LNSO Chamber Music – Music House “Daile” concert programme “Once in Harlem”

Press information, 25 November 2024, Riga. On 28 November at 19:00 at the Music House “Daile,” musicians of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) invite audiences to the chamber music concert “Once in Harlem.” With this concert programme, the artists will take listeners on an exciting musical journey in which academic music meets jazz and entertainment music. Taking the stage will be flautist Maija Zandberga, bassoonist Janis Semjonovs, double bassist Oskars Bokanovs, percussionist Mikus Balins and pianist Rihards Plesanovs. The concert will be hosted by musicologist Liene Jakovleva.

The programme “Once in Harlem” brings together works by several outstanding composers – from Claude Bolling’s masterfully crafted fusion of styles in his “Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio,” to Earl Hagen’s significant contribution to jazz music, with the concert featuring his iconic “Harlem Nocturne,” which has already become a true classic. The programme will also include a composition by American percussionist and composer Gene Koshinski, “Get It!” arranged for bassoon and percussion, in which the bassoon’s musical possibilities are explored in a new light – that of rhythmic music. The programme also includes LNSO’s composer-in-residence for this season, Arturs Maskats’ work “Paris at Night,” now presented in a new instrumentation. “Once in Harlem” will also feature works by other Latvian composers – young Latvian jazz musician and composer Janis Rubiks’ “Flow of Life,” and Marina Vidmante’s “Soul Food,” which will receive its world premiere at the concert.

Flautist Maija Zandberga is deputy principal flute of the LNSO and an active chamber musician. Janis Semjonovs has been LNSO’s principal bassoon since 2009, and principal bassoon of the State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Riga since its founding in 2006. Oskars Bokanovs has been principal double bass of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra since 2017, while LNSO percussionist Mikus Balins is a musician with extensive experience in academic, jazz and popular music alike. Pianist Rihards Plesanovs regularly performs in LNSO concerts, both as soloist and among the orchestra’s ranks, and has also performed with the best professional ensembles in Latvia. He is also a member of the piano quartet “Quadra” and the ensemble “Arcandela.”

The concert is financially supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation. Tickets for the concert are available online. The concert is included in the LNSO CHAMBER MUSIC 2024/2025 SUBSCRIPTION.