The First Prize winner of the Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Montpellier in May 2010, Mr. Poga has established himself as a thoughtful and sensitive musician. His rare musical, intellectual and emotional talents distinguish him from other young talented conductors, and he has “won the hearts of audiences” wherever he has conducted. Christian Merlin from Le Figaro praised the conductor’s work with the Orchestra de Paris describing how he “immediately took control of the orchestra through his outstanding technical skill and sheer strength.”

 

Since November 2013, Mr. Poga has served as musical director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and currently remains the assistant conductor of the Orchestre de Paris with Paavo Järvi and the Boston Symphony Orchestra through the end of this season, which includes performances at the prestigious Tanglewood Festival.

 

After many successful collaborations, Mr. Poga has been re-invited by many prestigious orchestras such as NHK Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Moscow City Symphony - Russian Philharmonic, and the Orchestre de Paris.

 

In addition to his posts in Latvia, Paris and Boston, Mr. Poga’s upcoming engagements include the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra in Osaka, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestre National de Lyon.

 

Mr. Poga studied conducting at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music. He also studied philosophy at the University of Latvia and from 2004 to 2005 was taught conducting by Uros Lajovic at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. While still a student, he took part in conducting master classes with Seiji Ozawa and Leif Segerstam. His mentors include Mariss Jansons and Paavo Järvi.