The Riga chamber choir "Ave Sol" will perform choral music inspired by Byzantine and Orthodox sacred chant. The professional chamber choir will be conducted by Anastasija Kildiša, a conductor and soon-to-be graduate of the professional doctoral program. The concert will serve as the professional doctoral diploma exam for conductor, researcher, and now also composer Anastasija Kildiša at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, focusing on early Byzantine music and its relevance to contemporary choral music.
The program will feature Kildiša’s new work for choir—a composition inspired by Byzantine musical traditions and the conductor’s artistic and academic research. The piece unites prayer, sound, and collective vocal experience, blending ancient traditions with the contemporary language of choral music. The concert will also feature music by composers very close to A. Kildiša’s heart—several works by Andrejs Selickis, which the conductor has staged multiple times, collaborating with the composer and learning from his extensive knowledge of Byzantine chant. The program also includes choral works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Aiven Moody, and Andreas Johannes Theobald.