Andrejs Jansons
1938-2022
Conductor, composer, educator, oboist
Born on 2 October 1938 in Rīga. At the end of the Second World War, he and his parents escaped to Germany as refugees, emigrating to the US in 1949.
Gained his initial musical education at Norfolk City High School in Virginia, learning oboe. He continued his education at the Juilliard Music School, obtaining a bachelor’s degree (1960). In parallel, improved his oboe skills at the Italian State Conservatory in Venice, under an Italian government scholarship.
Since 1960, has played the oboe and cor anglais in the Pittsburgh and Baltimore symphony orchestras, at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theatre and in the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, the Phoenix Woodwind Quintet of New York, while lecturing at Rutgers University, later Fordham and California State universities.
When conducting and composition come to the forefront of the musician’s interests in the 1970s, he resumes his studies and graduates from the Manhattan Music School with a master’s degree in conducting (1973) and studies composition at Rutgers University, defending his doctoral thesis in 1986.
As a guest conductor, has collaborated with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Hungarica, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the New England Chamber Orchestra, as well as other groups, ensembles and choirs from the USA, Canada and Europe. In 1987, was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Bronx Arts orchestra.
Has also been active in choral music – directing New York’s Estonian women’s choir and the American Bergen Chorale, the Fordham University choir (since 1987), has been the musical director and principal conductor of the New York Latvian choir since 1975. Has visited and performed numerous times in Latvia with this choir.
Jansons’ compositions are wide-ranging and diverse – musicals and music for plays, vocal and instrumental chamber music, choir songs and folk-song arrangements, pieces for kokle, arrangements and instrumentations.
Also worked in music research and methodology – wrote the book Koklēšana (Playing the Kokle, 1965, 1971, 1977), compiled and edited a collection of pieces for kokle ensembles Koklešana II (1978). He has also written research and lectures on kokle playing, Latvian music and folklore, as well as writing his doctoral dissertation on the classification problems of Latvian folk music (1986).
For many years, has enthusiastically participated in the musical education of Latvian young people – taught kokle, directed choirs and orchestras at Latvian children’s summer camps in New York, Toronto, Garezers, and led the New York Kokle-players’ and Singers’ Ensemble.
The maxim for Jansons’ life and work is “Latvian music – for Latvians and the world!”. Throughout his life, has promoted Latvian music around the world – in the USA and Germany he has conducted concert performances of the operas Baņuta and Salenieki by Alfrēds Kalniņš, and brought to the light treasures of Latvian music forgotten even in Latvia, conducting concert performances of the opera Vilkaču mantiniece (The Vilkači Heiress) by Bruno Skulte and staging his own musical Princess Gundega. Conducted Latvian opera-music concerts in New York and Toronto (1991) with the Latvian Radio Choir and the New York Latvian choir, but since 1980, together with the New York Latvian Choir – annual New York Advent concerts, playing Christmas cantatas and original songs by Latvian composers, including many premieres.
A chief conductor at the XXth and XXVth All-Latvian Song Festivals, Honorary chief conductor at the XXVIth All-Latvian Song Festival, as well as chief conductor at youth song festivals in America, the World Free Latvian Song Festival in Gotland (1979), VIIIth (1979) and XIIth (1992) West Coast, IXth (1991) Canada, Xth (1997) US song festivals and many other Latvian regional festivals and days of song.
Awarded the Order of the Three Stars (1996), winner of the Krišjānis Barons Prize (1967, 1976) and winner of the Kārlis Goppers Foundation Award (1972, 1974).
Andrejs Jansons passed away on 25 July 2022.
