Imant Raminsh

Who is Imant Raminsh?

Imant Karlis Raminsh is a Canadian composer of Latvian descent, best known for his choral compositions. Born in Ventspils, Latvia, he came to Canada in 1948 and became a naturalized citizen in 1954. He completed an ARCT diploma in violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada where he was a pupil of Albert Pratz. He then earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied with Elmer Iseler. He then spent two years at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, during which he studied composition, fugue, violin and conducting, and played in the professional Camerata Academica orchestra. He established the music department at the College of New Caledonia in British Columbia and was also the founding conductor of the New Caledonia Chamber Orchestra. He is a two-time winner of the biennial Canadian National Choral Awards in the category of "Outstanding Choral Work", first in 1990 for his Magnificat and again in 1994 for his Veni Sancte Spiritus. He currently hold the position of principal second violin in the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. He also conducts the Okanagan Youth Symphony Orchestra.