The concerts were free to attend, with donations encouraged for "Caritas Latvia Children's Village" – a foundation supporting orphans and children without parental care aged 2 to 18. Māra Marnauza expressed gratitude for the third invitation from Bonifatiuswerk, recalling past performances in Germany and their contribution to charity causes.
The concert programme featured contemporary choral works by Latvian composers Ēriks Ešenvalds, Andris Sējāns, and Selga Mence, German composer Christian Bährens, and Norwegian composers Ola Gjeilo and Kim André Arnesen. The first concert on 29 July in Paderborn's Marktkirche inspired over 600 attendees, creating a memorable atmosphere due to the church's excellent acoustics and their highly professional vocal culture.
Rainer Abraham of Neue Westfälische praised the performance, describing it as world-class and highlighting Latvia's strong choral traditions. On 31 July, the choir performed at the St. Joseph's Church in Oldenburg to an enthusiastic audience of nearly 300 people, including Latvians, who expressed their excitement with standing ovations.
On 1 August, the choir fulfilled a dream by performing at the Cologne Cathedral. The choir extended thanks to the University of Latvia for its support, as well as to "Caritas Latvia" and "St. Hose of Family" for their long-term cooperation in charity projects.
This travel of the University of Latvia choir "Balta" is an example of the strength of borderless cultural collaboration. It is a great example on how artistic groups can enrich their artistic programmes, as well as how much it means for the audience to hear foreign choirs perform. We encourage others to participate in the "Universities for Culture" platform, draw inspiration from these inspiring stories, and discover similar cultural possibilities to take part in.
Take a look at women's choir of the University of Latvia "Balta" journey on their Facebook page.
Learn more about the "Universities for Culture" in "About this platform" section of this website.
Learn more about all the artistic groups to have cultural cooperations with in "Artistic Groups" section of this website.
![](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?app_id=957173808510696&sdk=joey&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button&u=https%3A%2F%2Funiversities4culture.eu%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fdetail-view%2Ft%2F85696%2F&picture=https%3A%2F%2Funiversities4culture.eu%2Ffileadmin%2Fuser_upload%2Flu_portal%2Fcamino.com%2Fpictures%2Fnews%2Fnews-Balta-Germany%2F453895982_8372033146168001_6655125239949536095_n.jpg&description=From 29 July to 1 August 2024, the University of Latvia choir "Balta", led by artistic director Māra Marnauza, performed at the charity concerts at Paderborn's Marktkirche, Oldenburg's St. Joseph's Church, and the Cologne Cathedral. These events, organised in partnership with Bonifatiuswerk, the Archdioceses of Paderborn and Cologne, and the Diocese of Münster, celebrated Bonifatiuswerk's 175th anniversary.){kind=link}