Ruta Paidere

“What does music mean to me? Since early childhood I have instinctively and fairly blindly followed it hoping that there is some kind of hidden knowledge, which will, someday, allow me to recognize a different beauty.”

Ruta Paidere

Ruta Paidere was born on August 26th, 1977 in Tukums. After graduating the piano department in 1992, studies continued at the Jāzeps Mediņš College of Music in the music theory department (1992–1997), where, under the tutelage of composition teacher Tamāra Kalna, she strengthened her resolution to continue her education in this field. In 1998, R. Paidere was accepted to the Hamburg College of Music and Theatre (Hochschule für Musik und Theater) in the composition department with professor Peter Michael Hamel, which she graduated in 2005. In 2003, she began composition studies in England, at the Dartington College of Music with composer Frank Denyer. In 2005, she began piano teaching classes at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg with professor Volker Banfield.

R. Paidere’s music has been performed in many European countries, in Israel as well as the USA, at many concert series, mainly in Germany, as well as music festivals such as ADEvantgarde in Munich, Budapester Spring, Musik unserer Zeit in Munster, Musica in Strasbourg, Tenso Days in Berlin, the Schleswig – Holstein Musikfestival in northern Germany, Arēna in Riga, and others. She has received commissions for works from the festival ADEvantgarde, contemporary music master classes in Avingon Opus XXI (Akademie OPUS XXI), Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, and the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, Radio Cologne (Deutschlandfunk Köln), the Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Riga, and others. A vital aspect of the composer’s musical identity is the link with actual performance, she has participated in many contemporary music performances, often of her own work.

The composer is also the author of many publications in the Latvian press. R. Paidere was the recipient of the Oscar und Vera Ritter Stiftung scholarship (2000–2004) and in 2003 received the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) award, in 2005, the Hermann Rauhe Award for contemporary chamber music, in 2006, the city of Hamburg Bach Preis-Stipendium. Her composition Tempera was nominated for the Latvian Great Music Award 2012.

As of 2007, R. Paidere is a member of the Latvian Composers’ Union, and the Alfred Schnittke Society in Germany. She teaches music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, as well as at the Hamburg Conservatory.

Mārīte Dombrovska Photo - Inese Austruma © LMIC