CELMA-KURSIETE, Liga

Līga Celma-Kursiete is a Latvian composer, choral conductor, singer and music educator, born on 4 June 1978 in Jelgava. She studied music education and composition at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, completing her composition studies with Pēteris Plakidis. Choral and vocal music occupies a central place in her catalogue, frequently drawing on Latvian poetry, sacred subjects and folk traditions. Her output also includes music for wind orchestra, theatre and film. Representative compositions include Trīs deju soļi (Three Dance Steps) for wind orchestra, Dzīvības koks (Tree of Life) for mixed choir and string quartet, and Te Deum – Rīga. She was one of six composers who created the children’s stage work Kartupeļu opera and wrote the music for Juris Kursietis’s feature film Modris.