Professor

Guntars Prānis received his master’s degree in musicology in 2009 and currently pursues doctoral studies at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA), researching medieval musical traditions in Riga.

From 1989 to 1993 he studied choir conducting at JVLMA; from 1993 to 1995 he continued postgraduate studies of choir and orchestra conducting in Germany. Guntars Prānis has studied early music in Austria and in Germany, focusing on the medieval period. He has researched Gregorian chant under the leadership of the most notable specialists of the field including G. Joppich, J.B. Goeschl, A. Turco, Fr. Prassl and others, and has spent several months at Benedictine monasteries. 

He presents lectures at various early music courses and conferences in Latvia and abroad and is a member of the International Association for Studies of Gregorian Chant (AISCGre). Guntars Prānis is the founder and director of the early music ensemble “Schola Cantorum Riga” that actively performs in Latvia and abroad (including Austria, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Poland, Estonia) and has recorded countless CDs (receiving the Annual Latvian Recorded Music Award for the CD “Riga Mass”). In 1992 he founded the tradition of Gregorian Music Weeks in Latvia and since then has acted as the artistic director and organizer of the event. 

Guntars Prānis also pursues early music research and tuition activities at other Latvian higher education institutions and at secondary music schools, publishing his findings on regular basis.