Jazz Calendar

Ilona Kudina & Baltic Transit:
Ilona Kudina, flute
Special Guest, Arta Jēkabsone, voice
Maxim Lubarsky, piano |
Oscar Stagnaro, bass
Bertram Lehmann, drums

Before moving to Boston, MA, in 2001, Ilona Kudina was an orchestral artist (flute, piccolo) with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. Her academic credentials include a Professional Diploma in Music Performance from the Berklee College of Music and a Master of Arts in Music Performance from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, a prestigious institution located in Riga, Latvia, her native country. Through the Erasmus Exchange Program she studied at the ArtEZ Academy of Music, Enschede, Netherlands, and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London, UK.

Since 2000, Ilona has participated in numerous projects, including: recording and performing at jazz festivals in the US and abroad; an international jazz celebration at the UN; classical solo recitals in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Latvia; and concerts at the Latvian Embassy in Washington, DC, and Boston Symphony Hall, among others. She has also served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. Ilona is a voting member of the GRAMMY® Recording Academy, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), and the Boston Musicians' Association Local 9-535, American Federation of Musicians, Boston, MA.

Ilona’s passions are improvisation, jazz, and contemporary music. She is a strong leader and a generous and skilled collaborator. As an advocate for music for flute by Latvian composers, she consistently features works by her native country's composers in her solo recitals. Her first two-set CD, On the Bridge (2006), a compilation of music by Latvian composers, received a Certificate of Achievement from the World Federation of Free Latvians (WFFL) in 2006. In 2016, she was honored with the American Latvian Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to music and for promoting Latvian culture in the United States.

ABOUT SPECIAL GUEST ARTA JĒKABSONE:

Latvian-born vocalist, composer and arranger Arta Jēkabsone infuses her jazz with Baltic soul and an unshakable sense of storytelling. Seamlessly blending Latvian folk melodies with contemporary jazz expression, she crafts music that is both intimate and daring. Her voice radiates warmth, clarity, and fearless emotional depth.

Jēkabsone is the winner of the Montreux Shure Jazz Voice Competition and has placed among the top three in several other prestigious international competitions, including the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Voice Competition. Her acclaimed debut album Light brims with intimacy, warmth, and crystal-clear focus.

A recipient of The Jazz Gallery Residency Commission Grant (2021–2022), Jēkabsone regularly premieres original works at The Jazz Gallery in New York City. In 2023, she received Latvia’s highest recognition in music, the Latvian Music Award for New Artist of the Year. In 2024, she earned an honorable mention in the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards (ASCAP Foundation) and completed an artist residency at The Church in Sag Harbor. Most recently, she received the 2025 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship and joined the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, where she is developing new works for big band.

Jēkabsone’s latest album, Dziesmu Kamoliņš / Garland of Songs (released October 16, 2025), explores the rich heritage of Latvian folkloric music through her unique contemporary lens. The album was nominated for the Latvian Recording Award “Golden Microphone” for Best World Music Album. She is also preparing Impressions of an Era, a collaborative album featuring the Latvian Radio Big Band and saxophonist/composer Toms Rudzinskis.

Jēkabsone’s performances invite audiences into a sonic space where heritage, innovation, and emotion converge – elevating jazz with a distinctly Baltic warmth, imagination, and spirit.