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Janis Strazdins Biography
The parents of Janis realised that he had a musical instinct when he started to sing at an early age. So from 1994 he studied at the Riga Dome Choir School in his home town of Riga, Latvia. Here he joined a boys' choir and spent his childhood singing and studying music-related subjects, as well as English language and vocal jazz pedagogy. While at the school (probably around 1995) he encountered an album entitled "Unreal" in the school music library, and the singing of The Real Group made an indelible impression on him, motivating his life choices towards a career in singing. While still at school he sang with several vocal groups in Riga, and found the choral atmosphere so welcoming that he progressed to sing with many other choirs in Latvia. Of the vocal groups Janis has sung with, the most significant was a 6-voice male ensemble called Cosmos. With this group he shared in winning several Latvian music recording awards and won the young singers' competition New Wave in 2004. In 2006 Cosmos participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens and he has sung on stage with The Real Group, Bobby McFerrin, Bjork, A-Ha, Al Bano, and many other wonderful musicians. In 2010 Janis moved on to become a member of the award-winning professional Latvian Radio Choir, providing him with the opportunity to broaden his repertoire across a wide range of stylistically different programs and productions. In recent years he has also sung with a blues band and performed as a soloist in a variety of collaborations. In addition to singing Janis enjoys many other activities including reading, playing squash, skiing and cycling. He describes himself as more of a listener than a talker, and he enjoys good food, and especially good beer. He also has a special skill that enables him to sleep anywhere, and at anytime! In response to his opportunity to sing bass with The Real Group, he believes that they are one of the main reasons he has always enjoyed singing in vocal groups, and he describes it as "a childhood dream come true". Member of Real Group |
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