Andris Poga
Andris Poga (born 1980 in Riga) is a Latvian orchestral conductor. Andris Poga has been the music director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra since November 2013.
From 2007 to 2010, the young maestro was the artistic director and lead conductor of the Professional Symphonic Band Rīga – in these years, the orchestra soared to new heights in terms of performance quality, repertoire and even the meaning of its very existence. During this period, Poga also received the Grand Music Award in 2007 in the category Debut of the Year for his concert with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.
In 2010, Andris Poga won the second Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition in Montpellier, France, and this recognition changed the life of the young conductor. From 2011 to 2014, Andris Poga was the assistant of Paavo Järvi, the principal conductor of Orchestre de Paris; from 2012 to 2014, he was the assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In September 2013, Andris substituted Georges Prêtre in the Orchestre de Paris concert of Poulenc’s and Tchaikovsky’s works – it was a great success. Later that year, in December, he learned Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in a record time and conducted the piece in Salle Pleyel, Paris, filling in for Mikko Franck, to the delight of the audience and critics. In autumn 2014, Andris Poga substituted the late Lorin Maazel in the Asia tour of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and this cooperation was such a great success that the orchestra invited Andris to perform together with them again.
Lately Andris Poga has been working with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich; he has also given master classes and performances in Japan in the Pacific Music Festival, which is led by Valery Gergiev. Poga was the conductor at the recording of works by Vasks and Kancheli with the Bamberger Symphoniker Orchestra for the Bayerischer Rundfunk radio station. In October, Andris Poga worked with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and for the first time conducted the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Moreover, Andris Poga is going to make a debut with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra as well as Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra; he will conduct the Orchestre National de France, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra from Tokyo, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra) and other orchestras in Europe, Asia and North America.
In 2007, Andris Poga graduated from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra Conducting programme, where his professor was Viesturs Gailis. In addition, Andris studied conducting in the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and philosophy in the University of Latvia. During his studies, Andris Poga established and led his own Konsonanse Chamber Orchestra.