Participants
ŠIAULIAI POLIFONIJA STATE CHAMBER CHOIR (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Linas Balandis
In 1974, choir conductors Danutė and Sigitas Vaičiulioniai formed the Early Music Ensemble, which performed its first concert on December 31 in the assembly hall of Šiauliai Pedagogical Institute, featuring Renaissance and Baroque music. This was not only the birth of a new music group, but also the tradition of inviting the citizens of Šiauliai to send off the old year with music on New Year's Eve. Later on, the ensemble's activities expanded, the number of concerts increased, and after five years the group has been given the name of the choir Polifonija and the status of the People's collective.
The culture of choir performance, repertoire and abundance of concerts led Polifonija towards new creative achievements. In 1986, the choir outgrew its teenage amateur shirt and became a professional team – Lithuanian State Philharmonic Chamber Mixed Choir of Šiauliai.
In 1998, the choir separated from the Lithuanian National Philharmonics and became a mature Šiauliai State Chamber Choir Polifonija. Since then, the choir's status has not changed, only the repertoire, the repertoire of Renaissance and Baroque works, which have become the Polifonija’s tradition, is being replaced by the works of composers of various epochs and countries, with great attention to the spread of Lithuanian choral music in Lithuania and the world.
The Choir Polifonija regularly performs in various countries of the world conducted by excellent national and foreign conductors, such as Saulius Sondeckis, Juozas Domarkas, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Vytautas Miškinis, Vaclovas Augustinas, Modestas Pitrėnas, Robertas Šervenikas, Ravil Martynov (Russia), Vladimir Begletsov (Russia), Karmina Šilec (Slovenia), Georg Mais (Germany), Mats Nilsson Sindenius (Sweden), Magnus Wassenius (Sweden), Ingo Ernst Reihl (Germany), Anthony Trecek-King (USA), Richard Bjella (USA), Dante Anzolini (Italy), Ferdinando Sulla (Italy), Gary Graden (Sweden), Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny (Poland), and others. The biography of concert tours includes Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Estonia.
The choir has performed with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, St. Christopher’s Orchestra, Klaipėda State Musical Theatre Orchestra, Lithuanian National and Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Hamburger Camerata, Lviv (Ukraine) Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg (Russia) Symphony Orchestra and other string and wind orchestras from different countries.
Every year the choir participates in various music festivals in Lithuania and abroad, thus spreading the charm of Lithuanian choral music.
VILNIUS CITY MUNICIPALITY ST. CHRISTOPHER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Modestas Barkauskas
Honorary Conductor Donatas Katkus
The Vilnius City Municipality St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra is a collective widely known for its universality, professionalism, and artistic imagination. The orchestra is an eagerly awaited guest not just in prestigious concert halls in Lithuania and abroad, such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Harpa in Reikjavik, the Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, or the Royal Palace in Warsaw, St Petersburg’s M. Glinka Hall, or Moscow’s P. Tchaikovsky’s Conservatory, but also in less predictable places like outdoor stages or even sand quarries…
The orchestra was formed in 1994 by the initiative of Prof. Donatas Katkus, its artistic director and conductor, who at first envisaged creating a baroque orchestra. At the time there were few ensembles in Lithuania who were dedicated to performing music of this era, and the director was guided by the principles of the Russian romantic school for its interpretation. Talented, young Vilnius musicians from various orchestras in Vilnius gathered at the first rehearsals of this new collective and held their first concerts in February of that same year. In 1995 they took the name of St. Christopher – the patron saint of Vilnius and travellers; Mons. Kazimieras Vasiliauskas blessed the orchestra at the Vilnius Archcathedral. That same year, D. Katkus started the Christopher Summer Festival, in which the orchestra’s programmes featured prominently. At first playing music by Italians A. Corelli, A. Vivaldi, T. Albinoni and other baroque composers, the orchestra soon took to interpreting the music of contemporary Lithuanian composers. In 1995 the orchestra prepared the mammoth cycle by B. Kutavičius “Gates of Jerusalem”, and the following year during its first tour to Poland, at the festival Wratislavia Cantans, alongside Vivaldi’s “Gloria” they performed not only Kutavičius’ cycle, but also premiered “Requiem in memoriam Stasys Lozoraitis” by O. Balakauskas. K. Pendereckis who attended the concert made an excellent appraisal of not just Lithuanian music, but was left immensely impressed by the young orchestra’s masterfullness as well. The collective also received words of praise from the American conductor D. Russell Davis, who conducted the orchestra during its first year at a concert in Vilnius. It wasn’t long before the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra received an invitation to record three CDs for America’s Fleur de Son. There, under the baton of the Israeli and American conductor Arie Lipsky the orchestra recorded all of F. Schubert’s overtures, compositions by the contemporary composer R. Sierra, and M. Bruch’s concertos, played by Canadian violinist Jacques Israelievitch (in this particular recording we can also hear the last viola solo to have been played by the orchestra’s director, D. Katkus).
Many have noted that the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra stands out from other collectives in Lithuania for its special stylistic universality. Having earned the reputation of a “baroque orchestra” and the reviver of rare partitures, musicologists have termed the orchestra “an excellent base for all of Lithuania’s composers’ conceptions”. Today its repertoire boasts over thirty opuses by Lithuanian authors: from early music to works by students from the Lithuanian Academy of Music. The orchestra has performed almost all of the string pieces F. Bajoras, B. Kutavičius and O. Balakauskas. It gives no less attention to the music of contemporary foreign composers, playing works by P. Vasks, E.-S. Tüür, J. McCabe, Shin, A. Ruoff, R. Sierra and other composers.
From its very inception, the intensive work schedule of the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra has led to its wide recognition as much in Lithuania as abroad. The collective has successfully represented Lithuania at international events, such as the festivals Strefa Ciszy, Ogrody Muzyczne, Probaltica and Wratislavia Cantans (Poland), Tubin (Finland), Pärnu (Estonia), Europäisches Musikfest Münsterland, Kaskados, Mystik und Maschine, Berlin Jazz, Hermann Hesse (Germany), Berlioz (France), Reykholt (Iceland), and elsewhere.
