Gundega Šmite was born on June 5th, 1977, in Riga. She studied at the Jazeps Medinš College of Music (1992–1998), and also at the Latvian Academy of Culture in the screen and stage theatre art department (1996–1997). In 1998, she began studies at the Vitols Latvian Academy of Music in the composition department with Peteris Plakidis, under whose direction she received her Bachelor’s degree in 2005 and Master’s degree in 2007. She worked as a music theory and piano teacher at the Kekavas Music School (1999–2000), and as organist at the St. John’s Congregation in Philadelphia, USA (2001–02). She was also a teacher at the St. John’s Congregation Latvian School in Philadelphia and later was teacher of music literature at the Riga Music School No. 3 (2002), and as of 2005, she works as a teacher of composition at the Daugavpils College of Music. For her work Parvertibas (Transformations) she won first prize at the Latvian Academy of Music competition (1999) and gained a World Federation of Free Latvians Cultural Foundation recognition certificate for her works Atgriešanas (Homecoming) and Atnakot (Arriving, 2001). She gained 6th place at the 2005 International Rostrum for Composers competition for composers younger than 30, 2nd place (no first place was awarded) at the festival Culturescapes international young composers’ competition (for the work Isochasma, 2006), and received the Talivaldis Keninš Award (2006). She took part in the 5th International Latvian Music Camp at Ogre and also at the Baltic Young Composers’ Mastercourses at Dundaga, and the Academic d’Villecroze in France. In the 2005/2006 academic year, as part of the Socratus Erasmus exchange program, she supplemented her education with studies at the J. Sibelius Academy of Music with Veli-Matti Puumala. Her works have been performed in Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Japan, the U.S.A. and New Zealand. She is a member of the Latvian Composers’ Union (as of 2006), chairman of the board (as of 2009).

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Indra Riše was born on June 11th, 1961 in Ogre, Latvia. Having graduated from the Jazeps Vitols Latvian State Conservatory as a pianist in 1985, Indra Riše turned her attention to composing music and completed her second round of education, graduating from professor Peteris Plakidis’ composition class in 1990. In 1993, Indra Riše won the scholarship of the Danish Ministry of Culture and went to Copenhagen, where she continued her advancement in composition with Niels Rosing-Schow and electro-acoustic composition with Ivar Frounberg. Thus she was the first woman in Denmark who mastered a full course in composition. An essential role in her education was played also by: • the Summer Workshop in New Technologies for Music Performance and Composition, University of California, Berkeley (1995); • IRCAM Summer Academy in Paris (1999); • Opera Academy, Oslo (2001); • International Composer’s Center, Visby, Gotland (2004). Indra Riše stayed in Denmark until 2002, composing commissioned works and periodically working as a music copyist and arranger for various orchestras for the Copenhagen Royal Opera, the Samfundet sheet music publisher, and Danish Radio. Indra Riše has written also piano scores from dramatic-musical works by Danish composers (Ib Nørholm, Erik Norby). Since 2002, Indra Riše has been living in Latvia and is active as a composer, revealing her locally and internationally polished talent in a comprehensive variety of genres, from songs for choirs, chamber music and electronic works to symphonic and vocal-symphonic scores. Indra Riše has two dedicated CDs (released in1998 and 2000). The compositions by Indra Riše have been played at festivals and concerts in Baltic States, Scandinavian countries, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and elsewhere.
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