Iveta Apkalna studied piano and organ at the Jāzeps VītolsLatvian Academy of Music, graduating in both instruments with distinction in 1999. In 1999 and 2000, she continued piano studies at the LondonGuildhall School of Music and Drama.[1]
In 2003, she completed a three-year-long study in the organ soloist class of Ludger Lohmann at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, Germany.[1] She has given concerts in the biggest and most famous churches and cathedrals of Europe and North America, having taken part in the leading organ festivals, and has received numerous prizes in organ competitions. She regularly performs organ recitals at the Riga Cathedral. Her repertoire consists of organ music from J.S.Bach to contemporary composers, thereby bringing it beyond the borders of church walls. In 1993, she was the official organist in service at Aglonabasilica (Latvia) during the visit of Pope John Paul II. Since its opening in 2016, she has served as the principal organist of the Elbphilharmonie.[2][3]
Awards
2002 – Winner of European Selection Round of the Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Competition in London.[1]
2002 – J.S.Bach prize at the World Competition of the Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Competition, (Canada).
2003 – Winner of the 3rd Mikael Tariverdiev Organ Competition in Kaliningrad, Russia
2003, 2017 – Great Latvian Music Award
2005 – "ECHO-Klassik" prize in the category "Instrumentalist of the Year" for CD "Himmel & Hölle"
Discography
2003 – Iveta Apkalna Live (edition Hera)
2004 – Touch down in Riga (edition Querstand)
2004 – Himmel & Hölle (edition Hera)
2006 – Prima Volta (edition Ifo)
2007 – Noema – David Orlowsky Klezmorim (edition Sony)
2008 – Trumpet and Organ (edition Phoenix)
2009 – The New Organ of the Philharmonie Mercatorhalle Duisburg (edition Acousence Classics)
2011 – L'Amour et la Mort (edition Oehms Classics)
2012 – Walter Braunfels (1882–1954): Konzert für Orgel, Knabenchor & Orchester op.38 (edition Oehms Classics)
