Seven individuals and a chamber ensemble have been singled out for their contributions to Latvian music and have been named the recipients of the 2003 Grand Music Award (Lielā mūzikas balva), the nation’s highest award for musical achievement.

Winners of the 2003 award, which will be presented March 4 in a ceremony in Rīga, are:

• The chamber ensemble Altera Veritas for its interpretations of contemporary Latvian music. Formed in 2000, the ensemble includes accordeon player Aldis Jurisons, flautist Andis Klučnieks, and kokle players Ieva Lapiņa and Anda Zaborovska.
• Aleksandrs Antoņenko, a soloist with the Latvian National Opera, for his performances in five operas, including Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Aleko,” Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” and Richard Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman.”
• Organist Iveta Apkalna for her concerts in Latvia and abroad. Her first album, simply titled Live, was released during 2003 by the German label Hera. Apkalna’s second album, Touch Down in Riga, is expected to be released in May by the German label Querstand.
• Choir director Terēze Broka, for lifetime achievement. Broka was born in 1925 and is a music teacher, directs the folk choir Latgale from the Daugavpils region and has directed choirs during national song festivals. In 2000, she also was awarded the Order of Three Stars, Latvia’s highest civilian honor.
• Latvian National Opera ballet soloist Margarita Demjanoka for her roles in Juris Karlsons’s “Sidraba šķidrauts” (The Silver Veil), Sergei Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird.”
• Composer Rihards Dubra for his “Te Deum,” performed during the 23rd Latvian Song Festival’s concert of spiritual music.
• Musicologist Zane Gailīte for her research and publication of Par Rīgas mūziku un kumēdiņu spēli.
• Choir director Māris Sirmais for programs in 2003, including during the 6th International Festival of Spiritual Music, the 23rd Latvian Song Festival’s concert of spiritual music and several concerts by the choir Kamēr.

The Grand Music Award was created in 1993 on the initiative of composer Raimonds Pauls, who at the time was Latvia’s minister of culture. Award winners are determined by a jury that attends concerts throughout the year and meets regularly to discuss what members are hearing.

The University of Nebraska Huskers were looking for Dmītrijs Milkevičs to do well in the 800-meter event during the Big 12 conference track-and-field indoor championships in Lincoln, Neb.—and he didn’t disappoint.

The 22-year-old freshman from Rīga won the event and set a Big 12 meet record, finishing in 1:48.82, according to the university. His performance helped push the team to first place in the meet.

“It was kind of slow for me,” Milkevičs said after the event, according to the University of Nebraska Sports Information office. “I would have liked for it to have been faster, but I didn’t really have anyone to push me.”

Another Nebraska student from Latvia, Ineta Radeviča, won the triple jump event with a distance of 45 feet, a new school record. It was her sixth consecutive Big 12 title.

Radeviča, a 22-year-old senior, is from Krāslava. She transferred to Nebraska from Wichita State University. Radeviča is married to Huskers volunteer assistant coach Viktors Lācis, also from Latvia.

Other Latvians on the Huskers track and field squad are Artūrs Āboliņš, a freshman from Rīga, and Danute Ceika, a freshman from Valmiera.

An Estonian soldier was killed Feb. 28 by an improvised explosive device manufactured by unknown rebels, a government spokesperson in Tallinn said. He was the first Baltic soldier to die in Iraq.

“This is an extremely painful reminder that the situation in Iraq has not yet stabilized and that joint efforts for peace by the coalition forces are well founded,” Estonian Prime Minister Juhan Parts said in a prepared statement.

The 21-year-old soldier, Junior Sgt. Andres Nuiamäe, was assigned to the ESTPLA-8 unit in Baghdad, according to the Estonian Ministry of Defence.

Latvia has 120 soldiers serving with coalition forces in Iraq, according to the Latvian Ministry of Defence.