DMP’s Lolita Ritmanis recently returned from Riga, Latvia, where she had the great honor to participate in several events during the 25th Latvian Song Festival. Lolita was a featured panelist at the World Latvian Economics and Innovations Forum and was able to share her insights on being a working composer in the television and film industry and also discuss the practicalities and possibilities of international collaboration. That same evening, her choral composition “Dziesma Pacelsies” (“The Song Will Rise”, with lyrics by Andris Ritmanis) was performed by the 90 voice New York Latvian Combined Choir and the Dobele Choir at the Riga Latvian Society Concert Hall. She was also asked to be a part of the procession accompanying the official festival flag as it entered the outdoor stadium for the final concert, a tradition and high honor that dates back to 1873.