Shulman Vlad (Zeev) (1962, Riga) ― opera and concert singer (lyric baritone), cantor, vocal teacher. He received his musical education at the M. Balakirev Nizhny Novgorod Music College and at the vocal faculty of the M. Glinka Nizhny Novgorod State Conservatory, in the primary specialty of “chamber singing” (class of Prof. Yu.A. Barsov). He undertook an assistant-internship in Moscow at the Maimonides State Classical Academy, in the faculty of world musical culture (artistic director ― Professor A.N. Bogdanova).
He took part in international vocal competitions: in Kaliningrad ― in 1992 and 1994, and the S. Moniuszko competition in Warsaw ― in 1994. He studied the cantorial art under cantors Vladimir Pliss (in 1981―95 ― chief cantor of the Moscow Choral Synagogue) at the Moscow Academy of Cantorial Art, and Moshe Aronson, cantor of the Riga Choral Synagogue (in the 1980s ― one of four cantors in the former USSR). From 2002 ― cantor of the Riga Choral Synagogue. Today he is the only cantor in the Baltic states, continuing the cantorial tradition in Latvia.
He maintains an active concert career in Latvia and abroad, performing as a cantor and as a concert singer with solo recitals, as well as together with the “Riga Klezmer Band” ensemble (founded by Sh. in 2003), with the participation of well-known Riga musicians Yury Savkin (violin), Eduard Raubishko (clarinet), and Yury Kasper (piano). In 2006, with the support of the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund, he recreated the boys' choir of the Riga Choral Synagogue, for which the Peitav Shul synagogue had been famous in the 1920s―30s. He works actively with other Jewish organizations in Riga, such as the Jewish religious community “Shamir” and the Riga Beit Midrash.
In August–September 2007 he served as artistic director of the First Riga International Festival of Jewish Music named after M. Aleksandrovich, organized by the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia, in which, in addition to Latvian musicians, musicians from Israel, the USA, South Africa, Finland, and Estonia took part. Other concert projects by Sh. also drew a strong response from Riga music lovers: “A Date with the Past. Dunaevsky at 105” in 2005 at the House of the Riga Jewish Community; the concerts “Once Again, Where the Sea of Lights Is” in memory of Georg Ots in 2005 at the House of the Blackheads and in 2006 at the House of the Riga Jewish Community; and the concert “Shana Tova!” with the participation of the youth choir “Balsis,” the “Riga Klezmer Band” ensemble, and the boys' choir of the Riga Choral Synagogue in 2008 (a joint project with the Riga Jewish religious community “Shamir”). In 2008 the Hollywood studio “Hallmark Hall of Fame” invited Sh. as a consultant on Jewish tradition and music during the filming in Riga of “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler,” devoted to the tragedy of the Warsaw ghetto. He is actively involved in the Association of National-Cultural Societies of Latvia, headed by the prominent Latvian musician and public figure Professor R. Kharadzhanyan.
In 2001 Sh.'s CD “Songs of the Riga Ghetto” was released, earning high praise from musicians and lovers of Jewish music. In 2008 a CD of Jewish liturgical music, “Melodies of the Lost Synagogues,” was recorded (a joint project with the Riga Jewish religious community “Shamir”). He carries out research in the history of cantorial art in Latvia.
In 2008 he was awarded an honorary diploma by the Ministry of Culture of Latvia for his contribution to building a unified and culturally diverse, harmonious society in Latvia.
Since childhood he has been a chess enthusiast, winning the title of Riga champion four times ― in 1983, 1986, 1987, and 1988, and becoming Latvian team champion three times ― in 1986, 1987, and 1988. While doing his military service in the Soviet Army in Kirov in 1983―85, he became champion of Kirov Region and the city of Kirov. In the 1990s, while studying at the Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory, he became chess champion of Nizhny Novgorod Region and the city of Nizhny Novgorod.
His concert repertoire includes about 300 works in various genres and styles: cantorial compositions, opera arias, romances, Jewish songs, and works of classical and popular music.