On 2nd of March, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) and its principal conductor and artistic director Karel Mark Chichon received the Latvian Great Music Award for outstanding performance, and special prize by the awards ceremony general sponsor JSC Cēsu alus.

Upon receipt of the prize, LNSO member of the board Ilze Paidere-Staķe said: "Many thanks to all - orchestra's musicians, administrative and technical staff for the last year’s serious work that has lead us to this award. Last year, when Karel Mark Chichon became the LNSO principal conductor and artistic director, we chose slogan - New status, new quality. I have great pleasure that our choice proved to be right and now it’s also appreciated by the experts of Latvian musical life".
 
LNSO orchestra's principal conductor and artistic director Karel Mark Chichon could not take part in yesterday's ceremony, because he is in Bologna preparing for his debut concert with the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, which takes place in the Teatro Manzoni on 4 March 2010. Among works of Bizet, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky K. M. Chichon on this concert will conduct Melancholic Waltz by Emils Dārzins. This is now the third time in less than two years that Karel Mark Chichon has promoted and performed Latvian music outside of Latvia in important cultural centres. In doing so, Maestro Chichon is currently the only conductor with a major international career who regularly promotes Latvian symphonic music outside of Latvia.

The Great Music Award (GMA) is the highest prize given by the Latvian state in the field of music. In 1993, the Minister of Culture of the time, Raimonds Pauls, decided to establish a special award to mark the most outstanding achievements in music. With years, it has turned into a significant music event gaining popularity and recognition among musicians as well as a broad range of audiences.