Jānis Stafeckis is the Founder and Artistic Director of Rēzekne chamber orchestra (2012) which brings together students and teachers of Latgale region. Rēzekne chamber orchestra already established itself as one of the leading performing groups in eastern region of Latvia appearing regularly in its residence hall GORS - one of the newest and most acoustically outstanding concert halls in the Baltics. Recent performances involved cooperation with celebrities such as Inese Galante-sopran, Sonora Vaice-sopran, Krišjānis Norvelis-bass, Daniils Bulajevs-violin, Gunta Ābele-cello, Olivia Steindler-violin and others.

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As a guest-conductor, recent and forthcoming highlights include cooperation with the Latvian national Symphonic Orchestra, Latvian State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, Latvian Radio Choir, and Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.

In cooperation with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra as well as the world-famous organist Iveta Apkalna together with honorable and well-known Latvian pianist/composer Raimonds Pauls in October 2020 there were several concert programs played. Due to the quality of the content and performance of this concert program it was nominated for the largest award in the Latvian Cultural Space "Great Music Award" and won the Latvian Public Media Award "Kilogram of Culture" after it was broadcast on Latvian public television several times.

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In October 2019 he made his debut as a conductor in the Operetta genre, conducting Fr. Lehar's performance "Die Lustige Witwe", organized by the Latvian Operetta Foundation. Currently, the collaboration with the Operetta Foundation is a performance based on two mono-operas: F.Poulenc "La voix humaine" and G.C.Menotti "the Telephone. Conductor and all performance team received the "Great Music Award" in 2021 for a high-quality artistic production.

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Jānis’s repertoire is solidly rooted in the Classical and early Romantic era but he also regularly conducts a wide range of music from Bach through to the 21th century. He has premiered newly composed music by many Latvian composers and finds contemporary scores as attractive and important as well-known classical ones.

 

The variety breadth of collaborations with different soloists and various orchestras have helped him to acquire a wide repertoire and experience in conducting. Even more- he knows orchestra from both sides as conductor and musician. Before to start his conducting career, he had the opportunity to perform symphonic repertoire as a Principal Double bass in Sinfonietta Rīga for fifteen years and in all major professional orchestras of Latvia.

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Jānis Stafeckis has graduated from Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music and obtained Master's degre in arts as a symphony orchestra conductor in 2019 with prof. Andris Vecumnieks and as a double bass player and teacher in 2006 with Sergejs Brīnums. At the Vilnius Academy of Music and Theater he supplemented his knowledge in with the legendary conductor Prof. J.Domarkas. But very first steps in conducting he started with professor Martins Ozolins (Chief Conductor of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet).The “Erasmus+” scholarship promoted the practice at the Komische Oper in Berlin with Ainars Rubikis season 2021/2022.