The orchestra regularly collaborates with well-known Lithuanian and foreign collectives and soloists. Among the latter we can mention the singers Kerstin Avemo (soprano), Charles Castronovo (tenor), Violeta Urmana (soprano), Alfredo Nigro (tenor), Virgilijus Noreika (tenor), the violinists Maksim Vengerov, Alexander Rybak, Anton Barakhovsky, Jacques Israelievitch, Moti Shmidt, the pianists Maria João Pires, Leonid Chizhik, Konstantin Lifschitz, Tamami Honma, Petras Geniušas, Julian Joseph, the cellists David Geringas, Dominique de Williencourt, Marko Ylönen and Maria Kliegel, as well as Camilla Hoitenga (flute), Petras Vyšniauskas (saxophone), Linda Maxey (marimba), Martynas Levickis (accordion), plus many others.
MODESTAS BARKAUSKAS (Conductor / Lithuania)
Modestas Barkauskas – Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra. In 1997-2001 he studied choral conducting at Šiauliai Music Conservatory. In 2001-2005 he successfully continued his BA studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (with Professor J. Aleksa and associate professor D. Puišys). In 2006-2007 he gained his MA degree in choral conducting. In 2006-2013 he studied orchestral conducting with Professor Juozas Domarkas and gained his MA in orchestral conducting.
In 2009, the conductor had his debut in Klaipėda State Musical Theatre. He conducts there G. Verdi Traviata, G. Rossini The Barber of Seville, J. Strauss operetta The Bat, ballet Straussiana and etc. In 2012 M. Barkauskas had his debut at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. He conducts such ballets as Tristan and Iseult (music by R. Wagner), S. Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, P. Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker, G. Donizetti opera The Elixir of Love. He is also artistic director and conductor of new spectacles – ballets Carmen (to the music of G. Bizet) and Bolero +.
As a conductor of symphony orchestra, he has prepared concerts with Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Klaipėda State Musical Theatre Orchestra, Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre Orchestra and other orchestras. In the upcoming season, M. Barkauskas is invited to conduct the orchestras in Slovakia, Germany, France, Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
From 2008 M. Barkauskas is the Artistic Director and Conductor of Vilnius Balys Dvarionas 10 Year Music School Youth Symphony Orchestra. From 2013, he teaches at Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy in Conducting, Singing and Choral Conducting Departments.
In 2016 Modestas Barkauskas was acknowledged as the best young artist and awarded with a Golden Stage Cross, the most prestigious Lithuanian theatre award. In 2017 November in Katowice (Poland) Modestas Barkauskas won the 3rd Prize, bronze baton and the prize of 15 000 € in a prestigious the X Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors.
ROGER ARVE VIGULF (Clarinet / Norway)
Born and raised in Spjelkavik. Started with clarinet in September 1973 at Aalesund Music School with Arne Saether. Finalist aged 10 in the “Play self-competition”, in the University’s Aula in Oslo (700 listeners), audition and admission the following year (aged 11) in the Norwegian National Youth Band, youngest member. Moved to Noetteroey in 1980. Music major at Toensberg High School, studies (Bachelor) at Eastern Conservatory of Music in Oslo, further studies in Copenhagen with Lee Morgan (Principal clarinet at Det Kongelige Kapel). Professional freelance musician from June 1988. Active internationally with engagements in the USA, Lithuania, Ireland, England, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Soloist with Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Calstate Jazz Orchestra, Los Angeles, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, Sandvika Big Band, Vestfold Sinfonietta, Vilnius State String Quartet, Chordos Quartet, Disobedient Festival Orchestra, Cicada Quartet, Ametri String Quartet and the Hansa Quartet. Vigulf has also cooperated with musicians like Einar Henning Smebye, Geir Henning Braaten, Haakon Austboe, Arvid Engegaard, Harald Aadland, Ole Boehn and Mia Cooper. Orchestra musician in the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Mobile A/S, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Opera in Kristiansund, etc. Part-time position as a clarinet teacher in the period 1990–2001 at various music schools.
Established as composer since 1995, large production (174 works), many commissioned works. His compositions are published by the National Library and Norsk Musikkforlag in Oslo. Several CD releases, also with his own works. Wide musical interest; contemporary music, classical, Klezmer and Balkan folk music, free jazz, etc. A number of scholarships and awards: Vestfold County’s Artist Scholarship (2006), Recognition Scholarship from the Norwegian Composers’ Association (2014) and several awards from the Norwegian Composers’ Fund, Composers’ Remuneration Fund, Norwaco, Fund for Sound and Image, Fund for Performing Artists, Music of Norway (stikk.no). Member of the jury in the Norwegian Grammy Awards (2008–2009). Contributed over many years to Norwegian-Lithuanian cultural cooperation, guest at a Gala dinner at the Royal Palace (April 2011) on the occasion of a state visit from the President of Lithuania.
Engaged in culture, active in Norwegian musical life and cultural policy. Created new opportunities for other artists. Established several ensembles: Oslo Wind Quintet (1988), Ensemble Trittico (1995), Terra Di Siena (2003), Vestfold Sinfonietta (2006), Lithuania Winds (2013), Ensemble KammerKlang (2019), TRIO R3 (2020), Giuffre Memorial TRIO (2022).
ANDRIUS RADZIUKYNAS (Flute / Lithuania)
Andrius Radziukynas studied at Kaunas Juozas Naujalis Music Gymnasium from 1973 to 1984. In 1983 he became a laureate of the Lithuanian Young Performers Competition in Klaipėda. From 1984 to 1991 he studied at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (with Prof. Algirdas Vizgirda and Prof. Julius Andrejevas).
In 1991 he took part in the International Flute Seminar in Munich (apprenticeship with Professors Schultz and Schohow).
Member of the ensemble “Disobedient” (2005–2015), participant of the international festival of chamber music and ecology “Land of the Disobedient”. Since 2007, he has been regularly invited to play at the events of the Writers’ Union and Poetry Spring with the most famous Lithuanian poets. In 2010 he recorded a CD “Flucla Fantazzy” with Norwegian clarinettist Roger A. Vigulf. In 2018, he founded the chamber ensemble AR’s Musica, with which he performs light, harmonious Baroque music. With chamber ensembles he has performed at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, Vilnius Congress Hall, Kaunas State Philharmonic, Klaipėda Concert Hall, Pažaislis, Tytuvėnai, Plungė Mykolas Oginskis, Resurrexit, Gaida Music Festivals, in Raudondvaris, Paliesius Manor, etc.
AR’S MUSICA CHAMBER ENSEMBLE (Lithuania)
Artistic Director Andrius Radziukynas
The AR's Musica chamber ensemble was established in 2018, led by flutist Andrius Radziukynas. It features musicians from renowned groups like the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, and the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra. The ensemble plays a wide range of music, from baroque to modern pieces, focusing on spreading joyful and harmonious compositions.
