IAMIC Conference 2023 – Riga, Liepāja

The 2023 IAMIC conference took the participating members to Latvia – both to the capital Riga and to the coastal city of Liepāja. The members familiarised themselves with the country’s rich musical tradition at various levels. The singing and choral tradition is deeply rooted in society and is also encouraged by the opportunity for intensive training from an early age, as became clear in discussions with representatives of the Riga Cathedral Choir School and composers, for example, as well as in performances by children.

Furthermore, very topical issues were discussed that are relevant to all music information centres. What contribution does music make to the overall economy? How is the musical ecosystem organised – what are the inclusion and exclusion criteria? This also resulted in exciting questions concerning the orientation of music information centres themselves, such as the role of the information gatekeepers mentioned in the lecture, as music information centres in particular make it their task to make information accessible and thus support music creators and their environment.

The controversial topic of how to deal with Russian musicians in the international concert business was not left out either, as Latvia’s geographical proximity to Russia and the overall tense situation in the Baltic countries plays a noticeably large role. This conflict and others have also led IAMIC to increasingly consider the positioning and treatment of musicians in these countries.

The trip to Liepāja clearly showed that a concert hall can function wonderfully even in a relatively small city with less than 70,000 inhabitants. The importance of the house is not only due to its concert programme, but also to the fact that a music school and a gallery area are integrated into the house, so that the house is regularly visited by young people and families and thus has fewer hurdles to overcome – this could also be a model for other houses.

As is usual at IAMIC conferences, it is particularly important for members to exchange ideas in order to familiarise themselves with the situation in other countries and thus gain inspiration for their work in their own country. Outstanding concerts such as that of the Latvian Radio Choir rounded off the programme of this wonderful conference organised by the Latvian Music Information Centre. Our thanks to the hosts, and in particular to Egīls Šēfers.