Annual Review — 2020–2021

Dear Members and Supporters of TILTS!

We are pleased to send you the annual report of TILTS' activities for 2020–2021. We decided to merge the report for both years as much of last year's activity was already reflected in our 2019 annual report. Earlier this year the TILTS Board concluded that, as in 2020, it would be very difficult to successfully organize concert or theater tours in North America.

Accordingly, the TILTS Music Department decided to organize the virtual Music and Art Series “Culture BRIDGE". Three “Culture BRIDGE” events were held in the spring; they were a success and attracted many viewers from North America, Latvia, Australia and other countries.

This year, we continued supporting the “Koklītes Sounded” meetings begun in the fall of 2020 on ZOOM , led by Mari Linde of San Francisco and Dace Weinberg of Hamilton, the initiator of the “Kokle in Exile” project. The “Koklītes Sounded” meetings have stimulated interest in the 13 string kokle popularized in the diaspora and in kokle training in Latvian schools.

This autumn, TILTS' major event was the popular ethnomusical group “Tautumeitas"'s (Folk Maidens) North American virtual concert “Let's Sing Together", supported by the Latvian Ministry of Culture and The World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA). TILTS was pleased by the close cooperation we received from the American Latvian Association and 3x3 “Tērvete", as well as other American associations and foundations in organizing the concert, which garnered more than 500 listeners worldwide.

At the 2021 TILTS Membership Meeting, May 20th in Poughkeepsie, 44 previous members of the Board were elected to the TILTS Board, plus our media specialist Pēters Vecrumba, for a total of 45 board members from the United States, Canada and Latvia. We plan to continue our “Culture BRIDGE” series in the first half of the new year, along with organizing individual concerts. Circumstances permitting, we hope to organize theater and folk music tours in the fall.

Our sincerest thanks to all who have supported TILTS' activities! As always, “Forward, ho!” (Uz priekšu!)

Our warmest wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and for good fortune, joy, and health in the New Year!

Dace Aperāne	Andris Padegs
TILTS Chairperson	TILTS Vice-Chairperson

“Culture BRIDGE” virtual events, spring 2021

The goal of the virtual events cycle “Culture BRIDGE” was to provide listeners from all generations with fresh insights into the diversity and significance of Latvian culture today. All three events attracted a lot of interest from viewers in the USA, Canada, Latvia and Europe. The artist Uģis Nīgals created a special logo to use in all “Culture BRIDGE” flyers and posters. The dazzling Latvian popular music singer and pianist Katrīna Gupalo introduced this series with her concert of Imants Kalniņš' music sung in new, contemporary arrangements featuring piano accompaniment. Also participating in the concert were the modern dancer Gabija Bīriņa , as well as five senior girls of the New Jersey Latvian School in one song. TILTS board member Iveta Grava facilitated the post-concert dialog between audience and performers, including former ambassador and author and translator of the lyrics, the late Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš .

“Katrīna Gupalo is able to evoke a spectrum of emotions with her captivating voice.” (Anda Sūna Cook, Laiks, no. 14, 2021)

The concert was viewed and heard by an audience of more than 160 from North America, Latvia and other countries; it was widely advertised on Latvian television and radio.

The second “Culture Bridge” event, April 18th, featured interpretive planner (exhibits, installations,...) and TILTS Board member Pēteris Dajevskis delivering his presentation: “The World of Latvian Scenographer and Artist Ēvalds Dajevskis: the Familiar and Unknown”. The presentation resonated deeply with viewers and validated the interest of compatriots in accounts of exile/diaspora cultural personalities and their legacies. The presentation can be viewed on the TILTS web site: www.tilts.org and “Culture BRIDGE” YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G383Usz9rwk

The May 23rd concert “Seeking Song” (Meklējot dziesmu) provided an inspired and melodious conclusion to our “Culture BRIDGE” spring series. Three young, professional jazz musicians performed —  Cynthia Grigoriev, Art Jekabson and Richard Kolmanis , who form the trio “Midnight Musicians” . They premiered songs specially written for the concert with the lyrics of Linards Tauns and Gunars Saliņš, as well as arrangements of Latvian folk songs. The concert will be available on the TILTS website and YouTube “Culture BRIDGE” channel in early 2022. None of the three events would have been possible without the technical assistance of Priedaine's Jānis Grigalinovičs-Leja; Jānis also made sure that each event was introduced by a beautifully created video “roll” about the content of the program and the artists. A hearty “Thank you", Jāni! “Culture BRIDGE” events were covered in the newspapers “Laiks", “Latvija Amerikā” and www.latviesi.com.

