Kaspars Putniņš starts as an artistic director and chief conductor of the EPCC in September 2014.
Kaspars Putniņš has been the conductor of the Latvian Radio Choir since 1992. In 1994, he formed the Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, an ensemble of soloists formed from the members of Latvian Radio Choir. He regularly appears as a guest conductor with leading European choirs such as the BBC Singers, RIAS Kammerchor, Berliner Rundfunkchor, NDR Kammerchor, Netherlands Radio Choir, Collegium Vocale Gent, Flamish Radio Choir and others.
Whilst Kaspars Putniņš work encompasses a wide range of choral repertoire from Renaissance polyphony to works of the Romantic period, his foremost goal has always been that of promoting new outstanding choral music.
Kaspars Putniņš: “I feel very honoured and happy about the possibility to work with the EPCC. It would be a dream for any conductor to be involved with one of the best choral ensembles of our time. The EPCC is an universally skilled ensemble with the repertoire spanning from the Renaissance polyphony to the complexities of the music of our age. Yet the EPCC has and always has had its unique charachter, its own sound. My intention is to find a good ballance, a good dialogue with this character. I want to pursue the strategy of development of skills in different musical styles, yet my plan is to work regularly with Estonian composers. Regular collaboration with composers is not only means of creation of new repertoire; through the imagination of composers a group can investigate further its own capabilities, sharpen awareness of its own identity.”
EPCC’s former chief conductors have been Tõnu Kaljuste (1981–2001) Paul Hillier (2001–2007) and Daniel Reuss (2008–2013).