Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis seems assured of a second term after a Nov. 1 meeting with Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, during which they discussed current issues and the Oct. 7 parliamentary election results.

The president will officially nominate Kalvītis as the next prime minister when the 9th Saeima meets for the first time Nov. 7, the president’s press office in Rīga announced.

A coalition of conservative parties—Tautas partija (People’s Party), Zaļo un Zemnieku Savienība (Union of Greens and Farmers), and the new alliance between Latvijas Pirmā partija (First Party of Latvia) and Latvijas Ceļš (Latvia’s Way)—will control 51 of the 100 seats in parliament, according to results of the Oct. 7 election.

“After my consultations with all the parties it is clear that, with these election results, for me as president the choice of Mr. Kalvītis as the new prime minister is completely logical, legal and just about inescapable,” Vīķe-Freiberga said in a prepared statement.

Kalvītis is a member of Tautas partija. He became prime minister in December 2004 and his current term expires with the close of the 8th Saeima.

Still unclear is whether and how the coalition might be enlarged.

Jaunais laiks (New Era), the conservative party that has seen its popularity plummet in recent months, will control another 18 seats in the new parliament and has been in talks with the other parties about rejoining the ruling coalition it abandoned in April. If it were to join, the coalition’s majority in the parliament would increase to 69 seats.

Jaunais laiks also would like to see its candidate, former Foreign Minister Sandra Kalniete, become the next president when Vīķe-Freiberga’s second term expires next year.

Also represented in the 9th Saeima are Saskaņas Centrs (Harmony Centre), which will control 17 seats, and Par cilvēka tiesībam vienotā Latvijā (For Human Rights in United Latvia), which will have six. Both are viewed as left-leaning and friendly to Moscow.

The conservative Tēvzemei un Brīvībai / LNNK (For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK) will control eight seats and also has been mentioned as a potential partner in a conservative ruling coalition.

Kalvītis’ nomination will have to be approved by the Saeima.

A new promotional video, “Sounds Like Latvia,” touts the country as a diverse land proud of its natural habitat and achievements in science, economics and culture, the Latvian Institute announced Oct. 20 in Rīga.

The five-minute film, created with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially highlights Rīga’s Art Nouveau architecture. The video uses details of that architecture as unifying elements as it invites the viewer to not just see Latvia, but to hear the sounds of its nature, its high technology and the grand choir concert of a Song Festival.

Director of the video is Ivo Kalpenieks, who along with Ēriks Božis also wrote the script. Music for the video was composed by Ģirts Bišs.

The video is intended for distribution to world media and to governments and ministries, the institute announced. The video also will soon be available in DVD format and on the Web site of the Latvian Institute, www.li.lv. The institute’s popular “Welcome to Latvia” video, featuring the music of Prāta Vētra, also is available for download on the site.

The women’s vocal ensemble Putni, which has received accolades both in Latvia and abroad, is scheduled to tour the United States with a series of 14 concerts in late October into mid-November.

Sponsored by the cultural organization TILTS, the tour will take the eight women from Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., to Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and then to New York. Five of the concerts, said ensemble leader Antra Dreģe, will be in Latvian and American schools.

Formed in 1993, Putni has earned several international awards. The ensemble also has released four compact discs, the most recent of which is last year’s Hildegardes dziesmas, a recording of songs composed by Georgs Pelēcis.

The concert program is to include mostly Latvian music by composers such as Pēteris Vasks, Maija Enfelde, Valts Puce, Anita Mieze, Juris Vaivods and others.

The ensemble’s first apperance, Dreģe said, will be a live broadcast with the women’s vocal ensemble Tapestry on WGBH-FM in Boston. The two ensembles will perform the debut of a new composition by Robert Kyr and Pēteris Aldiņš, founder of the Latvian-American ensemble Kolibri. The broadcast is scheduled 3 p.m. Eastern time Oct. 26 on Richard Knisley’s “Classical Performances” program. The concert also will be available online.

The ensemble’s nine public concerts are scheduled:

• In Massachusetts at 8 p.m. Oct. 27 in the First Church Congregational of Cambridge, 11 Garden St. (by Harvard Square), Cambridge. The concert is organized by the women’s ensemble Tapestry.
• In Massachusetts at 1 p.m. Oct. 29 in the “Trimda” Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 58 Irving St., Brookline.
• In the Washington, D.C., area at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Washington, 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville, Md. The concert is organized by the Latvian Organizations of Washington.
• In Ohio at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 in the United Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 1385 Andrews Ave., Lakewood. The concert is organized by the Latvian Concert Association of Cleveland.
• In Minnesota at 4 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 3152 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The concert is organized by the Latvian Organization Association of Minnesota.
• In Minnesota at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at 625 N. 5th St., Stillwater. The concert is organized by the Latvian Organization Association of Minnesota.
• In Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in Davies Center, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire. The concert is organized by the Baltic Student Organization.
• In New York at 8 p.m. Nov. 17 in St. Joseph’s Church Yorkville, 404 E. 87th St., New York. The concert is organized by the New Amsterdam Singers and TILTS.
• In New York at 2 p.m. Nov. 18 during an Independence Day celebration in the Yonkers branch of the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of New York, 254 Valentine Lane, Yonkers. The concert is organized by the Council of Latvian Organizations in New York.

For further information about Putni, visit www.music.lv/putni.