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Thursday October 26th, 2023

FilmSkills conference crafts the next scene in Baltic filmmaking & education

FilmSkills Conference “Projecting Forward: Crafting the Next Scene in Baltic Filmmaking & Education” takes place on November 15th at Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and ONLINE. 

The event, focusing on teaching film skills, happens in collaboration with Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. The conference celebrates the outcome of a 2-year collaboration between Tallinn University’s Baltic Film, Media and Arts School, Latvian Academy of Culture, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Estonian Filmmakers Association and Lithuanian Shorts to study skill requirements for variety of film occupations, update curriculums and find innovative solutions to teach film. 

More information and conference registration: https://balticfilmskills.com/conference-industrytallinn-baltic-event/

Baltic film industries and schools find themselves at a crossroads, presenting new challenges not only on how we make films but also on how we teach and include new talents.

“The film industry is an ever-evolving, dynamic field, and our goal with Baltic FilmSkills is to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in it.” – said Vytautas Dambrauskas, the Head of Department of Film and Television at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater when asked about the project’s vision. “As the film industry is simultaneously growing and changing, it is important that we find new ways to welcome and educate new talents and professionals.” 

“Historically, much of the Baltic film recruitment and training has happened via personal connections but rapid growth sets new rules and possibilities. The schools must provide new educational pathways that lead to a successful career in the changing film industry. The keyword is the constant collaboration with the industry but also re-training and micro-credentials for further education and specialisation”, said Veiko Vaatmann, Head of the Film Arts programme in Baltic Film, Media and Arts School of Tallinn University. This means not only recognizing and rising awareness of the film industry as a whole but also each profession and skills it  requires.

 FilmSkills organisations agreed that in addition to upgrading higher education, we should also focus on collaborations with vocational education institutions. “We analysed an overlap of various assisting film professions and vocations taught at our vocations schools. For example, work in the costume department aligns with skills obtained in the clothing industry or studying  tailoring and these are much in demand on set.” said Birgit Rosenberg, researcher for the FilmSkills project.  As a result, Baltic Film, Media and Arts School developed micro-credentials for people who already have certain prerequisite skills, experience, or qualification. FilmSkills created 18 new course programmes for specific occupations on various levels, so that people who are already working in film can acquire and diversify skill sets. 

If you are planning a career on set, you are a film professional, educator or decision maker, we invite you to discuss the future of Baltic film productions, occupations and education.  Join us to script the future for Baltic film industry and education at Black Nights Film Festival or online.  

FilmSkills Conference “Projecting Forward: Crafting the Next Scene in Baltic Filmmaking & Education” takes place on Wednesday, November 15th 14:00-17:30 at Nordic Hotel Forum, Tallinn. 

The conference will be broadcasted online. Please register your attendance or subscribe to an online participation link: https://forms.gle/w5k6iFTy5ZWCxzCG6 

The project and conference is co-funded by the European Union.

Contact: info@balticfilmskills.com

2023 10 26

Friday September 8th, 2023

LMTA students and teachers – at the workshop in Helsinki!

From August 28 to September 2, in Helsinki, LMTA students and teachers participated in the workshop “Sensitivity – Power – Borders” organized by the “Nordplus-Norteas” network.

Workshop participants from 8 countries and 10 different schools discussed the problem of power relations in art and art education. More than 50 participants from Northern European countries, in mixed groups of teachers and students, shared their experiences and creatively looked at issues of openness, hierarchy and looked for solutions, which chould improve the work of institutions that educate artists.

LMTA in Helsinki was represented by 4 students of Theater and Film, Klaipėda Faculties and lecturer, director Augustas Gornatkevičius and lecturer of Applied Theater Raimonda Agnė Medeišienė.

       

LMTA information
2023 09 08

Tuesday June 20th, 2023

VISIT TO THE JERUSALEM ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE

On June 7–13, LMTA representatives visited the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD) under the Erasmus+ 107 (171) programme.

Erasmus+ 107 (171) is a European Commission’s programme that specifically aims to promote cooperation with non-EU countries. Launched five years ago, the programme has enabled much more considerable opportunities for teacher and student exchange.

During the visit to Israel, LMTA Rector, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė had a meeting with Prof. Dr. Michael Klinghoffer, President of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD) to learn about JAMD programmes and goals, discuss the current situation of Erasmus exchanges, and agree on further cooperation.

