By Mara Gulens / TLPA
Last May, 10 Canadian choral composers and conductors spent 10 days immersing themselves in the choir cultures of Estonia and Latvia.
“My time in the Baltics completely changed my beliefs on what choral music can be and what it’s purpose is in our lives,” says Thomas Burton, conductor of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, who kicked off his first day in Riga with a run through the Old Town.
[For more on Berton’s experience, read My journey into Baltic choral music.]
The Baltic Choral Tour 2025 was a cultural exchange where Canadian musicians learned about Latvian choral culture, “but where we also brought Canadian choral culture to Latvia,” explains tour producer, Laura Adlers.
Aira Birziņš, principal conductor of the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Music Academy, organized things on the Latvia side. Tour participants lectured on Canadian choral music, led workshops, met with Latvian composers, conductors and school directors and observed many choral rehearsals.
“It took less than a day to see that my colleagues had fallen for Latvia,” said Adlers at TLPA’s (Toronto Latvian Pensioners’ Association) October 2 event.
In Estonia, the group attended regional rehearsals for the upcoming Estonian Song and Dance Celebration, visited the Arvo Pärt Centre, and had a chance to observe and meet with Tallinn’s best Estonian choirs.
The tour’s goal to foster cross-cultural collaboration is already taking shape. On October 25, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto will perform works by Latvian composer Laura Jēkabsone and Estonian composer Veljo Tormis.
Watch it all here
Baltic choral tour – Nations that sing presentation:bit.ly/TLPAvideo
The Singing Nations Tour 2025 film: bit.ly/SingingNationsTour2025
Mara Gulens is TLPA’s Content and Communications Lead