Youth choir BALSIS

The Youth Choir BALSIS is a mixed youth choir in Riga, Latvia. The choir consists of some 50 young persons from Riga and other cities of Latvia who are permanent singers with the choir. The choir performs about 70 concerts every year in Latvian concert halls, churches and open-air venues. Ints Teterovskis has been the artistic director of the Youth Choir BALSIS since 1998. BALSIS has released 18 compact disc albums. The Rolling Stone magazine has declared the album Christmas Joy in Latvia – Latvian Christmas Cantatas from 2008, created in collaboration with the New York Latvian Concert Choir and the New Chamber Orchestra of Riga, as one of the twenty-five greatest Christmas albums of all time. BALSIS is an innovative youth choir which regularly collaborates with local composers. As well, seeking new venues and audiences, it participates in a range of musical projects and challenges, such as concerts in the meat pavilion of the Riga Central Market, in train stations, on the river Daugava, within an historical gas tank etc. Each year the choir surprises listeners with its auditory and visual experimentation in its annual Christmas and Valentine's Day concerts and other projects. BALSIS regularly undertakes overseas tours and participates in prestigious, international choir festivals and competitions. BALSIS has successfully given concerts in many parts of Europe (from Spain to Norway), USA (2002, 2014, 2025), Canada and Australia. In 2015 the choir also made its mark in Asia by participating in the IFCM Asia Pacific World Choral EXPO 2015 in Macau, China, where the choir gave concerts and masterclasses as a guest choir from Europe representing the traditions of European choral music.