“This event, which was difficult to consider a concert in the traditional sense, unfolded for the listener as an endless impressionistic artwork, where each note, each phrase, each syllable, each word painted a picture in time, in which it was difficult to tell where the worlds of literature and music began and ended.” - Līva Blūma (“Meklējot dziesmu,” June 8, 2021, www.latviesi.com)

“LET US SING!” - “TAUTUMEITAS” North American Virtual Concert

TILTS, together with support by the the Latvian Ministry of Culture and tha World Federation of Free Latvians, organized the October 23, 2021 virtual concert by the charismatic group “Tautumeitas” (Folk Maidens). Following is a condensed version of the interview Dace Aperāne conducted for the web portal latviesi.com (October 26th). The concert and conversations are available on the YouTube “Culture BRIDGE” channel and www.tilts.org.

Why did TILTS invite “Tautumeitas” in particular, what makes them unique? Is the Latvian American public already familiar with “Tautumeitas”, or is this also an introductory concert?

The “Tautumeitas” group has been very popular in the US for quite a while, and numerous Latvian organizations have repeatedly expressed their interest in hearing them here. The Latvian Cultural Association TILTS has frequently organized tours for Latvian musicians familiar through their ethnomusical and folklore performances, for example, during the Awakening — Skandinieki, later Iļģi, Laima Jansone, Teiksma, Rūta and Valdis Muktupāveli et al. Their quite original and colorful arrangements of Latvian folk songs sets “Tautumeitas” apart. Not to mention their artistic crowns, costumes, and expressive movements which complement and complete their musical performances.

This was in its own way a unique concert, as the audience included not only those who were interested in viewing this concert in particular. The audience also include participants in two significant North American Latvian events — the American Latvian Association's 70th Anniversary Congress and 3x3 Camp in Tērvete (Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Quebec, Canada). The concert had an enormous reach.

The audience included at least 500, with participants from the US — about 20 states, also Canada, Latvia, England and continental Europe. I'm most thankful for the excellent collaboration with the American Latvian Association and the head of its Cultural Department, Valda Grīnberga and General-Secretary Marisa Gudraja, as well as to 3X3 virtual Camp leader Dace Veinberga and US Latvian associations and funds, and Latvian newspapers. This collaboration, along with participation from a number of Latvian schools, was a significant factor in generating interest in the “Tautumeitas” concert. I believe that working together and sharing ideas and information with multiple organizations is a very positive thing and can only strengthen our societal and cultural life.

How did the audience take the concert?

The audience received the rich program gladly and with great enthusiasm, sending greetings, applauding via video from their screens, singing, and celebrating along with everyone else!

There was a post-concert discussion lead by the head of TILTS Folklore Department, Tija Kārkle, and singer and TILTS Board member Laila Medne. Was there anything that crystallized out of this discussion?

Thanks to Tijas Kārkle's and Laila Medne's engaging leadership and insightful questions from the audience, there was much of interest to be gleaned from the discussion, for example, the professional musical training of the “Tautumeitas” present — Asnate Rancāne, Ilona Dzērve and Lauras Līcīte, and artistic education of Aurēlija Rancāne.

What provided the most joy and satisfaction?

That at this unstable and unusual time in which we find ourselves, the “Tautumeitas” concert, with its beautiful and ancient folk songs, evoked such a palpable sensation of belonging and blessing in so many listeners across generations. As one enthused viewer wrote, “This is exactly the concert we needed!”

Young Artists' Fund

The Young Artists' Fund under the leadership of Lailas Robiņa with the assistance of Anna Ķepe, had an income of $100.00. (Information about the fund's 2021 income will be forthcoming in the next report.)

