Ēriks Ešenvalds
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Ēriks Ešenvalds (born 26 January 1977) is a Latvian composer, mainly of choral music. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
,
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.


Biography

Ēriks Ešenvalds was born in Priekule,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, in 1977. He studied at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary (1995–1997) before obtaining his master's degree in composition (2004) from the Latvian Academy of Music under the tutelage of Selga Mence. He took master classes with Michael Finnissy,
Klaus Huber Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saaria ...
,
Philippe Manoury Philippe Manoury (born 19 June 1952) is a French composer. Biography Manoury was born in Tulle and began composition studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch. He continued his studies from 1974 to 1 ...
and Jonathan Harvey, amongst others. From 2002 to 2011 he was a member of the State Choir Latvija. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
,
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. Ešenvalds is a three-time winner of the Latvian Grand Music Award (2005, 2007 and 2015). In 2006, the
International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...
awarded him first prize for his work ''The Legend of the Walled-in Woman''. Ešenvalds composed the official anthem of the 2014 World Choir Games during Riga European Capital of Culture 2014. Ešenvalds teaches at the Department of Composition of the Latvian Academy of Music.


Composer Residency at the University of Virginia

In April 2024, Ešenvalds visited the United States to serve as composer-in-residence for the North American premiere of his major choral-orchestral work ''St. Luke Passion Sacred Works''. The concert took place on April 13, 2024, at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
. Performed by the University Singers in Old Cabell Hall and conducted by Michael Slon, the concert also featured two of Ešenvalds' other works: ''Stars'' and ''Only in Sleep''.


Recordings

Ešenvalds's compositions appear on recordings released by labels such as Signum Records,
Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is a British classical music record label. It was independent until February 2023, when it was acquired by the Universal Music Group. Under Universal, Hyperion is one of the three main classical record labels, alongside Decca a ...
,
Decca Classics Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
,
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
, Delphian Records, Pentatone and Ondine. Recordings devoted exclusively to his work include: * ''There Will Come Soft Rains'' — The Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West, Richard Nance (cond.) (Signum, 2020) * ''St Luke Passion Sacred Works'' —
Latvian Radio Choir The Latvian Radio Choir (Latvijas Radio koris) is the professional chamber choir of Latvian Radio which was founded in 1940 by the Latvian conductor Teodors Kalnins. Following the musical direction by Edgars Račevskis (1963–1986) and Juris K ...
, Sinfonietta Riga and Sigvards Kļava (Ondine, 2016) * ''Northern Lights & other choral works'' — Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge and
Stephen Layton Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor. He was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College and then King's ...
(Hyperion Records, 2015) * ''At the Foot of the Sky'' — State Choir Latvija and Māris Sirmais (2013) * ''Passion & Resurrection & other choral works'' —
Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the ...
,
Polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...
and
Stephen Layton Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor. He was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College and then King's ...
(Hyperion Records, 2011) * ''O Salutaris'' — Kamēr… Youth Choir and Māris Sirmais (2011) * ''The Doors of Heaven'' —
Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...
Chamber Choir under Ethan Sperry (
Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...
, 2017) * ''Translations'' —
Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...
under Ethan Sperry (
Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...
, 2020) The album ''Northern Lights & other choral works'' was shortlisted for the Gramophone Awards 2015, selected as Gramophone Critics’ Choice 2015 and listed as
ICI Radio-Canada #REDIRECT ICI {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
Best Albums Selection in 2015. The albums ''At the Foot of the Sky'' (2013) and ''O Salutaris'' (2011) were awarded Best Classical Album of the Year in Latvia.


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Podium Music (Management)

Musica Baltica (Publisher)

Edition Peters (Publisher)

Ēriks Ešenvalds on Hyperion Records

Ēriks Ešenvalds on the Latvian Music Information Centre


See also

* List of Latvians *
Lists of composers This is a list of lists of composers grouped by various criteria. Name *List of composers by name Women *List of female composers by name *List of female composers by birth date *List of Australian female composers Genre *Anime composer *List ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esenvalds, Eriks 1977 births 20th-century Latvian composers 21st-century composers Choral composers 20th-century Latvian people People from South Kurzeme Municipality Living people 20th-century male composers 21st-century Latvian male musicians