Press information, 3 February 2025, Riga. On Thursday, 6 February, at 19:00 at the Music House “Daile,” the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) chamber music series concert “Horns in Samba Rhythms” will take place. Taking the stage will be a horn quartet – Maris Evelons, Miks Bankevics, Arturs Krumins and Daniels Sabanskis – together with double bassist Ivars Ozols, percussionist Ernests Medins, pianist Rihards Plesanovs, and special guests – Brazilians living in Latvia, Rodrigo Manfrinati (guitar, vocals, percussion) and Robson Santos (drums). The concert will be hosted by Liene Jakovleva. In this programme, the richly coloured timbre of the horn will merge with the vitality of Latin American rhythms, taking listeners on an unforgettable musical journey. The concert will feature compositions once given fresh breath by the legendary American composer Quincy Jones, music by Brazilian musician Rodrigo Manfrinati, as well as a work created especially for this event by percussionist and composer Ernests Medins, alongside works by other composers.
Rodrigo Manfrinati is a Brazilian musician who has moved to live in Latvia. He has brought Brazilian culture to various Latvian cultural venues and was a contestant on the show “X Factor Latvia.” He currently collaborates with well-known Latvian stage artists. Robson Santos is a Brazilian percussionist, composer, model and actor who, from childhood, was strongly influenced by the musical culture of his native Salvador and learned to play percussion instruments. He is currently active in the hip-hop music scene, plays in the group “NaLata,” performs as a soloist, and collaborates with other artists.
Percussionist Ernests Medins is a percussionist and composer, a musician of the LNSO and the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and a frequent collaborator with Latvia’s most important music and theatre ensembles. He is a member of the group “Perpetuum ritmico.” Medins is the composer of the 2021 musical production for young people “Othello,” based on motifs from William Shakespeare’s play (LNSO, theatre company ESARTE), which was at the time nominated for the “Spelmanu nakts” award.
Maris Evelons is deputy principal horn of the LNSO, laureate of numerous national and international competitions, including prize-winning placements at the Juozas Pakalnis Competition in Lithuania and the Andrejs Jurjans Wind Instrument Competition, and has received the Grand Prix at the Teodors Reiters Competition. Miks Bankevics is a musician of the LNSO horn section, and a member of the Basel Youth Orchestra, the Swiss orchestra, and the ensemble Collegium Musicum Basel. He was previously also a member of the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra and the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Arturs Krumins is a musician in the horn section of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra, was also an LNSO orchestra musician from 2022 to 2024, and from 2019 to 2022 was principal horn of the National Armed Forces Staff Orchestra. Daniels Sabanskis is a musician of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra, a regular guest with the LNSO, and has also collaborated with the Vanemuine Theatre Orchestra, the Daugavpils Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Last year he performed as soloist in Richard Strauss’ Second Horn Concerto together with the chamber orchestra “Sinfonia Concertante.”
Ivars Ozols has been a musician in the LNSO double bass section since 2012, also collaborates with the Jelgava Chamber Orchestra, and has previously performed with the Nordic Orchestra, “Sinfonia Concertante” and other ensembles. He is also involved in sound production and arranging. Pianist Rihards Plesanovs regularly performs in LNSO concerts, both as soloist and among the orchestra’s ranks, and has also performed with other leading Latvian professional ensembles. He is also a member of the piano quartet “Quadra” and the ensemble “Arcandela,” and a frequent participant in ensembles performing in LNSO’s chamber music series.
The concert is financially supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation. Tickets for the concert are available online. More information about LNSO’s 99th season concerts is available on the orchestra’s website in the “Concerts” section, and on its Facebook profile.