Rihards Zaļupe is an award winning Latvian composer, producer and percussionist whose music blends rhythmic precision with emotional depth, shifting effortlessly between intricate percussive textures and orchestral soundscapes. A significant part of Zaļupe’s creative work is devoted to Film and Television projects with over 25 scores to his name, as well as more personal and experimental projects. As the Hollywood Reporter wrote regarding his score for the Oscar winning animation film Flow : “The score by (…) Rihards Zaļupe shifts from gorgeous passages of percussive melody to flight of stirring strings, just as the narrative weaves humorous observations together with moments of high anxiety or tragedy.” This ability to navigate between lightness and intensity has become a defining feature of his artistic voice. 

Born in 1983 in Talsi, Latvia, Zaļupe began his musical journey at the Jāzeps Mediņš Music High School before continuing his studies at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Music Academy with professor Edgars Saksons (Master’s degree in percussion), and by professor Juris Karlsons (Master’s degree in composition). He expanded his education studying with the legendary Japanese marimbist Keiko Abe. From 2006-2020, Zaļupe has been a percussionist with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and from 2007-2024 the lecturer at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Music Academy. Alongside his orchestral career, he performs widely as a soloist and chamber musician.

Rihards’s music has been featured in acclaimed works such as Flow, Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, The Pagan King – for which he received the Latvian Music Records Award for Best Original Score – as well as 1906, Klases Salidojums, Asjad, and Blizzard of Souls.

Beyond the screen, Zaļupe’s compositional work spans marimba and percussion repertoire, orchestral and choral music, and theatre productions. His debut album Marimba Dance (2008) received the Latvian Music Records Award for Debut of the Year, and his compositions have been widely performed – including the world premiere of Flow in concert with the Seattle Symphony – establishing him as one of Latvia’s most versatile and dynamic musical voices.