Baltic Music Festival in Graz — Pipes & Reeds
In May 2026, I had the pleasure of performing at the first Baltic Music Festival in Graz, Austria — a new cultural initiative dedicated to presenting music and artists from the Baltic region.
Together with organist Ilze Kroja, I performed the concert programme Pipes & Reeds on 8 May 2026 at the beautiful Mariahilferkirche in Graz. The programme brought together music by composers from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, alongside a work by Austrian composer Franz Zebinger. In the acoustics of the church, the saxophone and organ created a wide palette of colours — from meditative stillness and prayerful concentration to folk-inspired energy and powerful, spacious sonorities.
A particularly meaningful part of the concert was the performance of Franz Zebinger’s Meditations in a version for saxophone and organ. It was an honour to premiere this version and a great pleasure to work with the composer on the interpretation of the piece.
Taking part in the first edition of the Baltic Music Festival was a valuable opportunity to share Baltic and Latvian music in an international context. Festivals like this create important cultural bridges, allowing music to travel beyond borders while keeping its identity, language and emotional depth.
I am very grateful to the festival organisers, especially Katrīna Kroja and Anna Amanda Stolere, for their invitation, trust and wonderful work in creating this new platform for Baltic music in Graz. Many thanks also to Ilze Kroja for the inspiring collaboration, and to everyone who joined us for the concert.
Concert: Pipes & Reeds
Date: 8 May 2026
Venue: Mariahilferkirche, Graz, Austria
Performers: Aigars Raumanis, saxophone; Ilze Kroja, organ
Festival: First Baltic Music Festival in Graz
Programme
Gaļina Grigorjeva — Molitva
Balys Dvarionas — By the Lake
Pēteris Vasks — Laudate Dominum
Dace Aperāne — Pastorale
Tõnu Kõrvits — Thule koraalid, III: “Withour Words”
Franz Zebinger — Meditations
Uģis Prauliņš — Fantasia Rustica