The Poetic Sound of Promise: Gabriela Kalnina’s Award-Winning Musical Journey
- WOMCO
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Gabriela Kalnina, a young flutist from Latvia, has received the Gold Prize and the Poetic Artistic Musical Genius Special Prize in the Age 11–12 category at the Global Genius Music Competition 2025 Autumn Season. Results were announced on October 21 after the season concluded from July 3 to October 3. Gabriela’s achievement highlights both her skill and growing artistic voice. To learn more about her musical journey and the story behind her performance, we invited her to share her experiences in the interview below.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey in music, for example the schools you’ve studied at, the teachers who have guided you, and how long you’ve been studying, as well as your goals for the future?
Gabriela Kalnina:
"My overall music journey started at the age of about 3. I was a singer and loved to do it all the time. I wanted to play an instrument from age 4, but the music school would not accept such young kids, so I started my studies in flute at 5. I chose the flute because I loved the sound and look, aswell because my mom played it when she was younger, and I really thought that it was interesting. I started off on the piccolo, played it for 3 years before switching to the C flute. I was very happy of the switch, and won as much with it as I did with the piccolo. So far I have been taught by 2 teachers. For my first five years I learnt with one teacher, then she went away to continue her studies. Now I am currently with my second teacher with higher targets then ever. This is my 8th year of playing the flute, I still will have 2 to go, but I don't really know if I will link my future with music or not, that will stay unknown until then."
Could you walk us through your approach to preparing and interpreting your award-winning video performance? What were some of the artistic or technical considerations that shaped the final result, and are there any tips or points you think are important when submitting a performance video?
Gabriela Kalnina:
"My preparing of the video for this competition was pretty simple to say but a bit more hard to do - with the other girl we met up in the morning in our music school, warmed up and got right in to it! Obviously it was a bit hard because the nervous feeling does'ņt go away wether it is an online or on the spot competition. Everything had to be perfect for a chance at winning, so we recorded a few times to catch the perfect one. But in the end it was really worth it, I was satisfied enough of my final performance, and now it specially because of my two rewards. Sadly there wasn't any behind the scenes photos, but i will keep that in mind for next time!"
Receiving the Poetic Artistic Musical Genius Special Prize highlights the individuality of your performance. How did you go about finding and expressing your own artistic voice through the flute?
Gabriela Kalnina:
"I express my voice through the flute really thinking about what I want to express - what emotions, what side of me, maybe a story some or nobody may or may not know. In real life expressing my opinion and voice is a bit harder as a kid, many don't take you seriously, that is why I really want to express as much as I can in my pieces on the flute."
Would you like to share your experience participating in our competition and anyone you'd like to thank?
Gabriela Kalnina:
"The experience of this was pretty good, sometimes rough, but overall it was also kind of fun. With the year just begun I had to learn new pieces very fast, and obviously really put in the work for results. I would like to thank my pianist, he also had to learn very quick, while in parallel learn for his other ton of students. I would obviously want to thank my mom, she supported me the most, paid for my participating. And lastly I would like to thank my friend Evelyn, who also participated with me (and won the gold prize as well), we had such a fun time, supported one another and helped with little tricks no one tells you to do for a better performance."
Biography
My name is Gabriela. I'm a student who values creativity, responsibility, and growth. I like putting effort into the things I do and staying focused on doing them well. A quote I live by is: "I believe winning is first place and everything else is losing" by Alexandra Trusova. It motivates me to stay determined and keep my goals clear. If something isn't working for me to reach my target, I change the path - not the goal. Outside of school I like to have a lot of fun with my music school friends, they brighten up the day and we understand each other more than anyone else.