Guntars Prānis

Rector at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.

Latvia

Conductor, singer, musicologist and the founder/artistic director of the Schola Cantorum Riga — internationally acknowledged professional vocal group which performs regularly in Latvia and abroad. In 2017 the group has been nominated for the Latvian Grand Prix Award in music. Guntars Pranis has studied music in Latvia, Germany and Austria, particularly focusing on music from the Middle Ages. He studied Gregorian chant under some of the world’s leading specialists in the field — Godehard Joppich, Johannes Berchmans Göschl and Franz Karl Prassl.

Guntars Prānis is the Rector and Professor at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, a leader of many master classes in early music and highly demanded lecturer in Latvia and abroad. His doctoral dissertation (2015) deals with the topic of Medieval music tradition of Riga. He has published research papers in many international journals. From 2000 till 2017, Guntars has been musical director at the Dome Cathedral in Rīga, leading its musical life and taking part in various international projects. He launched the tradition of summer courses related to Gregorian chant, and he has been the artistic director of the project since 1992. He is also a member of the International AISCGre association, which studies Gregorian chant and involves scholars from all over the world.