• $1,500.00 — awarded to jazz singer and composer Arta Jēkabsone
• $1,000.00 — awarded to composer Līva Blūma

The Young Artists' Fund 2020 year end balance was $1,255.00.

Donations to the “Young Artists' Fund” can be sent to TILTS Treasurer Juris Baidiņš with a note directing them to the fund. Make checks out to “Latvian Cultural Association TILTS.”

Music Camp Fund

The Music Camp Fund supports International Latvian Young Musicians' Master Classes, which take place in Latvia every two years. The 14th Master Class was scheduled for 2020, but because of the pandemic was rescheduled to 2021 at the Sigulda School of Art Baltais flīģelis1 in Latvia. Owing to the continued pandemic, the 14th Master Class in Interpreting Music Today took place this year primarily remotely, from July 14th to 21st; courses were organized by a working group from the Sigulda School of Arts and Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) in cooperation with artistic director Dace Aperāne. 33 participants from 3 countries (Latvia, USA and Switzerland), representing Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Emīls Dārziņš Music High School, Jāzeps Mediņš Music High School, Daugavpils, Ventspils, Liepāja Music High Schools, several music schools, as also higher education institutions in the United States and Switzerland, attended more than 80 virtual master classes. Young musicians honed their talents and expanded their professional skills with 16 professional musicians throughout the week in master classes in viola, cello, flute, piano, clarinet, concerto kokle (Latvian zither), violin, percussion, vocal and composition specialist master classes. While most of the master classes took place remotely, several also took place in person at the Sigulda Art School Baltais Flīģelis.

The Opening Concert is available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWlMlc9KA7Q, as is the Closing Concert: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm3MxR4Z2pE

17 notable Latvian musical artists from 5 countries participated in a wide-ranging program.

Music Camp Fund income for 2020 was $2,833.00. The 2020 year end balance was $8,706.

Donations to the “Music Camp Fund” can be sent to TILTS Treasurer Juris Baidiņš with a note directing them to the fund. Make checks out to “Latvian Cultural Association TILTS.”

Dace Aprāne manages the Music Camp Fund, in consultation with Anda Sūna Cook and Gunta Semba.

Awards

TILTS awarded the following financial support in 2020:

• $2,500.00 — Two scholarships for the Young Artists' Fund
• $600.00 — Latvians in the World (LaPa) museum for Māra Pelēce's film “Valiant”

(The remainder of 2020 awards were noted in the  2019 Annual Report.)

In 2021, TILTS awarded:

• $500.00 — the book “Jānis Čakste — 100th Anniversary of Latvia's First President” (Jumava)
• $500.00 — pianist Diāna Zandberga's digital album “Latvian piano music landscapes”
• $175.00 — commemorative brick at “Garezers”
• $1,000.00 — XV Latvian Song and Dance Festival in the USA: www.latviansongfest2022.org
• $1,000.00 — American Latvian Association 70th Anniversary
• $1,000.00 — Rīga Dom Church Girls' Choir TIARA 25th anniversary concert in Latvia, in 2022

Total 2021 support: $4,175.00

Other events and notices

72 members joined the American Latvian Association (ALA) through TILTS in 2020: 4 Amber members, 9 Gold lifetime members, 54 lifetime members, and 5 annual members. When you join ALA, we ask you do so under TILTS' name. Thank you!

• Dace Aperāne and Ints Dzelzgalvis were TILTS' delegates to ALA’s 2020 virtual congress.

• Dace Ķezbere and Pēteris Dajevskis were TILTS' delegates to ALAs 2021 70th anniversary congress in Chicago, and delivered Dace Aperāne's report about TILTS's activities to congress participants.

• Ārija Kats, Irīna Kats and Dace Aperāne represented TILTS in the New York Latvian Organizations' council in 2020 and continued to do so in 2021. Dace Aperāne participated in the 2020 and 2021 New York virtual Independence Day celebration with a brief speech.

• The TILTS annual membership meeting was held July 18, 2020 virtually via ZOOM. Subsequently, an in-person membership meeting was held October 10th in Poughkeepsie, New York. The next day, October 11th, the new Board was convened via ZOOM.

