Latvia

GINTS GLINKA - Conductor                                                                                                     

Born in Smiltene (Latvia), Gints Glinka studied piano, violin and choir conducting at the Advanced Music School of E. Darzins, followed by choir and orchestra conducting at the Music Academy of J. Vitols in Riga.

Later Glinka continued studying orchestra conducting at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. At the same time he gained experience at the Royal Danish Theatre and took part in master classes given by H. Rilling, K. Sanderling and P. Boulez. In 2000 Gints Glinka was assistant with the Guildhall Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra in London, conducting Stravinsky’s Sacre du Printemps.

In 2001 Gints Glinka was granted a début year at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and a début concert with the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra. In the same year he conducted Mozart’s Don Giovanni in a co-production of the Royal Danish Theatre and the Opera Academy in Copenhagen. 

Also in 2001 Glinka was  awarded the Classical Conductor's Prize by the Danish Conductor’s Association and was invited to join the association. In 2003 he was given a grant by the Danish National Bank and the Danish Conductors’ Association for studies with Maestro Zubin Mehta at the Bayerishe Staatsoper and  later with Maestro Daniel Barenboim at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. In 2004 Glinka was acclaimed the Revelation of the Season by the Polish music critics.

Since then Gints Glinka has conducted orchestras, such as the Kremerata Baltica, the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Academic Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Portuguese National Symphony Orchestra, the Valencia Symphony Orchestra, the Belarusian National Symphony Orchestra, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Porto Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian National Opera, the Opera Nova etc., and has also made recordings with the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra. Gints Glinka has performed together  with soloists, such as Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Michala Petri, David Geringas, Gülsin Onay etc.

In 2006  Gints Glinka was appointed the artistic director and later principle guest conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. Gints Glinka is a laureate of the Great Music Award 2006 for outstanding interpretation of Beethoven's Symphony Nr. 9.  The Great Music Award (GMA) is the highest prize given by the Latvian State in the field of music.

Latvian Concert Violinist Kristīne Balanas commenced violin studies at aged seven, and has since been the recipient of countless awards in several international competitions. She was awarded the 1st Prize in addition to the ‘Virtuoso Prize’ in 12th International Violin competition in Kloster Schöntal, and 1st Prize in the Latvian National Competition for Violinists in 2004 and 2008. Other awards include the J & A Beare International Solo Bach Competition in 2010, and from the 30th International Violin Competition Rodolfo Lipizer in 2011, alongside a special prize for the best interpretation of a 20th century violin concerto.

Following from her initial education in Rīga, where she studied at the Emīls Dārziņš Specialist Music School with Romans Šnē, she was invited in 2007 to study with Professor György Pauk to study on a full scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she completed an undergraduate degree with First Class Honours, and in 2014 graduated with a Master of Arts with Distinction. In 2012, she was awarded Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester’s Prize of 2012 for Exemplary Studentship. Throughout her course of study, she has been supported by the Countess of Munster Trust, Hattori Foundation, Martin Musical Scholarship Trust, The Craxton Memorial Trust, and the Steele Trust.

Kristīne has performed as a soloist with the Latvian National Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovakian Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, and the RTE National Orchestra, Dublin, with a particular highlight her 2014 soloist performance at the Barbican Centre with the Moscow Soloists under Yuri Bashmet. She has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and BBC 1’s The One Show, and at St John’s Smith Square, the Purcell Room and King’s Place in London, and recently performed the UK premiere of Miecyslaw Weinberg’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with the Ealing Symphony Orchestra.

Kristīne has received lessons and performed in masterclasses with Leonidas Kavakos, Maxim Vengerov and Schlomo Mintz, and is the Artist-in-Residency at Buckingham University. She has recently been awarded a 3-year chamber music scholarship at the Villa Musica, Schloss Engers, Rheinland-Pfalz. Future plans in 2014/15 include performances with Latvian National Radio Live Recitals, concerto performances with various orchestras throughout Europe and Japan, and collaborations with Boris Garlitsky and Cello Duello.