Imant Airea, Opera & Symphony Conductor Praised in the early days of his career by the great conductor Evgeny Svetlanov as a “fine musician whose performance brought me to tears,” Latvian-American conductor Imant Airea went on to become a prominent artist in his native country and abroad. His talent and experience brought him a recognition that propelled him to many resident conductor positions including such orchestras as the Latvian Operetta Theater, The Bolshoi Theater of Moscow, Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra, Saratov Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Saratov Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony of New Russia. He was also the music director of Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestra and Yaroslavl Philharmonic Orchestra in Russia. As a guest conductor, Mr. Airea had many appearances with orchestras including the Moscow Philharmonic, The National Latvian Symphony, Gyeonggi Philharmonic in South Korea, Symphony Orchestra of Russia, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, Monterey Symphony Orchestra, and more than 20 orchestras across the former USSR. As an artistic director he also led such orchestras as Daugavpils Symphony, Yaroslavl Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan.
Mr. Airea conducted many productions in many opera theaters, as well as
appeared as a guest conductor in major symphony orchestras in nations of the former Soviet Union. At the world renowned Bolshoi Ballet, he conducted the national premiere of the ballet Cyrano de Bergerac, choreographed by the legendary Roland Petit. His extensive opera, ballet, operetta and symphonic musical repertoire ranging from Giselle to Rite of Spring, from Eugene Onegin to Il Trovatore.
Throughout his career Mr. Airea was happy to collaborate with many prominent artists like mezzo soprano Irina Arkhipova, baritone Vladimir Chernov, bass Ildar Abdrazakov; pianists Boris Berezovsky, Derek Han, Dubravka Tomšič, Diane Walsh, Dmitry Bashkirov; violinist Mikhail Bezverkhny and many others.
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Video Performance by Imant Airea
Our mission is to bring the highest-level symphony orchestra performances to remote communities and areas, which have never had any orchestras, and as a result, have limited access to classical music. Our conviction is enfolded in our name – Celestial Symphony – because people from all walks of life abide in the world beneath the sky. With our concerts, we hope to reach as many segments of the population as possible, including places such as public schools, retirement communities, community colleges, public park venues, and so on, as well as just the general public, inviting the best soloists and conductors of the world. We will introduce classical, romantic, contemporary, and popular music, bringing the culture of the musical world to a wide range of audiences. We firmly believe in the ability of live music to bring joy and healing, as well as to breathe life into the mundane. Now, more than ever, the world needs to be able to have access to positive experiences, and we believe that the diversity of the orchestral music experience has the capacity to enrich the lives of those who have the opportunity to enjoy it. And thus, we are putting our efforts together to create the opportunity for these experiences to exist and to bring color into the lives of others through music.
As an enthusiastic artistic director, Mr. Airea initiated and participated in several festivals, including Skaneateles Festival in New York State, International Arkhipova Festival in Moscow and International Sobinov Festival in Yaroslavl. A true champion of modern music, Mr. Airea premiered and performed at the International Moscow Autumn Festival many works of contemporary composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Edison Denisov, Evgeny Svetlanov, Sergey Slonimsky, Sergey Berinsky and others.
Conductor’s core repertoire includes virtually all major symphonies and oratorios by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Shostakovich, just to name a few. Russia’s top record label Melodia released five discs of Mr. Airea’s performances and his career brought him to the stages of Latvia, Russia and as far as France, Germany, South Korea and USA. Trained first as a violinist at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Riga, Mr. Airea also studied conducting with Professor Vassily Sinaisky (former Music Director of the Bolshoi Theatre). Later his other mentors were the great conductors Ilya Musin and Arvīds Jansons of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Educational programs for youth were always an important part of Mr. Airea’s performing career. Education was a focal point in his position as Music Director of the Gradus ad Parnassum Orchestra, touring with the orchestra to Carnegie Hall in 2018. Now, he wishes to bring all of his experience to the forefront with Celestial Symphony, to delight audiences everywhere.
President's Message
Janis Vanags, the Founder and the President of the Celestial Symphony Orchestra, says, "I still remember that cold winter day in Latvia, when I had my first brush with music. I was four years old and frightened, standing at the doors of the music school, so my father grabbed me by my jacket and firmly steered me into the music school recruiting room. Intimidated by the music director tapping a rhythm with his pen against the upright piano, I ended up crying before I could even repeat the rhythm. Fast forward to some while later, however, and I was practicing violin and piano, singing in the choir, studying music theory and music literature, and even taking accordion classes.
As time went on, I didn’t end up becoming a professional musician, but rather, a businessman. Though, at the root of it all, I became a lover of music at heart. It is my hope that my dreams can come true by giving something back to music.
Over twenty years ago, I met my fellow countryman, Imant Airea. After meeting Imant, we both had the same thought of how we might be able to make music more accessible for everyone. We concluded that, for the most part, music is primarily accessible to the privileged – those who live in bigger cities and therefore have easier access to symphonies and opera companies.
With this in mind, we decided to create an outstanding symphony orchestra that would serve everyone in different parts of the country, traveling from one city to another. Bach once wrote that, “the aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and refreshment of the soul.” And thus, we wish to serve as many communities as we can with this kind of spirit."
President's Video Message
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You make the joy of music possible.
By making a gift, you support our ability to deliver high-class concerts, inspire the souls of others through music, and spread the culture and history of sound. Your contribution makes a difference not only for the orchestra but for the many thousands of people who will be made able to experience the magic of music-making first-hand.
Music has the capacity to change lives. Let’s change the world for the better, together.
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