• The Facebook “Day of Giving” in December 2020 was fruitful, yielding $1,348.00 in donations to TILTS. TILTS received the check in that amount in 2021. Our sincere thanks to all donors!

2021 Board meeting and plenum

(For the 2020 Board meeting and plenum please see the  2019 Annual Report.)

The TILTS Board has 45 members. A large Board allows us to engage TILTS representatives in all major Latvian centers in the diaspora as well as in Latvia. That facilitates the organization of tours across the US and Canada, and engaging guest artists for concerts, theater productions, and other events.

Owing to the pandemic, the annual Board meeting took place April 24th via ZOOM. The plenum took place in person May 20th in Poughkeepsie, New York; five Board members — Dace Aperāne, Gundars Aperāns, Ārija Kats, Irīna Kats and Andris Padegs voted in the new Board, thanks to the proxies sent in by members. 45 individuals were elected to the TILTS Board on May 20th: 38 in the US, 6 in Latvia, and one in Canada. The new Board was convened May 22nd via ZOOM.

Thank You!

• Pēters Vecrumba is our media specialist, he curates TILTS' web site design, text and media content, and translations into English. Thank you, Pēter!

• Thank you, Ārija Kats, for her assitance maintaining the TILTS membership register and printing out members address labels for mailings!

• Thank you, Ints Dzelzgalvis, for preparing this year's Annual Review!

• Thank you, TILTS Treasurer Jurs Baidiņš and auditing committee members Pēteris Āns, Jānis Bebris and Kaspars Krēsliņš!

• Thank you, to the artist Uģis Nīgals, for our “Culture BRIDGS” logo and “Tautumeitas” poster!

• Thank you, Sandra Zeidenberga Jansons for cataloging her late father's, long-time TILTS Chairman Ģirts Zeidenbergs', TILTS archive (programs and flyers/posters in particular)

• Thank you, Latvian schools in the US and Canada for participation in and collaboration with the “Tautumeitas” concert!

• Thank you, Latvian organizations, associations, funds, and congregations in the US, Canada, and Europe for your collaboration!

Membership and Treasurer's Report

Many thanks for your continued support of TILTS! TILTS relies primarily for your donations to fund our activities. In the past few years, tours are no longer self-financing owing to a declining public and increasing costs, and TILTS usually has to make up the difference.

Owing to the pandemic, no tours have been organized. Rather, we are hoping to organize individual concerts again in 2022. We will continue to present our virtual cultural events — “Culture BRIDGE”, which will require financial support. Individual donations are also essential to bringing educational and cultural projects to fruition. Please become a member of TILTS, starting at a donation of only $15! We have not raised our membership fee for many years so that there are no impediments to joining for those of limited means. Please make checks out to “Latvian Cultural Association TILTS, Inc.” and mail in the USA to TILTS Treasurer: Juris Baidiņš, 1104 Windon Drive, Wilmington, DE 19803.

TILTS is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible in the US.

The pandemic affected our members as well. Membership dues in 2020 totaled $6,799.00 from 37 members. The average donation was $183.76 per member (not including donations to specific funds). The corresponding figures for 2019 were $10,550.00 from 244 members (according to 2019 audit committee revision).

2020 TILTS income was $10,401.00 and expenses $8,160.00, yielding a $2,241.00 surplus. TILTS funds at the end of 2020 stood at $71,737.00.

Juris Baidiņš

A few facts about TILTS

• TILTS was founded in 1969 as the Latvian Association of Poughkeepsie.

• In the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s the association was active mostly in the areas around Poughkeepsie and New York City: organizing events and actively participating in promoting Latvia’s interests (observing November 18th Independence Day, protests in Poughkeepsie and New York including at the United Nations, and preparing and narrating radio programs about Latvia, and organizing exhibitions about Latvia).

• During the National Awakening in Latvia, TILTS (mainly through a number of TILTS members acting on their personal behalf) was one of the first exile organizations to launch contacts with Latvia (organizing a concert by Ave Sol, reception of Imants Ziedonis, participation in the Ganenoka conference together with activists from Latvia).