Partnership with Israel is a priority of Lithuania’s foreign policy, and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance is an LMTA priority partner. We believe this visit will not only encourage teacher and student exchange between both schools, but also contribute to the development of the cultural relations and international cooperation of Lithuania,” states LMTA Rector.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė and LMTA Vice-Rector for Arts and Science, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramune Balevičiūtė met with Prof. Dr. Bella Brover-Lubovsky, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Head of the Research Department at JAMD. The discussion focused on key issues and cooperation opportunities in the field of research.

LMTA music innovation projects attracted the interest of Dr. Amit Weiner, JAMD Head of the Cross-Disciplinary Composition Department and Dr. Talia Amar, JAMD Head of Technology and Innovation Policy. A lecture on spatial aspects in music composition by composer, Head of the LMTA Music Innovations Studies Centre, Assoc. Prof. Mantautas Krukauskas, received rapt attention from Israeli students.

LMTA Rector, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė and Assoc. Prof. Mantautas Krukauskas also had a meeting with Prof. Boaz Ben-Moshe, Dean of the JAMD Faculty of Composition, Conducting and Music Education, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayal Adler, a board member of the Israel Composers’ League. This meeting is believed to continue strengthening the ties between the music faculties of the two academies and encourage both teacher and student exchange and new artistic projects.

Prof. Aira Naginevičiūtė-Adomaitienė and Prof. Agnija Šeiko, teachers of the LMTA dance programme in Vilnius and Klaipėda, observed dance and movement classes at JAMD and discussed exchange possibilities with Ronen Izhaki, Head of the JAMD Movement Department, and Mate Moray, the current head of the Dance Department, who will soon be appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Dance.

Dr. Agnė Jurgaitytė-Avižinienė, Associate Professor at the LMTA Department of Acting and Directing, shared her teaching experience with Prof. Zvi Semel, Dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts; Dr. Michal Hefer, Head of the Music Education Department; Prof. Dr. Veronika Cohen, creator of Musical Mirrors, a pedagogic approach for music education; psychology teacher Lisa Asulin, and other teaching staff members of the faculty.

The visit was particularly invigorated by informal meetings with JAMD teachers. Dr. Michal Hefer told about his parents, born in Vilnius and Rokiškis, who survived the Holocaust as they had been deported to Barnaul in 1940, together with many other Lithuanians. Dr. Zecharia Plavin, a Vilnius-born pianist, musicologist, educator and composer, who now lives in Israel, remembered his school friends at the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts and the then Lithuanian State Conservatory.

The visit was organised by Giedrė Kabašinskienė (LMTA International Relations) and Sarah Meltzer (JAMD International Relations Office).

20 June 2023

Wednesday June 14th, 2023

23rd International conference “Principles of Music Composition”

Call for papers. On November 15-17, the 23rd International conference “Principles of Music Composition: National versus Global” will be held at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater.

Organizers: Lithuanian Composers’ Union, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. 

Balance between national and global, as a compositional dilemma, is in the centerpiece of this year’s conference. In today’s postmodern society, the very concept of nationalism might evoke numerous discussions, as the things that one perceives as “national” may significantly differ depending on the socio-cultural environment of the beholder. 

The organizers of the conference are particularly interested in the concept of national music and its perspectives in today’s cultural environment. We would like to invite the scholars to explore the compositional processes of nationalistic music as a cultural ecosystem that exists in a multiverse of global tendencies.

It is our belief, that the potencies of emergence of nationalistic music lies within the clash of these two (at a first glance) opposing paradigms.

Ethnic music has always been the main source that has driven the potencies of nationalistic music due to its resonances with collective identities in particular national communities. However, it brings a variety of issues such as: supremacy, appropriation, clashes between ethnic origins and cultural identities, etc. The organizers of the conference are particularly interested in discovering a set of conditions that may help preserve the elemental nature of ethnic music and carry its potentials into the 21st century as well as discover the possible equivalents of “the national” in the music of the post-national era. These issues have always been an inseparable part of Lithuanian music; therefore, we would like to invite to address the problematics of Lithuanianness in contemporary music.