AR’s Musica often varies its musician lineup for performances. At the Resurrexit festival in Šiauliai, they will present a string quartet with two soloists: Andrius Radziukynas on flute and Roger Arve Vigulf from Norway on clarinet.
Andrius Radziukynas and Roger Arve Vigulf, a clarinettist and composer, share a long friendship. They first met at the Land of the Disobedient festival in Neringa, where they performed together perennially for a decade. In 2010, they released a unique flute and clarinet duo CD, showcasing their mutual understanding and complementary musical styles.
INGAJA (Vocals, Guitar, Electronics / Lithuania)
Ingaja is a unique performer and songwriter from Klaipeda. Her work is distinguished by a completely non-Lithuanian style and character of songs. She represents the diversity of Lithuanian creativity, while incorporating a sound typical of the western world. The music is intertwined with vocals, guitars, electronics touches and ambient colours.
Ingaja looks for inspiration in nature, and discovers nature within herself, seeking to connect with the listener’s inner world here and now. She is inspired by artists such as Ben Howard, Fink and Tash Sultana.
The artist invites the audience to immerse themselves in the music, losing the perception of time and environment, the senses of body and mind. It is like steps through a map of inner experiences, and the music helps to observe the events of one‘s own life more slowly, as if from the outside, invites to go in search of oneself, to hear the sound of the waves, to feel nature‘s breath.
KLAIPĖDA CELLO QUARTET (Lithuania)
Mindaugas Bačkus
Kornelija Kupšytė
Karolis Vaičiulis
Jurgis Karbauskas
The Klaipėda Cello Quartet was formed in 2017, in the context of the first Klaipėda International Cello Festival. While developing new, unexpected and innovative ideas for the festival’s programmes, the dance and music performance “Seasons” was born, which became the first project that had a significant impact on the ensemble’s activities, which continue to this day. The musicians of the quartet are passionate and talented promoters of different styles and genres of music. They are all united by their participation in the cello section of the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra. Their extensive repertoire includes classical, contemporary, rock and experimental music.
This time the ensemble returns together with the unique performer Ingaja from Klaipėda. This is a brand-new concert project, combining the sound of four cellos with vocals of exceptional timbre, adding a touch of guitar and electronics.
The programme, which will be performed by the Klaipėda Cello Quartet together with Ingaja, is made up of the singe’'s original songs, specially arranged for this project, with impressive instrumental interludes by the cello quartet.
MELOS NEW VOCAL MUSIC COLLECTIVE (Lithuania)
Artistic Director Juta Pranulytė
Music Director Karolina Ramonė
Gabrielė Bilevičiūtė
Karolina Macytė
Justina Leinartaitė
Karolina Ramonė
Ūla Marija Barbora Zemeckytė
Augustė Andrijauskaitė
Neringa Kaminskaitė
Ona Aleksiūnaitė
Melos is a new vocal music collective, performing artistic programmes in various configurations – from solo singing to choral sound. The group collaborates with artists from various fields and regularly initiates creative projects. The performers have worked with choreographer Giedrė Jankauskienė, theatre director Saulė Degutytė, saxophonists-improvisers Katarsis4, sound artists Artūras Bumšteinas and Gytis Bertulis, Jacob Kirkegaard, Klaus Lang, Nathan Jaes Dearden, Monika Szpyrka, Rita Mačiliūnaitė, Dominykas Digimas and many others. They have performed with the CELLO CLUB ensemble, Anton Lukoszevieze. The ensemble has released four albums featuring works by Lithuanian composers, mostly commissioned by the ensemble.
AIDIJA CHAMBER CHOIR (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Conductor Romualdas Gražinis
Aidija Chamber Choir was founded in 1989 in Vilnius at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art at the initiative of Romualdas Gražinis. Known for their distinctive sound and performance style, this youthful collective regularly presents new programs featuring works by Lithuanian and foreign composers. Aidija gives over 30 concerts annually, performing a repertoire that spans from Gregorian chant to 21st century compositions, including choral miniatures of various styles, large-scale vocal works, vocal-instrumental compositions, and a cappella pieces.
Aidija has performed in numerous major festivals in Lithuania, including the Vilnius Festival, the Thomas Mann Festival, the Pažaislis Festival, the Banchetto Musicale early music festival, and the Gaida and Jauna Muzika contemporary music festivals. The choir has also traveled extensively, with performances in most European countries, as well as China, Sakartvelo, and Israel. Additionally, Aidija has appeared at many prominent music festivals and cultural events worldwide, such as the Pax et bonum per musicam festival in Wroclaw (2011, 2016), the Contemporary Music Festival Music Forum Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic (2012), the International Music Gardens Festival in Warsaw (2013), the 6th Tbilisi International Choral Music Festival (2016), the Moravian Autumn festival in Brno (2017), the Lithuanian Story Culture Festival in Tel Aviv (2019), the Stiftsmusikfest International Festival in Stuttgart (2019), Without Distance: Lithuanian Culture in Bavaria (2021), and a presentation of Lithuanian choral music at the Brønshøj Water Tower in Copenhagen (2021).
Aidija has participated in international choir competitions in Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Latvia, performed with Oscar-winner E. Morricone, as well as at the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania’s independence in the European Parliament in Brussels, during the visit of Pope Francis to the Museum of Occupation and Freedom Struggles in Vilnius, etc. It has made recordings for Lithuanian radio and television, recorded music for documentaries and feature films (A. Stonys, A. Juzėnas, etc.), plays (V. Masalskis, G. Varnas, etc.), about 20 CDs, a vinyl record.
The choir works closely with the Church Heritage Museum. In 2011–2018, about 20 concerts were held here, most of them educational-musical programmes, including lectures on the noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and concerts presenting church music. Since 2014, the lecture-concert project Musica sacra: Masterpieces of 14th-21st century church music has been running, introducing Gregorian chant and early polyphony, Renaissance and Baroque composers, Classical and Romantic composers, as well as contemporary sacred music by Lithuanian and foreign composers.
ROMUALDAS GRAŽINIS (Conductor / Lithuania)
Romualdas Gražinis, the Artistic Director of Aidija Chamber Choir, received his education in choral conducting at M. K. Čiurlionis Secondary School of Art in Vilnius and the Lithuanian State Conservatoire. He continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, where he focused on Gregorian chant, and at the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatoire under the tutelage of Prof. P. Calmelet. In 1994, Gražinis attended a conducting masterclass at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, led by P. Phillips, a renowned British expert in early choral music.
