Aija Draguns (b. 1999) is a Sydney-based emerging composer and conductor. Her compositions draw inspiration from her Latvian heritage, particularly the folk and choral traditions. She studied piano, saxophone, and singing before attending the Sydney Conservatorium of Music to pursue composition. Aija holds a Bachelor of Music and an Honours degree and is currently completing her Master’s studies, specialising in language in vocal composition under Professor Paul Stanhope. Aija now teaches music theory at The University of Sydney, alongside her studies.

Her works have been programmed around Australia by ensembles, notably including The Australian Voices, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Orchestra, the National Youth Choir of Australia, Oriana Chorale, Sydney Chamber Choir, Melbourne Trinity College Choir, Sydney Conservatorium choirs, Trinitiy Grammar School choir, Coro innominata, The House that Dan Built, and Alta Collective.

In 2023, Musgrove Opera premiered Aija’s children’s opera “Max and Moritz” in the Sydney Opera House. In 2024, she premiered and conducted her new opera In Cosmic Utero at NIDA’s Parade Theatre, in collaboration with director Lindy Hulme.

She also works as an orchestral arranger, recently writing for “Queen Orchestrated” and “David Bowie Orchestrated” shows, performed around Australia.

An active performer herself, Aija is a folk singer and plays the Latvian folk instrument, kokle. She regularly performs solo, duet, and ensemble performances in the ethno-pop / Latvian modern folk music genre. In 2023, Aija represented Australia in the televised Latvian diaspora concert in Rīga Latvia, singing her work “Gula Meitīna” (Sleeping girl) with Sydney singer Selga Tuktēna.

In 2023, Aija was the fifth recipient of the Andris Ritmanis Creative Future Memorial Fund award from the PBLA Kultūras fonds un Padome (The Cultural Foundation and Council of the World Association of Free Latvians): a prize awarded to diaspora Latvian musicians and poets, in support of future creativity. Aija is the second Australian to receive this award.

Aija is an emerging orchestral and choral conductor. She regularly leads ensembles across Sydney, including the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus and the Sydney Latvian Male Choir: the longest-running Latvian male diaspora choir in the world. In 2021, she was awarded the Ensemble Apex Orchestral Conducting Fellowship under Sam Weller, and the following year received the Create NSW Conducting Fellowship with the Sydney Youth Orchestras (2022-23). In 2023, Aija premiered her first full orchestral program with the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting works by Kodály, Mozart, and Schubert. In 2024, she participated in conductor training programs with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra under Benjamin Northey and Jessica Cottis, and has recently been mentored by Zahia Ziouani, Kira Omelchenko, Fabian Russell, and Elizabeth Scott. Aija has now been selected for the 2025 Australian Conducting Academy with mentor Benjamin Northey, where she is training with the state orchestras across the country- including SSO, TSO, MSO, and QSO.

For Aija, composing and conducting go hand-in-hand, offering unique insights into each artform - insights she hopes to share with her players, singers, and audiences.