PBLA Annual Award to conductor Lilija Zobena

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PBLA
Lilija Zobena, PBLA Award
PBLA Annual Award to conductor Lilija Zobena

The World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA) has awarded its annual prize to Lilija Sabīne Zobens, conductor of the UK Latvian choirs, ethnomusicologist, former chairperson of the Latvian National Council in Great Britain and deputy chairperson of the PBLA, and long-time active member of the British Latvian community.

There are few diaspora choir conductors who can boast such a long and generous Latvian choir conducting career as Lilija Zobens. She has directed and conducted the London Latvian Choir since 1976. “I never thought of becoming a conductor. I went to sing in a choir for fun. Out of the blue, Albert Jērums, our unforgettable great composer and conductor, said: you are a musical person, teach the choir one song. He threw me into a swimming pool, and now I am “swimming”.” This is how Lily Zobens describes the beginning of her conducting career. At the Latvian Song Festival in Latvia in 2023, which celebrated 150 years of the festival tradition, the Latvian diaspora was proud of Lilija Zobens, the only diaspora conductor in the large family of chief conductors, and the only woman, the Honorary Chief Conductor of the Festival, who for five years represented the entire diaspora on the Song and Dance Festival Council approved by the Cabinet of Ministers and operating under the auspices of the Latvian National Culture Centre.

“Singing is not just a spiritual experience, it also has an important physical reaction – when you sing, your body produces the hormone oxytocin, people start to look better, they feel good, it’s also called the ‘happiness hormone’. I’ve felt it myself: sometimes I have to work a lot, I have to prepare a programme, I’m tired, but I sit down at the piano, I start singing and after an hour my mood has completely changed, I’m positive and ready to work for a long time. I’m really lucky with singing!” (Lilija Zobens in an interview with the newspaper “Free Latvia” in 2023)

Lilija Zobens was born November 9, 1950 in Halifax, Northern England. Her first musical skills were in piano and cello, and she studied musicology at King’s College, University of London (1969-1972), graduating with a BA. She studied solo singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Possessing an expressive soprano voice, she has given solo concerts in Europe, Australia and North America.

Lilija Zobens undeniably deserves to be the recipient of the PBLA Award. Dedicating 47 years of your life to the London Latvian Mixed Choir is a great achievement. In addition, the choir and the Latvian community have undergone major changes, and Lilija has not only changed with them, but also contributed to the positive outcome of these changes. Lilija Zobens began her conducting career as a young conductor in exile, but gradually became a prominent diaspora conductor of great authority. When many more immigrants from Latvia began to arrive in London in the first decade of this century, Lilija realised that it was necessary to promote their integration into the local Latvian community. She attracted the new diaspora not only to the choir, but also looked for other ways and activities in which the new arrivals could better integrate into the Latvian community in London.

In Gotland in 1979, during the World Free Latvian Song Days, Lilija Zobens’ photo was placed on the front page of the local newspaper after her solo performance of “Dzeguze kūko, dzied lakstīgala” caused the most unforgettable and moving moment of the Song Days. Her Latvian persona on the shores of the Baltic Sea captured the hearts of the local community and Latvians throughout the free world.

Lilija Zobens gained notice in Latvia in 1990 during that year’s Song Festival. She stood out with her white Abrene folk costume and captivated the singers with her energetic conducting and song explanations during rehearsals. “I feel clearly that I am a Latvian, I belong to this nation, and it has shaped me into who I am,” says Lilija Zobens.

Lilija Zobens has conducted Latvian song festivals all over the world: in Gotland, Germany, Canada, USA, Australia, Riga and elsewhere in Europe (England, Brussels, Eslingen, Ireland, etc.). As a soloist she has performed for Latvian audiences in England, Australia, USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Latvia. She has given presentations on Latvian music at various Latvian associations and events: for Daugavas Vanagi, the European Latvian Youth Association, various summer camps and courses in England, Germany and Latvia. Lilija Zobens has taught vocal lessons at the Latvian International Music Camp, and taught music and singing at the London Latvian School from 1977. 2006, when she founded the school’s music ensemble and string ensemble “Kalla”.

In parallel, Lilija Zobens has worked in England as a lecturer and voice teacher and has worked in publishing. She is the co-founder of Musica Baltica, a publisher of school and choral music. Lily Zobens is a filistress of the student corporation Imeria and an Officer of the Order of the Three Stars (2007). She is married to Leslie East, who has actively supported Lilija and participated alongside her in the Latvian community. They have two daughters, Andra (1985) and Karolīne (1987), who are active in Latvian society.

Through her extensive and long-standing work in the global Latvian community, Lilija Zobens’ contribution and heart have reached several generations of Latvians outside Latvia and in Latvia itself. In her interviews and sharing her memories, Lilija Zobens has clearly credited the great Latvian cultural, musical and spiritual heritage that she has gained from previous generations who founded organizations and choirs in exile in London. This legacy and contribution of Lilija Zobens is a great example for future generations of Latvians.

“Finding our way to each other – that’s the core of what we do. And then Latvians will hold strong,” says and believes Lilija Zobens, PBLA 2024 annual prize winner.

(Information prepared by the PBLA Office and the European Latvian Association)