Starting in 1982, Gražinis became a member of the Vilnius New Music Ensemble. During his military service from 1985 to 1987, he founded a wind instrument orchestra and early music ensemble. From 1989 to 1995, he sang with Cantores Chorales Capellae St. Casimiri at the Vilnius Cathedral. In the periods of 1993 to 1998 and 2005 to 2006, Gražinis worked as a vocal instructor at Vilnius St. Joseph’s Seminary. From 2006 to 2016, he was a member and the first cantor of Schola Cantorum Vilnensis.
Gražinis has been teaching choral conducting at the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art School since 1983 and has served as the choirmaster of the school’s senior students Mixed Choir since 1994. Gražinis is a regular conductor at the Lithuanian Song Festivals, and his former students have gone on to become successful conductors around the world.
JONAS VILIMAS (Lector / Lithuania)
Dr. Jonas Vilimas is a co-founder and the director of the Vilnius University Gregorian choral ensemble Schola Gregoriana Vilnensis, musicologist, a doctor of humanities and lecturer at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
J. Vilimas studied at the J. Tallat-Kelpša’s Higher School in Vilnius and obtained a diploma in music history and theory teaching. He studied at the Lithuanian Academy of Music from 1985 to 1992. After defending his diploma thesis “The Oldest Manuscripts of Gregorian Chant in Vilnius Libraries” (supervised by Professor Jonas Bruveris), J. Vilimas received the diploma of a musicologist, teacher and editor with distinction. He continued his studies under Professor Laszlo Dobszay at the Central European University in Budapest from 1995 to 1996. He defended his doctoral thesis “Characteristics of the Gregorian Chant Tradition in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Discoveries from the 15th–18th Centuries and an Attempt at Reconstruction” in 2012. Since 1992, J. Vilimas has been a lecturer at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, where he teaches the history of music, a course on the history of church music and Gregorian chant.
PIOTR ROJEK (Organ / Poland)
Piotr Rojek graduated from the Instrumental Faculty of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, having studied the organ under Prof. Andrzej Chorosiński, and from the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, Theory of Music and Music Therapy of the same Academy, having studied composition under Prof. Zygmunt Herembeszta and Prof. Krystian Kiełb.
He has participated in a number of master interpretation and improvisation courses conducted by such eminent personalities of the world of organ music as: Julian Gembalski, Bernhard Haas, Hans Haselböck, Ferdinand Klinda, Ton Koopman, Jon Laukvik, Armin Schoof, Wolfgang Seifen, Józef Serafin or Harald Vogel.
Dr. hab. Piotr Rojek works as a professor at his alma mater. He is the Dean of the Instrumental Faculty and the Head of the Chair of the Organ, Harpsichord and Old Music. He also teaches the organ at the Ryszard Bukowski 2nd Level State School of Music in Wrocław, as well as at the Karol Szymanowski General Education 1st and 2nd Level Schools of Music in Wrocław.
The artist regularly gives concerts, both at home and abroad, including in: the Czech Republic, Finland (e.g. the Åland Islands), Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Israel, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the USA, the UK, Italy and Hungary. He conducts master courses in Poland and in other countries. He has recorded over a dozen CDs. His CD from 2005, containing nine toccatas by outstanding composers from the period spanning the Baroque and the 20th century, performed on the historical organ at Wołów made by Adam Horatio Casparini, was nominated to the prestigious Polish Phonographic Academy FRYDERYK award. Piotr Rojek was a scholarship holder of the Polish Minister of Culture and Art and Internationale Altenberger Orgelakademie in Germany, as well a prize winner in various organ and composition competitions.
The artist has received a number of prizes and distinctions, including: Award of the Rector of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, Award of the Director of the Art Education Centre in Warsaw, Bronze Cross of Merit, Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture, Medal of the Commission of National Education, Award of the Minister of Culture of the Ukraine, Order Star of the Canon Chapter − in appreciation of his merits related to the reconstruction of the Baroque organ by Michael Engler in St. Elisabeth’s Basilica in Wrocław − and Medal of the President of the City of Wrocław Merito de Wratislavia – Wrocław’s person of merit for special merits for the city of Wrocław.
BARCELONA FLAMENCO BALLET (Spain)
Director David Gutiérrez
David Gutiérrez (Dancer)
Judith Martín González (Dancer)
Joel de Pepa (Voice)
Jordi Centeno (Guitar)
The company The Barcelona Flamenco Ballet, founded in 2018, has established itself as one of the world's leading companies, highlighted by its youth and its successes on the main billboards in Spain and the world, it encourages the inclusion of future dance and music promises flamenco with artists of Catalan origin.
David Gutièrrez: Director and founder of the Barcelona Flamenco Ballet, he has directed and created shows such as “Tiempo Nuevo”, “Trapped in Time”, “Flamenco Reborn” and “Luxurîa”.
Awarded with national and international prizes, he is recognized as one of the current references in flamenco for his own stamp, avant-garde and pioneer in elaborate proposals of risk.
VILNIUS ARCHCATEDRAL BASILICA YOUTH CHOIR (Lithuania)
Director and Conductor Violeta Savickaitė-Paciūnienė
Since its foundation in the spring of 1989, the choir has sung at Sunday Masses at the Vilnius Arcathedral Basilica, at religious festivals, during national days and public holidays, has given concerts in various churches in Lithuania, and has participated in song and choir festivals. Among the most important events between 2018 and 2023, where the Vilnius Arcathedral Basilica Youth Choir sang, are the following: Holy Mass during the visit of Pope Francis to Lithuania (2018), Holy Mass for the inauguration of President Gitanas Nausėda (2019), the reburial of the remains of Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas (2018), the reburial of the remains of the leaders and participants of the January Uprising (2019), the North Lithuanian Choir Festival in Pasvalys (2021), the Christmas Carol Evening at the Presidential Palace (2021), the Lithuanian Adult Choir Competition (2023), etc. Every year, the choir sings at the parish festival of the Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn and, as a gift to the community, performs the New Year’s Eve concert “Ringing Out the Old Year” for free at the Vilnius Cathedral.
From Gregorian chant to contemporary music, from liturgical to secular compositions, the range of music performed by the choir is very wide and varied.
Rimvydas Mitkus has been the choir’s organist since 2019. The collective has been led by Violeta Savickaitė-Paciūnienė since its foundation.
