Popular singer Marija Naumova, winner of the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest, will perform in Latvian communities and at the American Latvian Youth Association’s (ALYA) annual congress during a North American concert tour scheduled for late November and early December.

Naumova, an ethnic Russian who speaks five languages including Latvian, is expected to perform songs by well-known composer Raimonds Pauls as well as her own material. Naumova has credited Pauls for kick-starting her singing career.

The concert tour is organized by ALYA and the New York-based cultural organization Tilts, said Daina Švābe, public relations manager for Baltic Records Group, Naumova’s recording company.

Concerts are planned Nov. 23 in Chicago; Nov. 24 in Kalamazoo, Mich.; Nov. 25 in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nov. 26 in Minneapolis, Minn.; Nov. 29 in Los Angeles; Dec. 4 in Cleveland, Ohio; Dec. 6 in Toronto; Dec. 10 in St. Petersburg, Fla.; Dec. 12 and 13 in New York, and Dec. 14 in the Latvian center Priedaine near Freehold, N.J.

Other concerts, such as at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago, also may be scheduled, Švābe suggested.

This would be Naumova’s second time in North America. She appeared last year in a Baltic Celebration concert in Washington, D.C.

Naumova so far has released seven recordings, two of them offering similar material but in Latvian and English versions. Her most recent recording, the three-track I Feel Good, was released earlier this year and included collaboration with Ojārs Kalniņš, the former Latvian ambassador to the United States and the current director of the Riga-based Latvian Institute. —Andris Straumanis