Kristīne Adamaite

“Yes, the organ is an expensive instrument. And we are not a wealthy nation. But we have talented people. And young people who still want to learn,”

states Kristīne Adamaite on the website of the Ventspils Secondary School of Music.

Adamaite initiated the establishment of an organ class at this school in 2015 and now leads the class. She also teaches organ performance at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and is the organist for the congregation at Old St. Gertrude’s Church in Riga. She served as the organist for the congregation at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Riga for many years (1996–2019) and taught organ performance at the Luther Academy.

Adamaite is characterised as a “trustworthy and inspiring comrade in arms for all of the many choirs and soloists who invite her along on their adventures in music making”. In 2014, she won the Latvian Grand Music Award for outstanding work in an ensemble. She continues to regularly collaborate with a wide variety of soloists (Artis Sīmanis, Jolanta Strikaite-Lapiņa, Gunta Gelgote, Inga Šļubovska-Kancēviča, Ēriks Kiršfelds, etc.), choirs (State Choir “Latvija”, Latvian Radio Choir, “Kamēr…”, “Balsis”, “Tiara” Riga Cathedral Girls’ Choir) and orchestras (Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Ventspils Chamber Orchestra).

Adamaite’s concerts very often include Latvian music, and they just as often feature premieres of music by Latvian composers, such as Rihards Dubra, Maija Einfelde, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Kārlis Lācis, Juris Karlsons, Georgs Pelēcis, Andrejs Selickis, Pēteris Vasks, Imants Zemzaris and many others.

Not only does Adamaite perform in all of the significant organ music festivals in Latvia, she has also established a new event, namely, Ventspils Organ Days, which features masterclasses as well as concerts. “Ventspils Organ Days will be a way in which we share,” she explained in an interview with Latvian Radio 3 “Klasika” in early 2020. “It will be a three-day event with an intense focus on the organ. Of course, it is based on similar events elsewhere in Europe, where such a tradition is well-established and where my colleagues and I have regularly participated.”

After graduating from Lelde Paula’s piano class in 1994, Adamaite earned a master’s degree in organ performance from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music in 2002, having studied under Prof. Larisa Bulava. She has expanded her skills and knowledge at the Enschede Academy of Music in the Netherlands under Professor Gijs van Schoonhoven.

Adamaite has performed throughout Europe as well as in Russia, Australia, the United States and Canada.

LMIC 2020