As part of Poetry Days, on September 24th at 19:00 at the Sauleskalns Community Center, we invite you to a special literary and musical evening “When Gaiziņš is Nearby,” dedicated to the creative legacy of journalist, poet, and author of many popular pop song lyrics, Juris Brežģis, in his anniversary year.
This event is a tribute to the memory of Juris Brežģis in his 90th anniversary year, and it serves as a living reminder of his contribution to Latvian pop music and literature.
The audience will be guided through the life and works of Juris Brežģis by musicologist and Latvian Radio 2 personality Daiga Mazvērsīte.
The stage will resonate with the voices of Latvian National Theatre actors Madara Botmane and Gundars Grasbergs, and the musical atmosphere will be created by the band “ARmaestro”.
This will be a heartfelt evening filled with songs and stories, where Brežģis' poetry will come to life, alongside beloved melodies and his kind and witty spirit.
Juris Brežģis (1935–2002) was born in the Madona District, Bērzaune Parish at the home “Baldiņi.” He graduated from Bērzaune Seven-Year School (1949), Madona 1st Secondary School (1953), and the Faculty of Language and Literature at the Riga Pedagogical Institute (1958).
Juris Brežģis authored the lyrics to more than a hundred pop songs, with his words featured in many beloved songs such as Aleksandrs Kublinskis' “Minikleitiņa,” “Lielais lācis,” and “Noktirne” performed by the band “Eolika,” as well as “Aijas smaids” (Jānis Sildegs), “Cīruļa stāsts” (Ivars Birkāns), “Lēnāk brauksi, tālāk tiksi” (Ivars Vīgneris), “Ceļavēja dziesma” (Gunārs Freidenfelds), and others. Equally significant is his involvement in cinema – he also wrote song lyrics for the 1993 Christmas film “Ziemassvētku jampadracis.”
Daiga Mazvērsīte has been interested in Latvian popular music for as long as she can remember. While studying at a music school, then in the piano class, she had no other thought but to pursue a career in music. As someone with absolute pitch, she greatly enjoyed solfeggio and music literature. After completing the 8th grade at Riga 69th Secondary School, she continued her studies at J. Mediņš Music Secondary School in the music theory department and the musicology faculty of the then-conservatory, graduating with a master's degree in 1989.
Daiga Mazvērsīte has been working at Latvian Radio since 1991 and is a member of the founding team of Latvian Radio 2, where her hobby is her work and her work is her hobby.
Madara Botmane, an actress at the Latvian National Theatre since 2011. Madara is characterized by maximalism, a bubbling temperament, a desire to break through established artistic boundaries, to go beyond them herself, and to bring others along – all of this describes the unique talent and human essence of Madara as an actress.
She succeeds in combining passion with intellect, not only on stage but also in her chosen second profession as a costume and fashion designer, thus confidently making her mark on the stages of all Latvian theatres. Moreover, Madara possesses a fantastic vocal talent and excels in dance, convincingly establishing herself as a musical theatre actress.
Gundars Grasbergs, has been working at the Latvian National Theatre since 2025, quickly becoming a leading role performer, thanks not only to his stage charisma but also to his intellect, work ethic, creative restlessness, and dissatisfaction with the status quo. In several productions, his vocal talents have been utilized along with his proficiency in playing musical instruments, especially the double bass.
Unlike some of his colleagues, Gundars Grasbergs has participated multiple times in poetic performances, requiring not only a sense of poetry but also the ability to portray generalizations through poetic details, to reveal the symbolic layer of a character, and to interpret a role; he plays on the strings of the heart and mind, but wins over with kindness and peace.
