One of the aims of the festival is to support the growth of emerging talent, so in 2019, they began a collaboration with the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music to found a new educational programme, the Riga Jurmala Academy. The Academy involves summer masterclasses for emerging talents under the leadership of international, experienced musicians who had already performed at the festival or planned to do so.
Reacting to the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Riga Jurmala Academy changed its initial format to online masterclasses for students from Latvia and the Baltics. Almost 30 masterclasses took place throughout the entire summer, led by top musicians from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Natalie Schwaabe (piccolo), Lionel Cottet (cello), Julita Smoleń (violin), Tobias Steymans (violin) and Jehye Lee (violin), Bettina Fais (clarinet), Ramón Ortega Quero (oboe), Benedict Hames (viola)), as well as world-class performers such as cellist Mischa Maisky, classical guitar virtuoso MILOŠ, and Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.