• At the beginning of 1990, TILTS actively supported efforts in Latvia, cooperating with the Latvian Cultural Foundation and providing material support. In its lifetime, TILTS has organized more than 300 cultural events and tour, including three Rīga Dom Boys' Choir tours, Australia Sub Belt events, tours for the "Three Tenors," tours for the Dailes, National, and Liepāja Theaters and other professional theater ensembles, for “Iļģi”, “Vilkači”, Baiba and Lauma Skrīde, Katrīna Gupalo and Andrejs Osokins, Inga Šļubovska-Kancēvics and Agnese Egliņa, Antra and Normunds Vīksnis, Andra Dārziņai and Ventim Zilbertam, et al. TILTS is currently the primary organization in the US which organizes Latvian and other artists' tours in America, covering classical music, ethnographic events, theater, and lectures.

TILTS Finances

The charitable organizations of America continually bombard us with requests for contributions. But they do not spend all their money on their charitable work. Some of them spend most of the money they collect on administration and fundraising, paying high salaries to their executives. The charities can be considered efficient if 80%-90% of the funds are spent on the claimed charitable activities, with only 10%-20% on administration and fundraising.

The TILTS financial review presented here at the end testifies to TILTS' efficiency: TILTS took in $10,401 in 2020, while administrative and donation collection expenses totaled $1,016, or 9.7%. No TILTS Board member receives remuneration of any kind for their work for TILTS.

TILTS ir particularly thankful to our generous donors who have given $1,000.00 or more to TILTS general or special projects funds:

• Mārtiņš Putenis
• Anita Kuprisa and Richard Douglas (Music Camp Fund)
• New Brunswick and Lakewood Lat. Ev. Lut. congregation

In thanks, Latvian Cultural Association TILTS Board members:

Mārtiņš Andersons, Dace Aperāne, Gundars Aperāns, Juris Baidiņš, Anita Bataraga, Pauls Berkolds, Valdis Bērziņš, Jānis Cigusis, Anda Cook, Pēteris Dajevskis, Ints Dzelzgalvis, Ingrīda Erdmane, Iveta Grava, Sandra Zeidenberga Jansons, Amanda Jātniece, Benita Jaundāldere, Līga Jēkabsone, Tija Kārklis, Ārija Kats, Irīna Kats, Anna Ķepe, Dace Ķezbere, Brigita Klauss, Laris Krēsliņš, Matīss Kukainis, Māris Kukainis, Aina Laķis, Anita Liepiņa, Māra Linde, Laila Medne, Maija Medne, Jānis Melgalvis, Ilmārs Mežs, Andris Padegs, Māra Pelēce, Ilze Pētersone, Zinta Pone, Ināra Reine, Laila Robiņa, Gunta Semba, Ruta Strobele, Jānis Students, Pēters Vecrumba, Normunds Vīksne, Marcis Voldiņš.

TILTS 2020 Financial Overview
			General account	Young Musi­cians' Fund	Music Camp Fund	Infor­mation Project Fund	Total
Value January 1, 2020			59,820	3,655	5,873	145	69,493
2020 Receipts:
	Tour and event income
		Erliha (2019)	266				266
		Muktupavels (2019)	400				400
	Annual membership and general donations		6,804				6,804
	Specific donations			100	2,833		2,933
	Awarded to TILTS						0
	Bank interest						1
Total receipts			7,471	100	2,833	0	10,404
2020 Disbursements:
	Expenses for tours and events
		Koklites resounded	1,750				1,750
	Awards to organizations, schools, indivifuals
		Mara Pelecis - film “Perkons” (Thunder)	300				300
		JTF - Arta Jekabsone		1,500			1,500
		JTF - L. Blum		1,000			1,000
		Sorokin (2019)	349				349
		Latvian National Opera Guild	1,000				1,000
		Latvian Diaspora Museum Fund - “Valiant” film	600				600
		Publisher Jumava - Dajevskis	500				500
	Administrative and other internal expenses and adjustments		1,016			145	1,161
Total disbursements			5,515	2,500	0	145	8,160
Value December 31, 2020			61,776	1,255	8,706	0	71,737

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1	The “White Grand Piano". The most ancient Latvian folk costumes were made of white fabric, also evoking the white in the blood-red/white of the Latvian flag.