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JAKOB NOIMAN FESTIVAL BAND

“Jakob Noiman Festival Band”, founded by a clarinetist, composer and singer-songwriter Jēkabs Nīmanis, plays together since 2009 and has gained popularity with their free approach to music – the band plays what they like the most. Jēkabs tells: “Every concert is an adventure to the musicians. If there’s no joy, we promise to end up playing just at that very moment. Even though we’re stuck in Klezmer and Balkan world music phase a bit, we love to play some other genres as well. There’s only one criteria in the genre concept – to play what we love.” The ensemble also includes some jazz music intonations from time to time, sometimes dives into the history of rock music or offers its own view on Latvian folk songs.

“I am a songwriter, so I don’t hesitate offering my own compositions”, says Jēkabs. “The most well-known of them sound at The New Riga Theatre for 16 years now, but some other theatres feature them in their plays once in a while. This music sometimes is older than the band is. During this concert we’ll celebrate our ten years existence with a retrospection of sorts. Our existence isn’t formal at all, we exist because we play, so there’s so much impressions and works I’d love to show that the most difficult challenge is to pick up some limited amount of them”.

The anniversary concert of the band will become a resume of the last ten creative years, where the listeners will get a chance to hear their most well-known genre visit card – Klezmer and Balkan world music, as well as some chamber music pearls, such as Maija Einfelde, Marģeris Zariņš and Manuel de Falla composition arrangements. “Jakob Noiman Festival Band” have taken part in the “Latvian Event Forum Showcase” in Liepāja, as well as performed at “Teātra bārs”, Kalnciems Square and many other venues in Latvia, which support the flow of a free spirit.

Jēkabs Nīmanis (1980) is a Latvian composer and musician, mostly known for his work in theatre and cinema. He has composed music for more than 50 theatre plays. Regularly takes part in performances on stage, playing clarinet, leads his own festival band and concerts related to theatre plays. Jēkabs is also interested in sound installations and audiovisual work for art spaces and the media. Has won numerous awards as a composer and music author. He composes chamber music, larger compositions among them as well, and teaches clarinet and saxophone play.