Gundega Šmite was born in 1977, Riga.
She has graduated composition department at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music in the composition department with professor Pēteris Plakidis (Master’s degree in 2007). She has studied as well at Jean Sibelius Academy of Music with Veli-Matti Puumala within Erasmus programme. She has taken participation in Centre Acanthes workshop, having masterclasses with Salvatore Sciarrino and Fabio Nieder (2008) and Philipe Hurel, Oskar Strasnoy and Unsuk Chin (2011).
From 2008 she has been leading a masterclasses for Young composers in Ogre, Sigulda and Madona. Since 2007 she has been a lecturer in the Latvian Music Academy. From 2009 till 2012 she has been a Chairperson of the Latvian Composers’ Union. At 2012 she earned a doctoral degree in arts in the Latvian Music Academy for her musicological research, that concerns music and text relationship in the contemporary choral music.
She has won numerous prises and recognitions for her work; her works have have been performed in such Contemporary music festivals as Klangspuren, Time of Music, Baltic Sea Festival, Sounds New, ISCM World Music days among others, as well as in public concerts worldwide.