The choir was founded this summer and is led by a young conductor, Emīlija Marta Paidere. She has discovered that the interaction between the two peoples creates a magical sound, in which the pure and bright sound of Latvian is interestingly intertwined with Ukrainian temperament and sincerity.
The choir's first concert will take place on December 10 at St Peter's Church in Rīga. All proceeds from the concert will go to the charity project "Christmas Express Latvia-Ukraine", helping to provide gifts for children left parentless during the war, who live in the crisis center in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine.
The Latvian-Ukrainian Choir will open its first concert with "Lūgšana/Prayer" by Ādolfs Ābele. The concert will intertwine works by Jāzeps Vītols, Imants Kalniņš, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Jānis Lūsēns, and foreign composers with the atmospheric melodies of Ukrainian folk music.
The choir was founded in August this year and is made up of Latvians and Ukrainians. One of them is Tatiana Chirkova, who has never sung in a choir before. She has a background in economics and came to Latvia with her family - husband and three children - in the first year of the war, working in the information center of the association "Tavi draugi". She calls singing her discovery and therapy, as well as a great opportunity to socialize:
"I often find that singing is a means of expressing myself and my emotions. A happy song also brings out the joy in you, while a sad song allows you to express your pain, to shed a tear. It is a kind of therapy. For me, singing is a new, interesting experience.
"In Ukraine I was completely busy with other things, I didn't even think about singing. But now I and many other Ukrainians are reassessing our values, and many have started to do things they never did before. Singing transports me to another world where I am morally and physically free from work, everyday life and problems."
On the 1000th day of the war, Tatiana does not want to make any predictions or hopes for the future, but rather to think about how adaptable one is, as many of her relatives, including her parents, sister's and brother's families, still live in Ukraine, in the danger zones. Tatiana is horrified by this, but they have accepted it almost as a daily routine.
Tatiana herself is not thinking of returning to Ukraine at the moment, but will probably stay permanently in Latvia.
The task of uniting Ukrainian and Latvian voices is entrusted to the young conductor Emīlija Marta Paidere.
"We are quite different in terms of temperament. We are also different in terms of sound because everyone has a different school. But they have this magical sound where there's this immense sincerity that they evoke and give to us through their singing, so we just kind of immediately relax."
For Emīlija Marta Paidere, having her own choir is a dream come true, but even more importantly, it means that she can support Ukraine through her work, through her music:
"I know that we are tired of donating, of thinking about war, but it has to be done and it has to be done to the end. My biggest dream is that in time we could go and sing in Ukraine. Also in our concert, the common song is "Virs zemes miers/Peace on Earth" by Jānis Lūsēns, and I really hope that with the support of every country, including ours, the moment will come as soon as possible when we will be able to say - peace on earth. So we must not give up."
The charity concert of the Latvian-Ukrainian choir "Tavi draugi" will take place on December 10 at St Peter's Church in Riga. The special guest of the concert will be Andrejs Osokins, with the participation of Trio Subito, Trio Tresenus, Mezzo Ensemble and other musicians.
All proceeds from the concert will go to the charity project "Christmas Express Latvia-Ukraine".
