Oskars Bokanovs (b.1990) is a Latvian double bassist, educator, and Principal Double Bass of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. His professional career encompasses extensive orchestral and solo performance experience, chamber music, teaching, academic work, and participation in international competitions, masterclasses, and professional events.
Oskars Bokanovs began his musical education at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School in Riga. He continued his studies at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in 2014. From 2015 to 2018, he pursued Master's studies at the Leoš Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, Czech Republic. Since 2025, he has been pursuing professional doctoral studies at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. A significant part of Bokanovs' professional career has been devoted to performing with leading orchestras. Since 2017, he has served as Principal Double Bass of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, and since 2025 he has been as solo double bassist of Davinspiro Camerata chamber orchestra. Previously, he performed with the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra and Baltic string chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica.
Alongside his orchestral work, Bokanovs is actively engaged as a soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire encompasses major works of the double bass literature as well as contemporary music by Latvian composers. In 2019, he performed Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, he gave the world premiere of Kristaps Pētersons' Concerto for Flute, Double Bass and Orchestra. Chamber music and the promotion of the double bass as a solo instrument play a particularly important role in his artistic activities. He has collaborated extensively with pianist Rihards Plešanovs, presenting programmes including Double Bass and Chamber Music, Double Bass, and Double Bass and Chamber Music: Czech Landscapes, as well as the LNSO chamber music programme Portraits. Oskars Bokanovs and Tommaso Pratola.
In 2016, Bokanovs won First Prize at the 8th International František Simandl Double Bass Competition in Blatná, Czech Republic. The same year, he was awarded Third Prize at the 2nd Double Bass Symposium in Wrocław, Poland, as well as Third Prize at the 1st International Double Bass Competition in Holice, Czech Republic. He had previously received recognition at international double bass conferences in Brno, winning First Prize in Category I at the Brno International Double Bass Conference in 2010 and receiving an Honourable Mention in Category II at the International Double Bass Conference BRNO 2012.
Teaching is another important aspect of Bokanovs' professional career. Since 2022, he has been a double bass teacher at the Emīls Dārziņš Music School, while since 2020 he has served as an invited lecturer in double bass at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. In his teaching, he focuses on the professional development of young musicians, the refinement of technical skills, and the exploration of a diverse double bass repertoire.
Bokanovs is also actively involved in the international professional double bass community. In 2025, he was invited to serve as a member of the international jury of the “Pro Finalis” competition for young artists in Białystok, Poland. In the same year, he taught and performed at international masterclasses and at the International Double Bass Conference in Brno, Czech Republic. These activities reflect his growing professional recognition and his active contribution to the development of double bass education and performance on an international level.
A distinctive feature of Oskars Bokanovs' artistic career is his commitment to presenting the double bass not only as an essential orchestral instrument, but also as a versatile solo and chamber music instrument. His repertoire and projects span music from the Baroque and Classical periods to contemporary works.
Oskars Bokanovs' professional profile is defined by the combination of extensive orchestral experience, solo and chamber music performance, teaching, academic work, and active engagement with the international double bass community. Through his artistic and pedagogical activities, he contributes to the recognition and development of the double bass as a solo and chamber instrument in Latvia while strengthening connections between the Latvian musical environment and the international double bass community.