Edgars Vītols
1985
Music teacher, conductor
Edgars Vītols was born in Rīga on 21 October 1985. His passion for music and choirs began in secondary school. In 2009, he graduated from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) with a bachelor’s degree in music pedagogy with a specialisation in choral conducting. During this time, he also studied in the Bachelor of Law programme at the University of Latvia Faculty of Law. He continued his studies in the Music master’s programme at the Latvian Academy of Performing Arts, obtaining a master’s degree in choral conducting in 2011.
In 2004, together with his music teacher Dzintra Krastiņa, Vītols founded the Rīga Centre Humanities Secondary School teachers’ choir, which has evolved into Aura, the University of Latvia physics/mathematics students’ mixed choir, and has been its artistic director since its foundation. Since 2008, he has been working at Rīga State High School No 2, and from 2011, has been the artistic director of the Absolventi (Graduates) Rīga male choir. From 2015, he has been working at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and is a lecturer in the music pedagogy department. In 2021, he founded the Aurum mixed choir and is its artistic director.
Since 2009, he has implemented many projects with Latvia’s most prominent composers (R. Pauls, Ē. Ešenvalds, I. Arne, K. Lācis, etc.) and established collaborations with the most prominent soloists from various genres (I. Galante, D. Kalniņš, A. Krauze, etc.). He has won numerous prizes in international choral competitions (Germany, Austria, Malta, Croatia, Czech Republic, etc.) and has initiated captivating projects with a symphony orchestra, a big band, folk musicians and dancers.
In 2015, Vītols was the artistic director and a chief conductor for the closing concert of the XI Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival Manā dziesmā Tu… (In My Song, You ...), in 2017, the artistic director and a chief conductor for the Kalniem pāri (Over the Mountains) Latvian mixed choir gathering, and in 2015 and 2018, a chief conductor at the Gaudeamus Baltic Student Song Festival. In 2020/2021, he was artistic director of the closing concert Dziesmubērns (Songchild) at the XII Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival, and in 2022, he was artistic director and a chief conductor for the Gaudeamus Baltic Student Song Festival. From 2011 to 2016, he was a supernumerary conductor of the World Festival Choir (Norway). Since 2015, he has been a chief conductor for the Jelgava City, Jelgava and Olaine District choirs.
At the XXVII Latvian Song Celebration and XVII Latvian Dance Festival 2023, which will take place in Rīga from 30 June to 9 July, Edgars Vītols will make his debut as a chief conductor in the Massed choir concert Tīrums. Dziesmas ceļš (The Field. The Road of Song).
Information sources
Aura CV. Retrieved from https://www.koris-aura.lv/ – topMenu5
Edgars Vītols. https://www.jvlma.lv/akademija/personals/edgars-vitols
Lūsiņa, Inese (3 May 2013). Edgars Vītols – 21st century conductor. Retrieved from https://www.diena.lv/raksts/sestdiena/edgars-vitols-xxi-gadsimta-dirigents-14006367
Ulmanis, Ingus (7 July 2015). Conductor and music teacher Edgars Vītols [Radio interview recording]. Retrieved from https://lr1.lsm.lv/lv/raksts/monopols/dirigents-un-muzikas-skolotajs-edgars-vitols.a54088/
Vītols, Edgars (25 January 2023). Biography additions. [E-mail to the National Library of Latvia].
