Armands Skuķis (1991) is a Latvian composer who has manifested himself in various genres and styles of music, from neo-romanticism and music to the advanced use of electronics.

Education

He studied composition at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) with Latvian composer and conductor Andris Vecumnieks (Bachelor’s degree, 2015) and Latvian composer Jānis Petraškevičs (Master’s degree, 2017). He learned to play the violin and obtained a computer programming technician qualification in secondary school (RUTS, 2011). He has also seriously studied academic singing (JVLMA, 2018 – 2021, unfinished) with Lilija Greidāne and Krišjānis Norvelis.

Performers

Armand’s compositions have been performed by many prominent Latvian musicians, such as the Piano Quartet “RIX”, Piano Quartet “Quadra”, String Quartet “Sinfonietta Rīga”, the State Choir “Latvia” and conductor Māris Sirmais, the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Kaspars Putniņš, the Orchestra “Rīga” and conductor Valdis Butāns, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andris Vecumnies and many others.

Musical language and expression

During his studies years, compositions such as the miniature for the symphony orchestra “Bobsleigh” (2014) and “Mist” (2015) for violin and orchestra stand out with their apt imagination and ability to conjure almost cinematic visions, where the flow of information goes hand in hand with the expressiveness of musical perceptions. A clear example of this is the piano quartet “In hac spe vivo” (2014), which has already been performed several times in Latvian concert halls and abroad. In 2017 it participated at the international forum of representatives of broadcasting organizations – The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC).

In compositions such as “Mica and Stars in F” for solo voice and live electronics and “Spotlights. The artificial Suns” for Symphonic band focuses on the astronomy field and the world around celestial bodies while creating powerful images with a dramatic perspective and rich emotional capacity. His music seems to balance contemporary techniques, an intellectual approach to the composition’s architecture, and a powerful, expressive language of affects that speaks directly and instantly but at the same time gives the listener free space for his own imagination. Armands can overpower music in different styles and genres, whether it is a choral ballad, effective stylization or virtuoso games with sound waves created by electronics.

Composing and twittering

Since 2016 he has been a member of the Latvian National Opera choir. Before that, he sang for several years in the youth choir “Kamēr” and the chamber choir “Rāte”. He has an excellent sense of the choir texture and generous dimensions of musical character.

Let’s look at three completely different approaches to choir music. Choir song “Early in the Morning” (2015), which won 1st prize in the composition competition “Wahe up the Canon! The new “broken pines”.” The song “A Vidzeme prisoners’ lament” was composed for the Latvian State Choir project “Latvian Composers for the 100th Anniversary of Latvia”. It is like a 21st-century version of the classical Latvian choir ballad – impressive in developing the choir’s voices and dramatic saturation. The choir is treated as an instrument in the opus “Re: Generation” for Chinese flute (Dizi) and choir. It suggestively combines strict style counterpoint with the language of spectralism and traditional music.

Festivals and competitions

Armands is the laureate of the composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš Award (2015). His Vocal cycle “Stress” for Schönberg’s pocket orchestra and voice received an award in the Madona Latvian Music Festival (2014). Also, he is a winner of the composition competition “My Folk Song” with paraphrase about Latvian folk song “Kas tā tāda skuju būda” (2013) and won 1st place in the composition competition “Wake up the canon! New broken pines” (2015). Armands’ compositions have been performed at festivals in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Austria.

by Lauma Malnace