A New Chapter: Artistic Director of deciBels Festival
Since April 2026, I have taken on a new role as the Artistic Director of the JVLMA Contemporary Music Festival deciBels. This marks an important new chapter in my artistic and professional work, bringing together my interests in performance, contemporary music, artistic research, education and international collaboration.
The previous artistic director of the festival was composer Anna Fišere, whose work has played an important role in shaping deciBels as a vivid and open platform for new music. I am grateful for the artistic direction and energy she has brought to the festival, and I look forward to continuing and developing this work further.
deciBels is the contemporary music festival of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. Over the years, it has become a space where students, teachers, composers, performers and guest artists meet through concerts, lectures, masterclasses, workshops and interdisciplinary projects. The festival explores contemporary academic music in a broad sense — from chamber music and choir to electroacoustic, experimental, ethnic and cross-disciplinary expressions.
As the new artistic director, I see deciBels as a living laboratory — a place where new ideas can be tested, where young musicians can gain meaningful artistic experience, and where Latvian contemporary music can meet international perspectives. My aim is to strengthen the festival’s role as an open, curious and artistically ambitious platform, connecting performance, composition, improvisation, technology and research.
Looking ahead, I am especially interested in developing projects that bring together different musical communities: classical performers, composers, jazz musicians, sound artists, electronic music practitioners and students. I believe deciBels can be a place where experimentation is not separated from professionalism, and where the academy becomes not only an educational institution, but also a creative meeting point for new artistic processes.
I am grateful to JVLMA for the trust and look forward to working with colleagues, students, artists and international partners on the next editions of the festival.