Dr. Aija Rēķe – violin faculty
Dr. Aija Rēķe is a Latvian violinist, chamber musician, published composer, concert presenter, and pedagogue. Her educational work focuses on Social Emotional Learning, global community engagement, environmental justice, and high performance. She released her album “Latvian Reflections” under the Spice Classics label (July 2021). It was presented on National Latvian Radio Channel 3, Latvian National TV Station 1, and other Latvian media stations nationally and abroad. Henry Fogel, one of the most respected music personalities in the USA, reviewed the album positively for Fanfare Magazine. Latvian Reflections solidify Aija’s passion for promoting Latvian heritage, particularly the 20th-century Latvian composers. As a composer, her Meditation-Prayer was published in 2019 by Musica Baltica (Edition Peters). Albany Records label released her most recent solo recording on Ketty Nez’s album “Far Sight Sun Light”(2023).
She is a recipient of the prestigious Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Award (April 2026) at Boston University. She received the Boston University Women’s Council Scholarship in 2024, which supported her volunteer teaching and conservation work at Daraja Music Initiative in Tanzania in the summer of 2025. The volunteer teaching in Africa was a transformative experience, engaging a large community in Moshi, Tanzania, reaching beyond music.
Aija won the Solo Bach Competition at Boston University (2014) and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, American National Music Honor Society (since 2015), and is a recipient of the Boston Latvian Cultural Heritage Award (2014). She has performed in sixteen countries, including Europe, North America, and Africa, as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Aija has performed with ALEA III – Contemporary Music Ensemble in Residence at Boston University, with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Odyssey Opera. Her collaboration with several composers led to multiple world premieres.
Aija is a devoted teacher. Aija has taught an exceptionally large number of students in various community programs such as the Boston Music Project, Brookline Public Schools, and the El Sistema program, and also in private schools. In 2024, she led a webinar for Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. In 2021, she led an international masterclass sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Rīga, Latvia, at Ventspils Music High School in Latvia, with approximately 200 participants enrolled in her class. She also taught seminars at Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, Latvia. She is a contributor to the prestigious Strad Magazine with an article about overcoming stage fright.
She graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts in May 2026 from the Boston University College of Fine Arts, where she studied with Professor Bayla Keyes. She graduated from Boston University (MM, 2015) under Dana Mazurkevich, with a CFA Full Tuition Scholarship, and from Rotterdam Conservatory (BM, 2013) in the Netherlands under Benzion Shamir.
Outside of music, Aija is a passionate advocate of personal development and is attending online classes and live seminars with Brendon Burchard and Growth Day.
More: http://www.aijareke.com
Aija Rēķe Violin Institute 