Biography
and repertoire

Education

Jānis Liepiņš earned bachelor’s degrees in choral and orchestral conducting at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. He has participated in masterclasses with Colin Metters and Lutz Köhler, in addition to ERASMUS studies at the Berlin University of the Arts.

As a student, Liepiņš was named the winner of the Teodors Reiters Choral Conducting Competition in 2007 and the 5th Choral Conducting Competition "Towards Polyphony" in Poland in 2008. In 2012, he received an award for young artists from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.

In 2018, Liepiņš assisted Daniel Oren in a concert production of Verdi’s Ernani at the Latvian National Opera. He also served as an assistant to Alexander Vedernikov in a production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades as part of the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2017.

Early career

Jānis Liepiņš served as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Youth Choir Kamēr… from 2012 to 2018. His accomplishments were recognized in 2013 with the highest achievement bestowed upon Latvian musicians, a Great Music Award as the year’s best new artist. He was also honored with an Annual Award in Culture from Diena, Latvia’s largest daily newspaper.

As chief conductor of Kamēr…, he led the choir to victories in the European Choral Grand Prix in Arezzo in 2013, the V International Harald Andersén Chamber Choir Competition in Helsinki in 2016, the Takarazuka International Chamber Chorus Contest in 2016, and the International Habaneras and Polyphony Contest in Torrevieja, Spain in 2017.

Beginning in the 2014-2015 season, Liepiņš has worked as a conductor at the Latvian National Opera and Ballet.

Opera and Ballet

During his time at the Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB), Liepiņš has led repertory performances of works including Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Additionally, he has served as Musical Director for several LNOB productions including Bizet’s Carmen, Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Glazunov’s Raymonda, and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. In 2019, Liepiņš led a production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci together with the rarely-performed L’incantesimo of Italo Montemezzi. The production was broadcasted by ARTE as part of their 2019 opera season.

Opera and Ballet

Guest conducting

Liepiņš makes regular guest appearances with the professional orchestras of Latvia including the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfonietta Riga. He has also worked with Russian National Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic Youth, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Theater Chemnitz, Theater Hagen, Oldenburgisches Staatsorchester, Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra and Orquesta Clasica Santa Cecilia. In 2019, Liepiņš made his debut at the Mannheim National Theater with Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.