KLAIPĖDA UNIVERSITY MIXED CHOIR PAJŪRIO AIDOS (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Conductor Algirdas Šumskis
The Klaipėda University mixed choir Pajūrio Aidos is a young collective with a large number of music enthusiasts. The choir’s founder and director is Associate Professor Algirdas Šumskis. Founded in 2007, the choir has already brought joy to many Lithuanian cities such as Nida, Kretinga, Šiauliai, Pagėgiai, Kaunas and Vilnius. It participates in the Gaudeamus international Baltic festival in Latvia and Estonia, as well as in Lithuanian national and regional song festivals.
In 2012, the choir gave concerts in Granada (Spain) with a solo programme and performed Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with Granada’s string orchestra and soloists. In 2019, it participated in the international choir competition Krakow Choir Festival CRACOVIA CANTANS 2019 and gave solo concerts. In 2022, the choir came second in the International Choir Competition in Provence (France) and gave solo concerts.
The choir actively takes part in various projects and concerts, as well as national and regional song festivals.
The Klaipėda University mixed choir’s repertoire covers a wide range of genres, consisting of compositions by Lithuanian and foreign composers from various periods.
The choir’s concertmaster is Justė Šilaitė.
VILNIUS UNIVERSITY WOMEN CHOIR VIRGO (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Conductor Rasa Gelgotienė
The Vilnius University women choir Virgo consists of about 40 female students and alumni from different faculties of the Vilnius University, making it a constantly changing and always young collective. The choir upholds the traditions of choral culture at its university, introduces students and audiences to music from various periods and of different styles, and promotes a broader understanding of artistic culture by implementing various musical projects and participating in festivals and competitions in Lithuania and abroad.
The Vilnius University women choir Virgo is one of the most famous female choirs in Lithuania, having begun its activities in 1980. Rasa Gelgotienė has been the artistic director and conductor of the choir since 1981. The group received the diploma of the best Lithuanian female choir as early as 1985. The choir is a multi-time winner of the prestigious International Stasys Šimkus Choir Competition. It is a recipient of Aukso Paukštė – the highest Lithuanian amateur art award – in the category of Star of the International Brilliance. In 2013, the women choir was recognised as the best female choir in Lithuania. The choir was the runner-up at the Juventus international competition of academic choirs in 2019. It won first place in the Lithuanian Adult Choir Competition in 2023.
The Virgo choir is also a winner of several prizes abroad, including competitions in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Cantonigròs (Spain) and Middlesbrough (England). In total, the group has been awarded prizes in more than 20 international competitions. Among the most recent ones are the Best Choir award for the choir and the Best Conductor award for the choir’s artistic director Rasa Gelgotienė at the 2016 Student Choir Forum Paparac Kvetka in Minsk (Belarus). The Virgo choir won first place at the Cantu Gaudeamus International Choir Competition (Poland) in 2016.
The choir regularly gives concerts both inside and outside Lithuania. The group has performed its programme in more than 20 countries. It has given concerts in the USA and Canada as well as performed in Cuba, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The female music collective actively participates in various cultural projects, including “Lietuvos balsai. Chorų Eurovizija” (“Voices of Lithuania. Eurovision for Choirs”) and “Chorų karai” (“Choir Wars”). The Virgo choir has been carrying out the “Klasika visiems” (“Classical Music for All”) project since 2012, together with other choirs from the Vilnius University. Virgo takes part in the Lithuanian song festivals and the Gaudeamus Baltic student song and dance festival.
The choirmasters: Indrė Pinkevičė, Raminta Gocentienė and Asta Balnionytė-Grajevskė.
DANGĖ WOMEN CHOIR OF THE ŽVEJŲ RŪMAI CULTURE CENTRE OF KLAIPĖDA (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Conductor Judita Kiaulakytė
The Dangė women choir of the Žvejų Rūmai culture centre of Klaipėda was founded in 2013. The collective is made up of women from Klaipėda who enjoy socialising, travelling and participating in various cultural events in their spare time.
The Dangė women choir is a winner of international choir competitions in Szczecin (Poland), Prague (Czech Republic), Barcelona (Spain), Zadar (Croatia), Istanbul (Turkey), Klaipėda (Lithuania) and Odessa (Ukraine). It has performed in churches in Graz and Vienna (Austria), Paris (France) and Budapest (Hungary) together with other Lithuanian choirs.
The choir won Aukso Paukštė, the highest Lithuanian amateur art award, in the category of Best Adult Choir and Director in 2017 and was awarded the first degree diploma in the first round of the Lithuanian Adult Choir Competition in 2023.
The choirmaster is Rasa Lukšienė.
VILNIUS UNIVERSITY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Conductor Modestas Jankūnas
Always young and full of élan, the Vilnius University Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1979. Originally a quartet, the present orchestra’s four core members were inspired by the idea of bringing the harmonies of chamber music into the rich cultural life of the Vilnius Alma Mater and building musical bridges between the university and music-loving audiences throughout the country and Europe.
Over the past four decades, the orchestra has remained true to its mission and has not only become an important part of Lithuania’s musical life, performing in packed concert halls in the country’s largest cities as well as in small remote villages, but has also broadened its artistic horizons by travelling the world, from Mexico to China, expanding its map of visited countries beyond its expectations. The chamber orchestra also gives concerts in Europe’s most acoustically beautiful cathedrals and churches, with the recent tour including The Hague, Geneva, Paris, Riga, Venice, Rome, Shanghai and Brussels.
CHOIR OF THE KLAIPĖDA STATE MUSICAL THEATRE (Lituania)
Chief Choirmaster and Conductor Vladimiras Konstantinovas
The Choir of the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre was founded on 1 January 1987, when the minister of culture at the time signed an order with which the People’s Opera of Klaipėda was restructured into the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre. Before then, the choir had been the collective of the People’s Opera of Klaipėda, headed by Professor Kazimieras Kšanas.
Today the Choir of the Musical Theatre not only takes part in the theatre’s stage productions, but also performs concert programmes of its own along with the theatre’s symphony orchestra. The choir’s repertoire includes pieces that demand great professional mastery: Antonio Caldara’s Dies irae, Arthur Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake, Gioacchino Rossini’s Messa di Ravenna, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Gabriel Fauré’s, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s and Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem, Karl Jenkins’ Stabat Mater, Charles Gounod’s St. Cecilia’s Mass and others.
