Academic CentreThe mixed choir "Dziesmuvara" of the University of Latvia has a rich history with its first rehearsal dating back to 1925. Despite being discontinued during the Second World War, many of its members, along with its leader Adolfs Abele, emigrated to the USA, where the choir continued to operate until Abele's death in 1967. However the spirit of "Dziesmuvara" was held strong not only in the USA, but also in Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany and Canada, where the original choir's singers had emigrated to.
Today the choir is under the artistic direction of Laura Ozolina, with Shino Yamasaki as conductor and Edgars Aunins as the vocal pedagogue. In its early years, the choir gained wide recognition performing concert tours in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. Currently choir "Dziesmuvara" actively performs in various national and city-scale projects and goes on concert tours both in Latvia and abroad.
In October 2018, the participants of "Dziesmuvara" initiated a new choir singing movement called ChoirUp, with monthly events held in various locations around Riga.
