Armands Ābols, a Latvian-born pianist who studied under Ilze Graubiņa and now lives in Chile, is returning to the United States for a six-city tour that includes a performance during the annual U.S.-Baltic Gala in Washington, D.C.

Ābols, born in 1973, is noted in part because in 1992 he became the youngest participant to win the Grand Prix Gold Medal at the Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, Spain, according to the Latvian Cultural Association TILTS, which is organizing the concert tour. (Another Latvian, Vestards Šimkus, won the competition this year.)

Ābols studied at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School and the Latvian Academy of Music in Rīga, where he worked with Graubiņa. He also has studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the United States.

He also has been awarded in piano competitions in Chile, the United States and Andorra. Ābols has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Chamber Orchestra, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Bogota Symphony Orchestra, the Chile Symphony Orchestra, the Providencia Symphony Orchestra, the Concepcion Symphony Orchestra and the Camarata de los Andes.

Ābols now lives in Valdivia, Chile, where he is a professor in the music conservatory of the Universidad Austral de Chile.

Ābols has recorded several compact discs. In 2004 and 2005, Ābols released the two-volume CD set Bicentenario del piano chileno (Bicentenary of Chilean Piano Music), an homage to Chilean composers recorded to honor the country’s bicentennial.

During the U.S. tour, Ābols is scheduled to perform in:

• Michigan at 4 p.m. May 3 in the Union Cabaret, 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo. Adult tickets are USD 30 if reserved before the concert or USD 35 at the door. Tickets for senior citizens and students are USD 25. The concert is presented by the Kalamazoo Music Association. For further information, telephone +1 (269) 383-2474.
• Ohio at 7:30 p.m. May 8 at the United Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church of Cleveland, 1385 Andrews Ave., Lakewood. Admission is by a suggested donation of USD 25. The concert is presented by the Cleveland Latvian Concert Association. For information, call +1 (216) 651-0486.
• Minnesota at 4 p.m. May 10 in the First Presbyterian Church, 512 Third St. S.W., Rochester. Admission is be freewill offering. The concert is presented by Festival of Music. For information, telephone +1 (507) 282-1618.
• Again in Minnesota at 7 p.m. May 12 in the Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church of Minneapolis and St. Paul, 3152 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis. Admission is by suggested donation of USD 20. The concert is presented by the Minnesota Latvian Concert Association. For information, call +1 (651) 905-0950.
• The District of Columbia on May 16 during the U.S.-Baltic Gala at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington. The concert is presented by the U.S.-Baltic Foundation and the Embassy of Latvia. For further information, visit www.usbaltic.org.
• Illinois at 3 p.m. May 17 in the Latvian Community Center, 4146 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. Admission is USD 30, but for members of the Chicago Latvian Association, senior citizens and students, tickets are USD 15. For information, telephone +1 (847) 475-8152.

The late Canadian-Latvian composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš once said, “Armands Ābols performed my ‘Diversities’ better than anyone I have heard. I admired his dedication, hard working qualities and musicianship.”

From his U.S. tour, Ābols is to head to Latvia for a May 23 concert in Sigulda’s Baltais Flīģelis concert hall.

Several community activists abroad are among the most recent recipients of Latvian state awards, the Chapter of Orders has announced in Rīga.

Receiving the Order of Three Stars, Fourth Class, are community activists Oļģerts Kubuliņš of Ohio and Juris Padegs of New York, as well as community activist, teacher and Treji Vārti editor Julieta Rumberga of Michigan.

The Order of the Three Stars (Triju zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian honor Latvia bestows. It is awarded for “outstanding merit in the service of Latvia,” according to the Chapter of Orders.

The chapter, part of the president’s office, announced the most recent awards on March 30.

The Order of Three Stars, Fifth Class, goes to Tija Krūmiņa, a community activist from Maryland and general secretary of the World Federation of Free Latvians (Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība); to Jānis Kunga, a professor and member of the board of the Dzintars Latvian Cultural Society in Krasnojarsk, Russia; to Vilis Mileiko, a community activist and doctor in Ontario; and to community activist and doctor Dzintars Rolands Paegle from Indiana.

In all, 35 Latvians in the homeland and abroad are among the most recent recipients of the Order of Three Stars.

Awarded the Cross of Recognition, Fourth Class, are Andris Ķesteris, a community activist and vice chairperson of the Latvian National Association in Canada, and Valdis Vilnis Pavlovskis, a community activist and head of the Information Office for the American Latvian Association.

The Cross of Recognition (Atzinības krusts) is awarded for “outstanding patriotism and achievements for the good of the nation, society, culture, science, sports and education,” according to the Chapter of Orders. In all, 33 persons were awarded the Cross of Recognition.

The Chapter of Orders also awarded 23 men and women in Latvia the Order of Viesturs (Viestura ordenis), which honors outstanding merit in military service.

Across Latvia thousands of people are expected to gather April 18 for the second annual Great Cleanup Day (Lielā Talka), a project that aims to make the Baltic region the cleanest in the world.

Last year an estimated 50,000 participants filled more than 260,000 trash bags with litter found around the country, according to organizers. The first event took place Sept. 13 and was part of the yearlong celebration of the 90th anniversary of Latvia’s declaration of independence.

This year similar efforts are expected to take place in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and the region of St. Petersburg, Russia.

So far nearly 480 municipalities, schools, organizations and companies have signed up to coordinate local cleanup events this year, organizers said in a press release. In addition, the state government has allocated LVL 36,540 to help municipalities with the cost of transporting the trash.

Among groups active in last year’s effort were Latvians from Australia.

The idea for the Great Cleanup Day came from writer Anna Žīgure.

Work begins at 10 a.m. local time in Latvia.

Organizers of the Great Cleanup Day are the nongovernmental organization Project Footprints (Projeks Pēdas) and the interest group For Clean Forests (Tīriem mežiem). For further information on the project, visit talkas.lv.