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From March 6 to 20, as part of Liepāja’s year as the European Capital of Culture, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra invites you to experience the 35th Liepāja International Star Festival—five distinct evenings where symphonic grandeur will blend with the intimacy of chamber music, and Baroque and Classical masterpieces will meet the freedom of jazz, soul, and contemporary sounds.

In March, Liepāja will once again become a meeting place for outstanding artists, bold interpretations and music that can surprise and resonate with audiences—and stay with them long after the final applause.

“The Liepāja International Star Festival is spreading its wings in keeping with the scale of Liepāja—European Capital of Culture. Alongside the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, the festival will feature a Polish orchestra, a Lithuanian choir, international stars from France, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Estonia, and Lithuania, as well as outstanding artists from our own country. “Let’s celebrate music, European culture, and our unity!” says Uldis Lipskis, conductor of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.

Appearing on stage as soloists at this year’s festival will be Vestards Šimkus (piano), Ieva Saliete (harpsichord), Rebecca Ruso (viola da gamba), Ola Onabulé (voice), Valentine Michaud (saxophone), Akvilė Šileikaitė (piano), Lina Dambrauskaitė (soprano), Lilija Nikitčuk (mezzo-soprano), Heldur Harry Põlda (tenor) and Edgars Ošleja (bass).

Taking the conductor’s podium will be Polish conductor Norbert Twórczyński, alongside maestros Guntis Kuzma and Jānis Liepiņš, both already well known to our audiences.

The festival will open with special guests from Poland: the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Rzeszów will perform in Liepāja for the first time, while the Lithuanian State Choir “Vilnius” will add its voices to the festival’s closing programme.