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Ratniece, Santa
(1977.22.03.), Composer, Musicologist |
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Profile, Curriculum Vitae
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"The dream reminded me of a large tower, where unending layers rise upwards and vanish into eternity or also circularly tend downwards and disappear into the depths of the earth. When I was caught by its swinging, it seemed like we were in a spiral, and this spiral was a labyrinth. There were no ceiling, no foundation, no walls, no return path. These were themes that repeated with an amazing precision."
From the Julio Cortázar book Hopscotch
BIOGRAPHY
Santa Ratniece was born on March 22nd, 1977 in Jelgava. She studied piano at the Valmiera School of Music, and developed her first composition skills with Līga Liepiņa. In 1996, she finished the Emils Dārziņš College of Music specializing in music theory and composition with composer Imants Zemzaris. In 2000, she graduated the Latvian Academy of Music, specializing in musicology, and in 2002, specializing in composition with Romualds Kalsons. In her years at the Latvian Academy of Music, her compositions Septiņi pakāpieni (Seven Steps) and Sirds pantomīma (Pantomime of the Heart), for piano duo and tenor saxophone received the most notice. In the spring of 2002, as part of the program Socrate Erasmus, she studied in Enschede in the Netherlands with the English composer David Rowland, under whose direction was formed the Latvian Academy of Music diploma work A-WAY for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and chamber orchestra.
In September 2002, she began masters studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with notable Estonian composer Helena Tulve. In 2007 she received master`s degree in arts, the title of master degree theses: Claude Viviers Shiraz for piano: Time and Pitch structure.
In the autumn of 2003, she was awarded first place in a young composers competition in Estonia with her piece Petunia for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and percussion. This piece was inspired by the Patrick Suskind novel Perfume and the light world of scents. She was awarded first place in the young composers category at the 2004 International Rostrum for Composers for her work sens nacre. The idea of this work is not to contrast different instrument groups, but to integrate and mix them. Timbre and harmony organically flow, creating an intangible nacreous feeling. Differently rich, dark colours permeate the work Ruby for violin, clarinet, piano and cello. Marking the Estonian composer Lepo Sumeras (19502000) birthday, this piece was performed in the largest Estonian cities in the spring of 2004 as part of an international project, where composers from Turkey, Canada, Estonia, and Latvia participated.
In January 2005 was her piece for orchestra Glittering Promenade played in Berlin Philharmony Hall by German-Scandinavian Youth Orchestra, conducted by Andreas-Peer Kahler. In this piece "luster in the light" transfers the short moment into eternity. Her piece myrrh for piano solo was played in Montreal by Estonian pianist Kadri-Ann Sumera. In year 2005 she wrote also the piece ...Between the Shores of Our Souls... for ensemble Resonabilis with Estonian singer Iris Oja (the texts are taken from Kahlil Gibran The Prophet), and it was performed in Kadriorgu Palace in Tallinn. In February 2006, Santa Ratniece's Alvéoles for string quartet was premiered in Paris by Molinari Quartet (in festival Présences). In September her piece Olivine for percussion was played in Riga (festival Skaņu mežs). In September the premiere of her piece Saline for Latvian Radio Choir took a place in Klangspuren festival, Austria.
In 2006, Santa Ratniece became a member of the Latvian Composers Union. In 2006, she received a newspaper Diena Latvian Annual Award in Culture (for the piece Saline for choir), and in 2007 - the Copyrights Infinity Award, which was awarded to her by the Latvian Authors Union (for the piece sens nacre for ensemble).
DISCOGRAPHY
Glittering Promenade / Deutsch-Skandinavische Jugend-Philharmonie, conductor Andreas Peer Kahler 1346 // Die Musik des Baltikums - 2005, DEMATON, Lubeck (Germany)
...sens nacre / Ensembles Altera veritas and Ensemble Nove, conductor Normunds Šnē 1108 // Per musicam ad lucem 2006, MASF
...sens nacre / Altera veritas: Ieva Lapiņa, Anda Zaborovska (kokles), Andis Klučnieks (flute), Aldis Jurisons (accordion); Ensemble Nove: Dita Krenberga (flute), Normunds Šnē (oboe), Ints Dālderis (clarinet), Agnese Kanniņa-Liepiņa (violin), Olafs Štāls (alto), Diana Ozoliņa (cello), Jānis Stafeckis (double-bass), Edgars Saksons (percussion) 1105 // Winning Music. Award Winning Compositions by Latvian Composers 2006, LMIC 007
Aragonite / String Quartet Diference: Dace Rīdiņa, Ilze Pence, Una Vikštrēma, Līga Veilande 1227 // Latvian String Quartets. Latviešu stīgu kvarteti 2008, LMIC 015
Septiņi pakāpieni (Seven Steps) / Clarinet Quartet Contraverso: Egīls Šēfers, Mārtiņš Kalniņš, Guntis Kuzma, Anrijs Pitans 707 // Latviešu komponisti pūšaminstrumentiem / Music for Winds by Latvian composers 2008, LMIC 016
LITERATURE
I. Liepiņa, Šādai mūzikai jāplūst no tālienes (This Kind of Music Must Flow From Afar) [review of premieres of works by Andris Dzenītis and Santa Ratniece at the concert in the Anglican Church] // Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze, April 26th, 2004 J. Petraškevičs, Klusums un solījumi (Silence and Promises) [review of the concert of the Introvert Music Festival, including the premiere of a work by Santa Ratniece] // Mūzikas Saule, 2004, No. 3, 6061 I. Lūsiņa, Veiksmīgā skaņu spēle (Effecting Sound Play) [interview regarding her victory at Rostrum] // Diena, June 16th, 2004 S. Ņedzvecka, Rostrum 2004. Statistics and Rejoicing // Mūzikas Saule, 2004, No. 4, 1415 S. Ņedzvecka, Sāls un medus (Salt and Honey) // Mūzikas Saule, 2007, No. 4, 1821
Mārīte Dombrovska
Photo - Edmunds Mickus
© LMIC |
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