Three charity concerts in 2026

As explained on our website, the Förderverein Orgel Dom Riga e.V. is committed to ensuring that a new Baroque organ, modelled on the work of Heinrich Andreas Contius (1708–1795), can be built in Riga Cathedral. Conceived as a ‘Bach organ’, it is intended to serve as a Baroque counterpart to the famous Romantic Walcker organ – and to enrich Riga with a further, authentic sonic world. This instrument is intended to be more than just a new build: it is to be a distinct Baroque sound centre – transparent, lively and stylistically convincing, built with modern precision and closely modelled on historical examples.

To this end, the Friends’ Association is inviting the public to three benefit concerts in spring/summer 2026 in churches featuring organs from Kristian Wegscheider’s Dresden workshop. The venues have been chosen deliberately: here, one can experience how carefully crafted organ sound fills a space – and at the same time gain an impression of the high standards with which the project in Riga Cathedral is progressing.

The concert series combines masterful performance with a personal approach to the instrument: renowned organists will shape the evenings together with dedicated students from the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK). In this way, experience meets fresh curiosity – and the audience experiences the organ as a living concert instrument, not as a distant ‘monument’.

And because such projects thrive on encounters, Kristian Wegscheider will be present in person – as his schedule permits. He will provide first-hand accounts of construction principles, tonal objectives and the current state of work at Riga Cathedral – vividly, clearly and right at the heart of the action.