The different faces of the choir’s repertoire emphasise the ensemble’s universality: the repertoire of the collective as a dramatic choir includes operas, operettas, musicals and even dance drama, and the choir has an important role in shaping dramatic narrative. The choir participates in the staging of productions from different epochs and genres: operas and operettas such as Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, Emmerich Kálmán’s Mr. X, Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld; Ruggero Leoncavalli’s Pagliacci, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Juan, Gaetano Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment, Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman; musicals such as Jerry Bock’s The Fiddler on the Roof, Dan Goggin’s Nunsense, Frank Wildhorn’s Bonnie and Clyde, John Kander’s Chicago and many others.
A special place in the repertoire of the Musical Theatre and its choir is held by the works of Lithuanian composers. The theatre’s choir plays especially substantial roles in the performance of Vyacheslav Ganelin’s musical The Devil’s Bride, Giedrius Kuprevičius’ opera The Prussians, Eduardas Balsys’ Journey to Tilsit and Bronius Kutavičius’ Bear.
From the very foundation of the theatre in 1987, the choir has been headed by chief choirmaster, conductor and composer Vladimiras Konstantinovas.
SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA OF THE KLAIPĖDA STATE MUSICAL THEATRE (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Tomas Ambrozaitis
The Symphonic Orchestra of the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre is the largest professional orchestra not just in Klaipėda, but in the entire region of Western Lithuania. During the concert season, the orchestra participates in the theatre’s stage productions and premières, and when the season comes to a close, it lifts the spirits of those living in Klaipėda and its surrounding towns with magnificent concert programmes at summer festivals.
Now nearly 60 members strong, the KSMT orchestra grew out of the Orchestra of the People’s Theatre of Klaipėda, established in 1956, which was initially composed of just 13 musicians – the teachers and students of the Klaipėda Music School (now the Klaipėda Stasys Šimkus Conservatory) as well as several amateur musicians. For three decades, the theatre operated as an amateur collective – all performers rehearsed and performed in plays without payment under a long line of conductors including Aleksejus Pozdnejevas, Aleksandras Buzys, Augustinas Kepenis, Robertas Varnas, Algis Jonas Lukoševičius, Vladimiras Konstantinovas and Kazys Kšanas, who served the longest term (1966–1986).
In 1987, when the People’s Opera of Klaipėda had reached professional status, the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre was founded. Many Lithuanian and international guest conductors worked with the KSMT orchestra on stage productions and concerts, including Gintaras Rinkevičius (A. Žigaitytė’s opera Mažvydas, 1988), Dante Anzolini (G. Verdi’s Traviata, 1994), Jonas Aleksa (K. Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, 2001), Saulius Sondeckis, Juozas Domarkas, Modestas Pitrėnas, Martynas Staškus, Robertas Šervenikas, Vytautas Lukočius, Davidas Geringas, Modestas Barkauskas, Andris Veismanis, Normunds Vaicis, Imantas Resnis (Latvia), Martin Lutz (Germany), Josef Wallnig (Austria), Salvatore Cicero (Switzerland), Erki Pehk (Estonia), Stefan Soltész (Austria) and many others.
In 1993, when Stasys Domarkas became the principal conductor of the KSMT (serving as the head of the theatre up until 2004), the theatre’s repertoire grew to include oratorios, cantatas, other large-scale concert pieces for soloists, choirs and orchestras alongside the familiar operettas, musicals and operas. When preparing symphony music programmes and more large-scale pieces, guest musicians were often invited to reinforce the ranks of the theatre’s in-house orchestra. This expanded version of the KSMT orchestra grew into the Symphony Orchestra of Lithuania Minor, founded by Stasys Domarkas in 1993. It often performed in the opera and symphony music festival A Musical August by the Sea, initiated by Domarkas himself (hosted from 1998 to 2020). In 2019, in celebration of the conductor’s 80th birthday, Stasys Domarkas was awarded the title of Honorary Conductor by the theatre. In later years, the theatre’s orchestra was headed by Ilmaras H. Lapinis, Dainius Pavilionis (2010–2015) and Vladimir Ponkin (2016). Since 2017, Tomas Ambrozaitis has been serving as the theatre’s chief conductor. Over the past several years, the orchestra has been substantially rejuvenated and strengthened professionally.
The repertoire of the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre Orchestra includes the most prominent classical masterpieces and the contemporary music of Lithuanian and international composers. The symphony orchestra of the KSMT has on more than one occasion inspired new ideas for composers from Klaipėda. The orchestra was the first to perform Alvidas Remesa’s Symphony No. 4 Ecce Homo (1999), dedicated to the 2,000th anniversary of Christianity (recorded and published as an album), The Legend of Memelburg (2022), dedicated to the 770th anniversary of Klaipėda’s foundation, as well as three other symphonies by the composer and Vladimiras Konstantinovas’ large-scale pieces.
The orchestra has also worked with well-known solo musicians and ensembles from Lithuania and abroad, among them the violinists Ingrida Armonaitė, Ingrida Rupaitė, Vilhelmas Čepinskis, the mouth organ virtuoso Gianluca Littera (Italy), the flute player Lukasz Długosz (Poland), the vocalists Mikhail Svetlov (USA), Almas Švilpa, Nomeda Kazlauskaitė-Kazlaus, Oscar Marín (Spain), Violeta Urmana and Alfredo Nigro (Italy), the Kaunas State Choir, the Šiauliai State Chamber Choir Polifonija, the State Choir Vilnius and the Vilnius City Mixed Choir Jauna Muzika. The orchestra has gone on tour in Russia, Latvia, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
RITA PETRAUSKAITĖ (Soprano / Lithuania)
Rita Petrauskaitė began her musical journey at the Šiauliai music school for children, where she completed the cello and piano classes (1979–1985). She completed two semesters of choral conducting at the Šiauliai Higher School of Music (now the Šiauliai Conservatoire) (1985–1986). She studied solo singing (under V. Kuraitė) and acting mastery (under G. Žilys, S. Petkus and K. Žilinskas) at the Klaipėda Faculty of the Lithuanian Conservatoire (now the Klaipėda Faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre) in 1987–1991. The musician was trained under conductor Volker Christ (Germany) and pianist and Kapellmeister Theo Say (USA, Germany) at the Flensburg Musical Theatre (Germany) from 1994 to 1996. She was a finalist in the Vera Scammon Vocal Competition in the USA in 2002. R. Petrauskaitė has been working and perfecting her skills with Professor Barbro Marklund Petersone (Norway) since 2009.
