Biography

Rihards Kolmanis is a guitarist, pianist, composer, and music educator from Riga, Latvia, currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. Rihards began playing the guitar at the age of 15, while attending middle school. Within the first year of playing guitar, he formed his first band and quickly gained recognition in the local club scene as the guitarist and vocalist of the band “Strong Mint.” The band’s style can be described as a blend of blues-rock and funk music. In the band's short existence, they played some of the biggest festivals in Latvia, such as “Fonofest” and “Blūza svētki Siguldā.” In addition to performing in 2011, they gained special attention from the DJs of one of the most popular radio stations at the time, “Radio 101,” where they won the “Cēsu Premium New Band Competition.” Still, they were later disqualified due to their young age. Nevertheless, the impression was made, and Strong Mint stayed on the airwaves of “Radio 101” and performed at their festival “Tuborg Green Night.”

Rihards realized he wished to pursue music professionally, despite his late start on the guitar. In 2012, he auditioned and was accepted to the most prestigious music high school in the country, “Riga Cathedral Choir School,” where he studied guitar and piano. Here, in addition to studying classical music theory and history, he took a special interest in the Jazz Department, where he developed his improvisational skills and knowledge of performance across a wide array of contemporary music genres. During his first year of high school, he formed the band “Coolmans Report,” for which he served as the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter. They gained fame as a non-traditional blues band, performing blues and jazz with unique influences from various genres. This innovative and eclectic approach to a traditional musical genre earned them the status of the house band at the prestigious, internationally recognized blues club in Riga, Latvia, “Bites Blues Club.” That is also where they met their manager, Dailes Zigis, who, himself a local music legend, put the band on the regional and international stage. Coolmans Report has performed on the main stages in the biggest festivals in Latvia, including “Saulkrasti Jazz,” “Rīgas Ritmi,” “Positivus,” “Bildes,” and others. They also garnered international recognition with performances in Lithuania’s blues festival “Bliuzo Naktys” (multiple years in a row), Switzerland’s biggest blues festival “Sierra Blues,” and Belgium’s jazz festival “Skoda Jazz,” where they performed a special show for the Latvian members of the EU parliament. In addition to these festivals, Coolman's Report has accompanied various international touring acts, including Ken Hensley (formerly of Uriah Heep), Justina Lee Brown, Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges, Angela Brown, and many more.

In addition to his work with Coolman's Report, Rihards became busy as a professional musician, accompanying and collaborating with various other Latvian musicians. The most notable of these are the collaborations for theater plays “Vecgada Vakars Kurmaja” (2013) and “Snoforkim” (2014) at the famous “Dailes Theatre,” a renowned and long-standing Latvian theatre with some of the most esteemed directors in Latvia. This flourished into a professional relationship with Juris Vaivods, the theater's musical director and an award-winning musical consultant and composer, who secured Rihards’ work in the grand “Latvian Song and Dance Festival” and also performed with the legendary Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls. At that time, Rihards also composed music for the film “Ruch’n’Norie,” which won the “AKKA/LAA Copyright Infinity Award” (the country's most prestigious copyright achievement) and the “Latvian Cinematography Award” for best documentary film of the year (the Latvian equivalent of the Oscar Award). In 2015, Rihards and the band “Electric Combo,” which was formed as a graduation requirement for his high school, released a concert video, which was later nominated for the Latvian Grammys “Annual Latvian Music Recording Award,” better known as “Zelta Mikrofons,” in two categories: best debut and best concert recording.

After graduating from high school in 2015, Rihards sought to develop his skills further and expand his craft. He auditioned in London, UK, and was accepted with a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston,  Massachusetts, and later acquired a Master’s degree in Music from one of the oldest conservatories in the USA - New England Conservatory - where he worked as a teaching assistant to professors Ran Blake and Hankus Netsky. He graduated from both schools with honors and multiple awards. During this time, he became a popular go-to musician for various Latvian communities across the US. He traveled to perform for them in Boston, Chicago, New York, Florida, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and New Jersey. In 2021, Rihards was commissioned to compose for two esteemed Latvian-American organizations. “TILTS” commissioned Rihards to write songs based on Latvian poets in exile and Latvian folk songs for the trio “Pusnakts Dziesminieki.” “ALTS,” the oldest Latvian-American organization, commissioned Rihards to compose a 30-minute piece inspired by Latvian painters in the US and in the style of the cybernetic art movement for the organization’s 103rd Anniversary event. For both of the commissions, Rihards also performed.

In parallel, he established his project “Near Light Project” and “NAOTT,” a collaboration with saxophonist and musicologist Paul Meland. These projects served as a creative outlet for Rihards’ own compositions and interest in Sound Ecology, including experimental explorations of alternative ways to use the guitar and produce sound, multimedia collaborations, and the use of early medieval and Renaissance music in contemporary settings.

As a teacher, Rihards has extensive experience teaching in a diverse range of genres, including but not limited to Jazz, Rock, Blues, Classical, Pop, R&B, Funk, and Electronic Music. He offers both individual and group private lessons on guitar, ukulele, bass, piano, composition, and music theory. He has taught at Berklee College of Music's Summer Programs and is currently on the faculty at the New England Conservatory Prep Division and Phillips Academy Andover.

Currently, Rihards is performing in Boston, MA, and other parts of the US. He is a music teacher in multiple locations in the Greater Boston Area and is working on the following projects.

Some of Rihards’ notable achievements include:

“Lielais Kristaps: Best Documentary Film” for music in film, “Ruch’n’Norie,” 2015

“AKKA/LAA Copyright Infinity Award” for music in film, “Ruch’n’Norie,” 2016

“T-Bone Walker Award” for outstanding achievement at Berklee College of Music, 2017

“Jimi Hendrix Award” for outstanding achievement at Berklee College of Music, 2018

“Garrison Fewell Award” for outstanding achievement at Berklee College of Music, 2018

Latvian Heritage Foundation Award, “Oskara Balva,” for promoting and sustaining Latvian culture in Boston, 2019

Honorable Mention for the “Ran Blake Foundation Award,” 2021

Rihards began teaching in 2013 and joined Note-worthy Experiences in December 2024.