
Reunion visitors remember Auseklis high school
“Viņš ir Filadelfijā.” He’s in Philadelphia. “Viņa mira.” She died. Snippets of conversation revealed some of what has happened in…
21 Jul 2002
A song festival diary: Final day
CHICAGO—Compared to the excitement of the previous day, Sunday morning proved downright low key. The faithful flocked to either the…
20 Jul 2002
A song festival diary: Third day
CHICAGO—Already some song festival participants were dragging their feet when morning came, especially those who had stayed up and out…
19 Jul 2002
A song festival diary: Second day
CHICAGO—Early in the Čikāgas Piecīši concert July 19, lead singer Alberts Legzdiņš noted the various events that were competing for…
18 Jul 2002
A song festival diary: First day
CHICAGO—The first day of the 11th Latvian Song Festival in the United States was a day in part defined by…
18 Jul 2002
BrainStorm readies for Chicago’s song festival
If there’s a darling of the popular music business in Latvia these days, it has to be BrainStorm (Prāta Vētra).…
09 Jul 2000
Experience is key to Toronto festival
While there’s always something to criticize if you’re Latvian, most early reviews of the recent 11th Latvian Song Festival in…
Ventspils chamber choir director Ivars Cinkuss (left) and honorary choir director Arvīds Purvs join in singing the final song of the performance, "Tev mūžam dzīvot, Latvija," during the 2007 U.S. song festival in Indianapolis. (Photo by Andris Straumanis)
Galleries
05 Jul 2009
Writers’ program, dance spectacle close out Hamilton festival
An ecumenical church service attended by an estimated 500-600 people, a program featuring both old and new writers and the traditional folk dance spectacle closed out the 13th Latvian Song Festival in Canada, which ended July 5 in Hamilton. Some 500 dancers from 26 different ensembles participated in the spectacle, held in Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum.
04 Jul 2009
Choirs take center stage on festival’s fourth day
Hundreds of singers squeezed onto the stage of Hamilton Place for the massed choir concert July 4, the fourth day of the 13th Latvian Song Festival in Canada. Other events during the day included a repeat performance of “Mazā zaļā varde jūrā,” a play starring pupils from the Toronto Latvian Society Saturday School; continuation of the exhibit of Latvian work in the Art Gallery of Hamilton; and balls for children and adults in the evening.
04 Jul 2009
New choreography, Čikāgas Piecīši among highlights
The new choreography show and a packed concert by Čikāgas Piecīši were among the highlights of the third day of the 13th Latvian Song Festival in Canada. Other events included an afternoon program for learning new dances and games, a second showing of the musical “Meldermeitiņa” and a concert of classical music. The approach of the weekend appeared to draw more festival-goers. The marketplace in the Sheraton Hotel Hamilton was slow in the morning, but by midday was buzzing with people.
02 Jul 2009
From opening concert to ‘Meldermeitiņa’
The second day of the 13th Latvian Song Festival in Canada included a number of events, from the opening concert, to art exhibits, to a sacred music concert, to a social evening by the harbor, to the debut of the musical “Meldermeitiņa.” In between festival-goers took in the marketplace in the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel or spent time catching up with old friends.
12 Jul 2008
Skati no noslēguma koncerta
Dziesmu svētku noslēguma koncerts notika 2008.g. 12.jūlijā Mežaparkā, Rīgā.
12 Jul 2008
Interview: Terence Swan, an Australian in Latvia
Terence Swan, an Australian living in Jūrmala, talks about his impressions of the Latvian song festival.
12 Jul 2008
Folklore Day
Folklore Day, part of the 2008 Latvian Song and Dance Celebration, took place at the Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum.
12 Jul 2008
Intervija: Laila Straubergs, latviete no Zviedrijas
Zviedrijas latviete Laila Straubergs šoreiz Dziesmu un Deju svētkos nepiedalās, toties ir vairāku pasākumu skatītājos.
11 Jul 2008
Intervija: Miķelis Svilāns, Dziesmu svētku dalībnieks no Kanādas
Kanādas latvietis Miķelis Svilāns piedalās un novērtē Dziesmu svētkus.
08 Jul 2008
Ko Aldis Sils šogad dara Dziesmu svētkos
Šogad no Austrālijas uz Dziesmu svētkiem atbraucis Aldis Sils, bet ne lai dziedātu korī.
08 Jul 2008
Runājošie akmeņi tagad Rīgā
“Runājošie akmeņi,” kas slavu guva “Pārsteidzošā Latvija” festivālā Francijā, tadad dzied un stāsta Dziesmu svētku ietvaros.
06 Jul 2008
One of the biggest events during the 2008 Latvian Nationwide Song and Dance Celebration is the July 6 parade.
06 Jul 2008
Dziesmu svētkos piedalās arī latvieši no ārzemēm
Starp Dziesmu un deju svētku dalībniekiem bija ap 500 latvieši no ārzemēm. Dažus intervējam pirms 6.jūlija gajiena Rīgas centrā.
08 Jul 2007
12th Latvian Song Festival in the U.S., Fifth day
Photos from the last day of the Indianapolis festival.
07 Jul 2007
12th Latvian Song Festival in the U.S., Fourth day
Photos of the Rīga folk dance troupe Līgo performing and other activities from the fourth day of the Indianapolis festival.
06 Jul 2007
12th Latvian Song Festival in the U.S., Third day
Photos from the third day of the Indianapolis festival, including the grand folk dance performance.
05 Jul 2007
12th Latvian Song Festival in the U.S., Second day
Photos from the second day of the Indianapolis festival, including “Kabaremonts” and the New Choreography Show.
04 Jul 2007
12th Latvian Song Festival in the U.S., First day
Photographs from the opening ceremony and other activities on the first day of the Indianapolis festival.
31 Jul 2001
Dziesmu un deju svētki Rīgai 800
“Dziesmu un deju svētki Rīgai 800” in 2001 celebrated the anniversary of the Latvian capital’s founding.
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