Mārtiņš Viļums (b. 1974) studied composition at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music in Rīga with Pēteris Plakidis (1995–1996). He also studied accordion and composition with Osvaldas Balakauskas at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (1996–1997). He then focused solely on composition with Julius Juzeliūnas and Rimantas Janeliauskas, obtaining his bachelor’s degree in 2001, master’s degree in 2004 and PhD in 2011. Since 2020, he has held the position of professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
The string quartet Sansara won first prize in the Latvian Philharmonic and Latvian Composers’ Union’s organised competition (1996); the work also received wide acceptance at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (1997). Many of his works have received premieres in Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Estonia. The composition Le temps scintilla won the Grand Prix at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Vienna (2005) in the general category. His chamber symphony Tvyjoraan won the Latvian Great Music Award in 2012. His composition Abar panjom ardīg abāg gāw ēk-dād kard for 24 voices was selected and performed at ISCM World Music Days in 2019. Many of his musical works have been created in close collaboration with the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Kaspars Putniņš and have been performed worldwide at many music festivals. In 2022, a collaboration with the Latvian Radio Choir resulted in the release of an album of Mārtiņš Viļums’s choir music.