Since 1991, she has been a singer at the Klaipėda State Music Theatre (a soloist since 2002) and collaborates with other Lithuanian music theatres. As a singer in music theatre productions and concerts, the soloist has worked with conductors Tomas Ambrozaitis (Lithuania), Johannes Wildner (Austria), Cyril Diederich (France), Pierre Vallet (France), Frederic Deloche (France), Ilmārs Harijs Lapiņš (Latvia), Normunds Vaicis (Latvia), Martin Lutz (Germany), Nikolai Makarevich (Belarus), Juozas Domarkas (Lithuania), Martynas Staškus (Lithuania), Robertas Šervenikas (Lithuania), Stasys Domarkas (Lithuania), Dainius Pavilionis (Lithuania) and Modestas Barkauskas (Lithuania). She recorded the CD “Baltic in Sound” with the conductor Ilmārs Harijs Lapiņš.
The soloist’s most important opera roles are the following: Indrė (E. Balsys’ The Excursion to Tilsit), Donna Anna (W. A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni), Ilia (W. A. Mozart’s Idomeneo), Adina (G. Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love), Gilda (G. Verdi’s Rigoletto), Violetta (G. Verdi’s The Fallen Woman), Rosina (G. Rossini’s The Barber of Seville), Frau Fluth (O. Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor), Susanna (W. A. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro), Esmeralda (Z. Liepiņš’s Notre-Dame de Paris), Serpina (G. B. Pergolesi’s The Maid Turned Mistress), Belinda (H. Purcello’s Dido and Aeneas), Yniold (C. Debussy’s Pelléas and Mélisande), Dream Maiden, Shouting Maiden (O. Narbutaitė’s Cornet), Marie (G. Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment), Rusalka (A. Dvořák’s Rusalka) and Ėtmė Simonait (the story opera Klaipėda).
Her most important operetta roles: Cunegonde (L. Bernstein’s Candide), Angèle Didier (F. Leháro’s The Count of Luxembourg), Violetta Cavallini (E. Kálmán’s The Violet of Montmartre), Adele (J. Strauss’ The Bat), Franziska Cagliari (J. Strauss’ Viennese Blood) and Eurydice (J. Offenbach’s Orpheus in Hell).
Her most important soprano parts in oratorios and other large-scale vocal-instrumental works: Virgin Mary, St. Marguerite (A. Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake), Angel, Boy (F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Elijah), soprano parts in J. S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, G. Fauré’s and W. A. Mozart’s Requiem, C. Orff’s cantana Carmina Burana. She sang the soprano parts in J. S. Bach’s Coffee Cantana and Peasant Cantata at the opening concert of the Bachosluženije international festival in the summer of 2017.
The soloist has been a long-time collaborator of the Klaipėda-based composer Alvidas Remesa. She sang the soprano parts in the world premiere of his “Jubilee Mass” for the 130th anniversary of Čiurlionis’ birth (2005), as well as in the world premiere of his Symphony No.7 “Assumptiones” (2016) (the composer wrote this part specially for her).
In 2008 she received the Klaipėda city award Padėkos Kaukė (in the category of Actress of the Year) for her role as Daisy in P. Abraham’s operetta Ball at the Savoy and other vivid roles in operas, operettas and productions for children. In later years, the singer received four more Padėkos Kaukė awards for her role as Cunegonde in L. Bernstein’s operetta Candide (2019), her role as Indrė in E. Balsys’ opera The Excursion to Tilsit and her role as Donna Anna in W. A. Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni (2020), her role as Marie in G. Donizetti’s opera The Daughter of the Regiment (2022) and her role as Rusalka in A. Dvořák’s opera Rusalka (2023).
She won two Pagauk Bangą awards (in the category of Opera Soloist of the Year) of the Klaipėda State Music Theatre for her role as Marie in G. Donizetti’s opera The Daughter of the Regiment (2021) and her role as Rusalka in A. Dvořák’s opera Rusalka (2022).
BEATA IGNATAVIČIŪTĖ (Soprano / Lithuania)
Beata Ignatavičiūtė (born 1990 in Šiauliai) completed the singing class of Valerija Balsytė at the Klaipėda Stasys Šimkus Conservatoire in 2009. She continued her vocal studies at the Faculty of Arts of the Klaipėda University, in the class of Professor Valentina Vadoklienė, and obtained a bachelor’s degree (2013) and a master’s degree (2015).
The singer is a multi-time winner of the Elzbieta Kardelienė Competition for Singers – won second place three times (2010, 2011 and 2012), received the Rector’s Prize, and won first place in 2013. She won the second (2012) and third (2015) prizes at the international Mykolas Kleopas Oginskis chamber music festival-competition Pearls of Mykolas Kleopas Oginskis’ Creative Work. The singer was the runner-up in the Music without Borders international competition in 2013. She is a three-time winner of the 21st Century Art and Education international competition and forum (2014, 2015 and 2016).
B. Ignatavičiūtė has been a soloist at the Klaipėda State Music Theatre since 2013. In the same year, she sang the role of Juliet in a dance piece based on Hector Berlioz’s dramatic symphony “Romeo and Juliet” (choreographer: Jurijus Smoriginas, 1999). She has also created several roles in operas, operettas and musicals in this theatre, among the most important being the following: Saffi (J. Strauss’ operetta The Gypsy Baron), Krista (Z. Liepiņš’s musical drama The Needle), Jurga (V. Ganelin’s musical Devil’s Bride), Elf (K. Lučinskas’ musical production for children The Village of Lazy Loafers), Queen of the Spaghetti (A. Kučinskas’ opera for children Pasta Opera), Countess Zedlau (J. Strauss’ operetta Viennese Blood), Princess Fedora (Kálmán’s operetta Mister X), Hodel (J. Bock’s musical Fiddler on the Roof), Serpina (G. B. Pergolesi’s opera The Maid Turned Mistress), Miss Krumholtz (F. Loesser’s musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), Sister Robert Anne (D. Goggin’s musical Nunsense), Blanche Barrow (F. Wildhorn’s musical Bonnie and Clyde), Velma Kelly (J. Kander’s musical Chicago), Nomeda (G. Kuprevičius’ opera The Prussians), Paquette (L. Bernstein’s operetta Candide), Žibutė (A. Kučinskas’ opera for children Star Opera), Donna Elvira (W. A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni), Eurydice (J. Offenbach’s Orpheus in Hell), the Foreign Princess (A. Dvořák’s opera Rusalka), Petisné’s lover (the story opera Klaipėda) and Adina (G. Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love). The singer participates in the Klaipėda State Music Theatre theatrical concert programmes “Spanish Zarzuela” and “Long Live, Coffee!”.
