As a result, around 20 gifted children from different regions of the country got an opportunity to continue their professional education in Latvia and abroad, as well as take part in international contests.
The goal of the contest, organised and held by the Charity Foundation of Rietumu Bank, is to help gifted children from the entire of Latvia who do not have the required financial base for developing their musical talents.
Participants of the contest were pupils of schools of music from different cities and regions of Latvia – Riga, Ventspils, Valmiera, Gulbene, Talsi, Dobele, Ludza, etc. The jury which evaluated the applications consisted of the Principal of the Pavuls Jurjans School of Music Viesturs Mezgailis, Professor and music expert Boris Avramec and heads of the Rietumu Charity Foundation.
Owing to the support from Rietumu Bank, further on, some of the winners will be able to take part in musical contests in Lithuania, Slovenia, Great Britain and other countries – the Charity Foundation will cover their travel, accommodation and other expenses. Other pupils are granted financing for taking private lessons from outstanding masters of music in Latvia and other countries, thus allowing them to obtain invaluable experience for their future musical career.
In spite of the fact that there are about 150 schools of music operating in Latvia, they are only partially financed by the state and part of the expenses has to be covered by the parents of pupils who often cannot afford it. As a result, many gifted children – boys and girls – up to now have not had the opportunity to develop their talents and fulfil their potential.
According to Viesturs Mezgailis, “I believe that this contest is very important not only for the future of musically gifted children, but also for the cultural development of our community in general. We have to admit acrimoniously that many gifted young people could not develop their capabilities up to now due to a lack of material support and the country was losing its future outstanding masters of art. Therefore, I very much welcome the initiative of the Charity Foundation of Rietumu Bank and hope that this remarkable contest will also be continued further on.”
The Rietumu Charity Foundation has been supporting projects in the field of music for a number of years. For instance, this year, with the participation of Rietumu Bank, the first international musical festival for children ‘Avanti!’ was held in Riga. It provided an opportunity for gifted boys and girls to perform in front of a wide audience, demonstrate their art and compare themselves with their mates of the same age.
“The Charity Foundation of Rietumu Bank constantly supports different programmes in the social area, medicine and education. This time we decided to put an accent on musical education, as there really are many gifted children in Latvia and we would like to do everything possible for their development. I hope that our support will allow young musicians to receive invaluable experience. Up to now, many of them could neither participate in musical performances in Latvia, not even mentioning trips abroad, nor get training from high level professionals,” said the Chairperson of the Rietumu Charity Foundation Inga Sina.
Eleonora Gailisha Mass Media and Public Relations
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