Agris Engelmanis

"I feel, that in music can be found interesting collisions, as not just melody is the only thing with which can be conjured sound paintings."

Agris Engelmanis

Agris Engelmanis was born on April 26th, 1936 in Liepāja. After finishing primary school, he studied in the Liepāja College of Art, which he graduated with distinction in 1956. In parallel, he privately studied piano. After obligatory military service (1956–1959), he studied in the Liepāja College of Music, in the music theory department. He studied at the Latvian State Conservatory in the composition class (1965–1971) of Ādolfs Skulte. He worked as a teacher of composition and theory in the Liepāja College of Music (1964–2001), and was the director of this school (1989–1996). He worked also as the Director of the Music Division at the Liepāja State Theatre (1975–1979). Agris Engelmanis has done much to develop the cultural life of the city of Liepāja: he was the chairman of the Liepāja Culture Fund (1995–1997), the Latvian Music Society’s Chairman of the South Kurzeme Region, worked on many different competition juries and regional cultural commissions. The composer’s choir songs have been frequently performed at the All Latvian Song Festivals. As of 1977, Agris Engelmanis was a member of the Latvian Composers’ Union, and he has been a member of the Composers’ Union Executive Committee. Agris Engelmanis died on April 7th, 2011.

Ligita Ašme, Mārīte Dombrovska © LMIC