Rīga 2010
December 18, 2022 at 4:32 pm
The VIII International Festival/Competition “We play music with friends” for chamber ensembles of young performers took place in Riga, Latvia 4-6 June 2010. Organizers was the Foundation„We Play Music with Friends” and Jāzeps Mediņš Riga 1st music school. June 4, Lead-in-concerts of the Festival sounded in Riga streets and squares (at school, Congress House, and at the terrace of Gutenberg near the Dome Square).
5 June morning began with a solemn Festival opening ceremony, which was introduced with a traditional ancient Minuet and school dedicated Romance by Jāzeps Mediņš. 132 participants aged 7 to 19 from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland - 48 chamber ensembles - and 50 teachers attended it. The competition was judged by an international jury composed of professors from Latvia, Finland, Estonia, presided by Gunta Sproge of the Latvian Academy of Music, and including ECMTA Chairman Evan Rothstein. The competition took place in the beautiful concert hall of the recently opened new building Jazeps Medins Riga 1st Music School.
June 6, contestants and other young ensembles performed in Festival concerts in Column Hall at the Historical Museum of Riga and in the Botanical garden of Latvian University, where the magnificent rhododendrons flowering joined the passionate performance of young chamber musicians. The weekend also included a seminar for teachers in attendance, in which members of the jury made comments on the preparation of the contestants and on the organization of the competition. The Festival concluded with a gala concert of the Youth chamber orchestra Armonico and awards ceremony.