Women’s Choir “AUSMA”

Women’s Choir “AUSMA” was founded in 1959.

From 1968 until 2022, the choir was led by Jānis Zirnis, Associate Professor of Choral Conducting at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and a Chief Conductor of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival. Under his leadership, AUSMA became one of Latvia’s most acclaimed women’s choirs, winning numerous prizes at international choir competitions in Latvia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, and other countries.

The choir is also a multiple-time laureate of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival Choir Competition, winner of the Grand Prix at the 1st Latvian Women’s Choir Competition, and champion of the Emīls Dārziņš Choir Competition. In 2014, AUSMA won a Gold Medal at the 8th World Choir Games in Riga and received the prestigious Golden Angel Award at the 5th International Advent and Christmas Music Festival and Competition in Kraków, Poland.

The choir’s repertoire spans a wide range of musical styles and periods, from Latvian folk music and works by Latvian and international composers to sacred music and jazz. AUSMA regularly performs in Riga and throughout Latvia, as well as on international concert tours, appearing in solo concerts, festivals, and collaborative projects with other choirs.

Since the autumn of 2022, the choir’s Artistic Director has been Vita Grīnhofa. The choir’s rehearsal directors are Dzintra Vīcupe and Diāna Vizule.