Associate professor, Department of Chamber Ensemble and Piano Accompaniment
Herta Hansena graduated from Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Music Academy. She acquired Masters’ Degree in 1998 having improved her professional and academic skills at the Gnessin Music Institute (Moscow, 2008).
In her career, she has worked together with a large number of musicians – singers, instrumentalists, chamber music ensembles – with whom she has performed in concerts for radio and television. Herta Hansena performs regularly with cellist Ēriks Kiršfelds, mecosoprano Ieva Parša, soprano Gunta Gelgote, flutist Ilona Meija, violinist Sandis Šteinbergs, violist Andra Dārziņš, Riga Saxophone Quartet and others.
She has performed with internationally-acclaimed soloists, such as flutists William Bennett, Renate Greiss-Armin, Giedrius Gelgotas, mecosoprano Olesja Petrova, cellists Matthew Barney, Kristine Blaumane, violists Maksim Novikov and Sergey Dogadin, violinist Andrey Dogadin, Karen Shakhgaldian, trombonists Carsten Svanberg, Henning Wiegrebe, trompetist Reier Dorrestreijn and many others.
As an accompanist and a passionate chamber musician, Herta Hansena performs locally and internationally – in Austria, Germany, Greece, France, Estonia, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Russia. Herta has participated in many music festivals. She has appeared in Kremerata Baltica Festivals, ’’Probaltica’’ Music and art festival of Baltic countries in Toruna, Liepāja chamber music festival, Riga Festival, Latvian chamber music festivals, Schubertiade at Ungurmuiţa and Sansusī, Contemporary Music Festival Arēna and many others. Latvian composers Maija Einfelde, Gundega Šmite, Marīte Dombrovska have dedicated chamber music pieces to Herta Hansena. In 2013 she was awarded the Latvian Great Music Award for Exceptional Ensemble Work.
Currently, Herta Hansena is an associated professor of the Chamber Ensemble Department of Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. She has received numerous diplomas as the best accompanist and also had been awarded for the preparation of students for international and local competition (1st, 2nd prizes in Latvia, Lithuania, Spain). Every year she gives several masterclasses in Latvia and at international level – Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Italy and Latvia.
In 2018 she got the Latvian Music Academy Award of the Year.