The opening concert program included two special pieces that were created in honor of the concert hall.
The opening ceremony commenced with the Opening Fanfare by Ventspils composer Vilnis Šmīdbergs. This was followed by a new work by Raimonds Tiguls and Nora Ikstena – the oratorio, Book of the Sea. A performance by Raimonds Pauls closed the concert.
The concert brought together the State academic choir Latvija, Ventspils Cultural Center women's choir Venda, mixed choir Ventspils, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and soloists – Iveta Apkalna (organ), Intars Busulis (voice), Gints Pabērzs (saxophone), and Emīls Patriks Dzenītis (voice).
The artistic director of the concert was Māris Sirmais.
The 578 seat concert hall boasts two unique world-class instruments – a manual acoustic organ and a vertical concert piano. The organ was made by Johannes Klais Orgelbau GmbH & Co. KG in Germany and is the only organ situated in a concert hall rather than a church in Latvia.
The vertical piano, on the other hand, is currently the largest in the world, and was made in Hungary by Davids Kļaviņš' company Klavins Piano Manufaktura Kft.
The author of the concert hall is the German architect David Cook's agency Haascookzemmrich Studio 2050. Construction work began in February 2017 and was completed in July of this year. The total investment in the project amounts to 31 million euros.
