“Bring a throat lozenge”: Baltics Connecting Through Music

Baltic Association Poster © Justīne Kozlovska

Baltic Association Groningen is hosting a Baltic Singing Workshop on February 7. The event will bring people from the Baltics, and those interested in Baltic culture together, where they connect through collectively singing and enjoying Baltic traditional music. 

The Singing Workshop will take place in Hanze Conservatory and will be hosted by Sigutė Žurauskaitė, the conductor of the Baltic Choir in Groningen. Kristaps, one of three founders of Baltic Association Groningen, is excited about the upcoming event. “People can expect to warm up their voices a bit, that's for sure. And be acquainted with, what you would call, classic Baltic songs,” he tells The Glass Room.

As expressed in a recent Instagram post made by Baltic Association Groningen, the Singing Workshop is not a karaoke night, it is a cultural reset. “The singing culture, the choir culture in the Baltics is a big deal, right? It's something we take seriously. Not something you can trivialize at the level of a karaoke night. So it is genuinely about connecting with a culture through an artistic expression,” says Kristaps.

Kristaps’ opinion regarding the cultural significance of music in Baltic cultures is echoed by Anna Fogelmane, the founder and director of a widely recognised Latvian diaspora choir, Ziemeļjūra, based in the Hague. “It is clear that Latvians want to be with each other, they want to speak their language, they want to sing”, she told The Glass Room in September 2024. According to Fogelmane, the idea for Ziemeļjūra comes from celebrations of the summer solstice, when Latvians in the Netherlands gathered to sing traditional songs. This highlights the significance of music in Baltic culture. 

The Baltic states, encompassing Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, are located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The geographical proximity and shared history have resulted in a strong bond among the three sovereign states. “Braļuks [brother in Lithuanian] - I usually say that when meeting a person from Lithuania. They both [Lithuanians and Estoninans] genuinely feel like a piece of my culture,” Līva, a Latvian student in Groningen and a member of Baltic Association Groningen, told The Glass Room. 

Several Baltic associations have been created across the Netherlands’ bigger cities such as Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. However, Groningen has failed to establish one. 

This was changed in October 2024 when Kristaps, Dāvis, and Dominiks, three Latvian students living in Groningen, established Baltic Association Groningen. “We are filling a niche. Because there are other associations, let's say for Greeks and Italians and Bulgarians, but there wasn't really one for people from the Baltics in the Groningen area,” Kristaps says. 

“It is a different feeling, to gather with fellow Latvians, Lithuanians, and Estonians while being away from home. It is a home away from home in a sense,” says Līva, who has been longing for a place to meet like-minded people with a shared culture. “Going to these events [Baltic Association Groningen] creates a sense of belonging,” she continues. 

Christmas Event © Kristaps Brics

While the association is focused mainly on people from the Baltics, it is open to everyone. “We are giving the stage to Baltic people to express themselves and connect. But we are also making others aware of who we [Baltic people] are and what we do. So I think there's a lot of added value to that,” says Kristaps.

Although the Singing Workshop will be only the third event for the association, the future vision for Kristaps is clear – Baltic Association Groningen will organise more events and continue to exist long after the initial founders have graduated and left the city. 

Interview with Kristaps Brics © Amber van Kempen

The association has begun the process of formalising itself. This long and challenging process does not deter Kristaps, “I've already started work on drafting the statutes, which will obviously have to be approved by a notary. When that is done we'll have to go to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce to be eligible for University funding. That will definitely be a very strong foundation for the continuity of our association.”