Ēriks Ešenvalds

Hailing from Latvia, Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) is one of the most sought-after composers working today, with a busy commission schedule and performances of his music heard on every continent. After studying at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary and the Latvian Academy of Music, he was a member of the State Choir "Latvija" from 2002-2011. In 2011 he was awarded the two-year position of Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He has won multiple awards for his work, including the Latvian Grand Music Award three times (2005, 2007 and 2015).

Recent premieres include Dreams Under your Feet for the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Lakes Awake at Dawn for the Boston Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Passion according to St Luke for Sinfonietta Riga, and the major multimedia symphony Nordic Light in Riga. His full-scale major opera The Immured was premiered at the National Latvian Opera in 2016 to great acclaim and received more performances this year. 2018 als sees his Volcano multimedia symphony premiered in Riga.

Ēriks undertakes many international residencies working on his music and lecturing. His compositions appear on recordings from Trinity College Choir, Cambridge on the Hyperion label, Portland State Chamber Choir on Naxos, and VOCES8 on Decca Classics, amongst others.