The opening concert of the Stars Festival has become a beautiful tradition that highlights the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra’s contribution to the professional development of young Latvian musicians. For the seventh year, the Art Education Competence Centre “Liepāja Music, Art and Design Secondary School,” in cooperation with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, is organizing the Valdis Vikmanis Latvian Young Performing Artists Competition, giving the competition laureates the opportunity to perform as soloists with a professional symphony orchestra on the main stage of the Great Hall of the concert hall “Great Amber.”
In the concert, the competition laureates who received the highest jury evaluations will perform as soloists together with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, while Atvars Lakstīgala will take the conductor’s podium. For the young musicians, this will be an important stage experience, allowing them to gain valuable experience in the role of a soloist and to feel the musical collaboration with a symphony orchestra. For the audience, the concert will offer an opportunity to discover a new generation of musicians who may in the future shape not only Latvia’s but also the international classical music scene.
The special guest of the evening will be double bassist Matīss Eisaks, an alumnus of the Emīls Melngailis Liepāja Music School, winner of four international double bass solo competitions, having taken 1st place at the Stockholm International Performer Competition (2014), 1st place at the International Double Bass Symposium in Wrocław (2016), 1st place at the František Simandl Double Bass Competition in Blatná (2016), as well as 1st place at the 24th International Leoš Janáček Competition (2018). He has performed with world-renowned ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Dresden Philharmonic. Currently, the artist is a musician in the Weimar Staatskapelle and one of the most brilliant Latvian double bassists of his generation.
Organized by: The project is implemented by the association “Kurzeme Creative Industries Development Center” in cooperation with MIKC "Liepāja Music, Art and Design Secondary School" and VSIA "Liepāja Symphony Orchestra".
Supported by: State Culture Capital Foundation
Participants
- •Laureates of the Valdis Vikmanis Latvian Young Performing Artists Competition (to be announced after the competition ends)
- •Matīss Eisaks, double bass
- •Atvars Lakstīgala, conductor
- •Liepāja Symphony Orchestra
Event information
Date: February 27, 2027, at 6:00 PM
Venue: Concert Hall “Great Amber,” Great Hall
Ticket price: 5 EUR
Concert duration: 2h 30 min
