Latvian teacher, conductor, collector and researcher of folk songs. He was sent to study the experience of public schools in Switzerland, Austria and Germany (1838-1839). For over 40 years he directed the Vidzeme Teachers' Seminary (in Valmiera, since 1849 in Valka) - the first educational institution in Latvia for teachers of parish schools. In teaching, he paid special attention to the development of musical abilities, and saw the main way to this in choral singing. He collected and processed folk melodies, published several collections of folk songs. The founder of the national choral culture.
