
ABOUT
Līva writes music for a variety of genres and performance settings. Her compositions incorporate varied extra-musical sources such as swamp ecology, texts from the Old Testament, spam emails and boxing matches. In November 2023, she premiered her first chamber opera MONSTERA DELICIOSA for four singers, piano and percussion. Made in collaboration with theatre maker Barbara Lehtna and dramaturg Linda Krūmiņa, this opera explores the intricate connections between ecology and society through stories of Baltic women and their relationship with plants. MONSTERA DELICIOSA was nominated for "Best Musical Score" and "Best Short Form Production" as a part of the Latvian National Theatre Award in 2024. In October of 2025 the trio Lehtna/Krūmiņa/Blūma saw the premiere of their second chamber opera CANTUS FIRMUS for three singers and bass guitar. The plot follows four women as they seek to protect a local Latvian bog endangered by an oligarch’s plan to develop a spa in the middle of it, all in a backdrop of Renaissance-polyphony inspired musical score. Līva’s first film score is featured on EXTRAORDINARY (2026) a Croatian, Slovenian, Slovak and Latvian co-produced, feature length film, directed by Marina Andree Škop and Vanda Raýmanová. The film follows two siblings, a ten year old Alice and her neuro-divergent brother Milan as they embark on a mission to find their missing parents. Current commissions include works for SATB choir, artsong for soprano, french horn and piano, as well as duo for cello and double bass, all set to premiere in 2026.
Līva sings a vast array of ensemble repertoire ranging from medieval plainchant to complex contemporary music. As a full time alto singer at the State Choir "Latvija", Līva has sung under the baton of Kent Nagano, Jaap Van Zweden, Risto Joost and Neeme Järvi. During this time she has performed choral works by György Ligeti, Igor Stravinsky, Thierry Escaich, Sven-David Sandström. Some of her symphonic repertoire includes Mahler's 2nd, 3rd and 8th symphonies, Beethoven's 9th symphony, Verdi's Requiem, Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust" as well as "Grande Messe des Morts", Matthew's Passion by J.S. Bach amongst many others. In 2025 Līva’s liturgical singing in the Princeton, NJ area allowed her to rediscover Gregorian chant and masterworks of renaissance polyphony. In 2026 Līva is found singing in various projects across the Triangle area of North Carolina.
© Zanda Mališeva