Arnolds Kalnājs

1906-1975
Organist, composer, director, publisher

Arnolds Kalnajs (né Berkholcs) was born on 13 September 1906 in Lejasubeles, Vaives parish, the eighth of ten children. He studied at Vaive parish school, then at Araisi parish school where he learned the basics of organ and piano playing with O. Zarins ( O. Zariņš). He continued his studies at Berzaine Gymnasium in Cesis and Cesis Music School. Between 1927 and 1932 he studied at the Latvian Conservatoire in the organ class of Peteris Pauls Jozuuss (Pēteris Pauls Jozuuss) and in the composition theory class of Jazeps Vitols (Jāzeps Vītols) and Adolfs Abele (Ādolfs Ābele).

After graduation he was an organist at St. John's Church in Cesis, leading the choirs of the Cesis parish, the 10th Cesis Guard Regiment and the Raiskums Forestry Men's Choir. He wrote his first composition, the song “Baltās smiltis” (White Sands) in 1932. It was dedicated to the author of the lyrics E. Treimanis. A few years later he submitted his song "Jaunais rīts" (New Morning) with lyrics by Aina Abele to the 9th Latvian Song Festival where he won 2nd prize. Between 1932 and 1940 he was a teacher of organ and piano classes at the Cesis Teachers' Institute.

A change of surname shortly before the occupation of Latvia in 1940 saved Kalnajs and his family from deportation. That year, he married the choir singer Alma Sietina (Alma Sietiņa), and the family grew with two daughters and a son. Due to his escape, he lost his job and moved to Smiltene where he got a job as a teacher at a gymnasium. Already in 1941, after the first Russian occupation, he returned to Cesis and worked as a music school director and singing teacher at the Cesis Secondary School until 1944.

In 1944, when he and his family fled to Germany, he took with him the sheet music of Latvian choirs. It was useful in the founding of mixed choir "Dziesmu vairogs" in the Nuremberg refugee camp with 90 singers in 1945. As early as 1946, Latvians in exile organised the first song days in Germany. Kalnajs initiated the idea of the exile song festivals, and he the main organiser and the chief conductor of all five song days of the Franconian region (in 1946) and the 75th commemorative song day of the I Latvian Song Festival in Fischbach (in 1948). In 1949, Kalnajs moved from Europe to Kalamazoo in the USA. His choir followed him and he led it until his passing. He was the principal conductor of the first five Song Festivals in North America from 1953 to 1973.