The team of the State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga is famous for their juvenescent zeal and vivacity, the joy of discovery, high professional level and enthusiasm. The Artistic Director and Chief Conductor since 2006, when the orchestra was founded, is Normunds Šnē. The musicians are still young and open to creative ideas.
Sinfonietta Rīga stages programs of music for strings and string and wind instruments, they study the baroque performance practice, investigate the nuances of classical interpretation and also are brilliant interpreters of contemporary music and enjoy participating in all kinds of non-academic experiments and crossover projects. Taking part in Arvo Pärt’s album Adam’s Lament (2012, ECM New Series 225) brought the Grammy Award to Sinfonietta Rīga, but in their own country the orchestra has been awarded twice with the most esteemed musical prize in Latvia – Latvian Music Grand Prix. Sinfonietta Rīga also stays busy recording music – they have released eight albums have in close cooperation with the companies Wergo, Ondine, Challange Records and ECM