She was nominated for the Padėkos Kaukė award for her role as Krista in Z. Liepiņš’s musical drama The Needle in 2014. She was a nominee for the Pagauk Bangą award of the Klaipėda State Music Theatre (in the category of Soloist of the Year) in 2019. She won the Audience Sympathy award at the 2023 Klaipėda State Music Theatre Awards for her role as Velma Kelly in the revival of John Kander’s musical Chicago.
AURIMAS RAULINAVIČIUS (Tenor / Lithuania)
Aurimas Raulinavičius began his vocal studies at the Kaunas J. Gruodis Conservatoire in 1998. He continued his studies at the Kaunas Faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre from 2001. The singer studied at the Utrecht School for the Arts in The Netherlands in 2005. He graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre with a master’s degree in singing in 2007. He was trained at the Opera Studio of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre from 2007 to 2009.
The soloist has won the Z. Paulauskas Competition (second place), Stasys Baras Competition (first prize) and other singing competitions.
He has given concerts in The Netherlands, Poland, Israel, Slovenia and Russia.
A. Raulinavičius has been a soloist at the Klaipėda State Music Theatre since 2013.
He has created a number of roles in operas, operettas and musicals. Among them are Alfred (J. Strauss’ The Bat), Count Zedlau (J. Strauss’ Viennese Blood), Rinuccio (G. Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi), Don José (G. Bizet’s Carmen), Nemorino (G. Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love), Alfredo (G. Verdi’s The Fallen Woman), Count Vaudémont (P. Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta), Roberto Vermičeloni (A. Kučinskas’ Pasta Opera), J. Pierrepont Finch (F. Loesser’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), Charles Tansley (R. Mačiliūnaitė’s To the Lighthouse), Harlequin (R. Leoncavallo’s Clowns), Ragūnas (G. Kuprevičius’ The Prussians), Candide (L. Bernstein’s Candide), Mouse I (A. Kučinskas’ Star Opera), Don Ottavio (W. A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni) and Raftsman (E. Balsys’ The Excursion to Tilsit).
He participated in theatrical concert programmes “Spanish Zarzuela”, “Strauss’ Melodies”, “Italian Songs”, “A Feast of Operetta” and “Love Changes All”.
MIHÁLY ZEKE (Conductor / Germany)
Mihály Zeke was born in London to a family of musicians and spent his childhood in Budapest and Athens. Following a life-changing encounter with the legendary Helmuth Rilling he enrolled at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule to study organ, piano and conducting, while also gathering precious experience as an accompanist for the Gächinger Kantorei and for Frieder Bernius’ Kammerchor Stuttgart. He was subsequently admitted to the German Music Council’s prestigious Dirigentenforum programme of excellence. Several masterclasses with conductors such as Stefan Parkman, Peter Dijkstra or Jörg-Peter Weigle completed his training. His studies were supported by Kyveli-Horn foundation.
In 2012 he became chorus master at the Opéra de Dijon and had the chance to assist important conductors (Gergely Madaras, Gérard Korsten, Emilio Pomarico, Roberto Rizzi Brignoli etc.) with orchestras such as the SWR Baden-Baden or the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. During these years he also won Lied competitions in Berlin and in Slovenia. In 2014 he was guest chorus master at the English National Opera. The same year his youth choir Candide won 1st prize at the Neuchâtel Choral Festival. From 2015 to 2019 Mihály Zeke conducted the chamber choir Arsys Bourgogne, based in Vézelay. Their last recording Naissance de Vénus was widely acclaimed, receiving the Classica review’s “CHOC” and the highest rating from Diapason. Continuing the work started with Arsys, he founded Cythera in 2019.
He collaborates regularly with orchestras such as La Fenice, Pulcinella and the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne as well as with Accentus and the Hungarian and Hellenic Radio Choirs.
He currently teaches in Tübingen and in Stuttgart, where he also conducts the University Symphony Orchestra and Choir. A Passionate musician committed to engaging audiences with thrilling performances, he continues to gain a reputation as a musical force equally versed in symphonic repertoire, opera, and new music.
VILNIUS TECH ACADEMIC CHOIR GABIJA (Lithuania)
Artistic Director and Conductor Anna Miščenko
VILNIUS TECH academic choir “Gabija” is a tight-knit group of creative and open-to-innovation singers. The choir was founded in 1964 and still maintains its long-standing traditions. One of the main values of “Gabija” is the cohesion between innovative and classical choral art. During the concerts, both contemporary and classical music is performed. The choir actively participates in Lithuanian and international cultural events of various format. In addition to active concert activities, “Gabija” organizes the international choral festival “Žiemos šviesa” (“Winter Light”), in which various Lithuanian and foreign choirs participate every year, and initiates “ChoirLab” courses for young conductors.
“Gabija” has been competing in various national and international competitions for many years, and in 2023 alone it has already won a second degree diploma in the Lithuanian Adult Choir Competition, a silver diploma in the fourth international Juozas Naujalis Choir Competition (in which it also won the youth choir category), and at the international choir competition “Cantu Gaudeamus” they were awarded a gold diploma and first place in their category.
“We are young, ambitious and dedicated members of a long-standing choir. For us, singing in a choir is not only a hobby but more importantly a lifestyle. We cannot imagine ourselves without participating in concerts, festivals, and without the fun but experience-rich rehearsals. We believe that anyone can sing and we are open to new ideas which aim to improve and uncover the world of music.”
The history of the choir:
In 1961, Kaunas Polytechnic Institute branch was created in Vilnius, Lithuania. A few years later, on March 8th, 1964, the branch management and students initiated the formation of the choir and Klemensas Griauzdė (1905–1983) was invited to lead it. In only two weeks, over 40 singers signed up, and March 23rd, 1964, marks the first choir rehearsal led by K. Griauzdė and assistant conductors Elona Paškūnienė and Boleslovas Zubrickas.
The choir directors of VILNIUS TECH academic choir “Gabija“:
Klemensas Griauzdė: 1964 – 1975
Feliksas Viskantas: 1975 – 1995
Rasa Viskantaitė: 1995 – 2020
Since 2020, the choir is led by choir director Anna Miščenko, accompanist Salomėja Bečelytė.