Suggested subthemes:

  • Theoretical perspectives of the dilemma between National and Global: historical, musicological, interdisciplinary aspects (topicality, concept, genome, etc.);
  • Composing of nationalistic music as a cultural ecosystem  within unified global contexts;
  • Symbiosis between composing principles and national characteristics;
  • Peculiarities of contemporary constituents of nationalistic music composition (audiation, realization, notation, communication, etc.);
  • Expressions and functions of ethnic `music in modern composing practice (timbre, rhythm, melody, modality, formal structures, aesthetics, communication, etc.);
  • Integration of modern compositional techniques (micro-intervals, sonorism, aleatory, performative elements, interactivity, etc.) into nationalistic narratives;
  • Interaction between traditional and novel compositional approaches (mimesis, symbiosis, inclusion, collaboration, interactivity, etc.) as a stimulus for survival of national music;
  • Possible cultural equivalents of nationalism in the music of post-national societies. 

Paper proposals (abstract of the presentation and a short biography) must be sent to the email: pmc.lmta@gmail.com. Annotation must not exceed 500 words. The approximate duration of the presentation is 20–25 min. 

The deadline for submitting the proposal is September 10, 2023. All proposals will be evaluated by the scientific committee. All applicants will be informed about the committee’s decision by September 20.

The conference will be in English. The conference will be held in a hybrid format; therefore, it is possible to present in person and online.

Participation fee* (only once selected by the scholarly committee):  
in person – 30 €; 
online – 50 €. 
*If you are not able to pay the participation fee, please contact us for the waiver. 

Disclaimer: Due to an ongoing geopolitical situation we do not accept proposals from scholars associated with institutions of Russia or Belarus.

Selected papers of the conference will be published in the annual peer-reviewed journal ‘Principles of Music Composing’.

Scholarly committee of the conference:

  • Prof. Dr. Rimantas Janeliauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
  • Prof. Dr. Antanas Kučinskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre) 
  • Prof. Dr. Mārtiņš Viļums (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre) 
  • Assoc. prof. Dr. Marius Baranauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
  • Prof. Dr. Pavel Puşcaş (Music Academy Cluj-Napoca, Romania) 
  • Prof. Miloš Zatkalik (University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia) 
  • Prof. Roger Redgate (Goldsmiths, University of London, England)
  • Dr. Bert Van Herck (New England Conservatory of Music, USA) 
  • Dr. Jānis Petraškevičs (Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Latvia) 
  • Dr. Martin Vishnick (United Kingdom) 

Coordinators of the conference: Assoc. prof. Dr. Marius Baranauskas, Dr. Andrius Maslekovas. 

LMTA information
13 June, 2003 

Tuesday June 6th, 2023

Á. Shilling about future students: They have to be happy open-minded artists

It seems like in his 30 years of professional experience, Hungarian theatre director Árpád Shilling has already done everything. He has directed theatre, opera, and circus performances; he has worked as a playwright and a creative mentor and his works have been acclaimed at world-renowned theatre festivals. But there is still one thing missing – Schilling has never had an independent class of students in any kind of art school. Not until now.

This autumn, Schilling is to start a new chapter of his career as a course leader at the Klaipėda faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre working with students in Theatre and Events Directing. 

Juta Liutkevičiūtė

 You are about to lead a course in Theatre and Event Directing at the LMTA. What is this programme about?

The Theatre and Event Directing studies are a cutting-edge programme that can give students a wide set of skills. In the 21st century, we can no longer imagine theatre just like a building or an institution with directors and actors inside it. Under new circumstances, people have to be ready for very different jobs. It is not only about working in the theatre in its traditional form, but also creating indoor and outdoor performances, being ready to organise events, participating in educational projects. Theatre is a very social place, so we must communicate and work with other people. It is a political place in the sense of its social sensitivity and communication forms.  

We can learn absolutely classical theatre forms, but for me, the most important thing is staying open. I do not have a style I want my students to follow; it is much more important how they can imagine their own art.

Imagine that these four years at the Academy have passed. What result would make you content with your work?

I do not really care if these students become very famous directors at certain theatre institutions and if they become successful at international festivals. The most important thing is how they can be self-confident and open-minded for the world. Theatre is a great place to get to know yourself and understand your relationship with other people. It’s a very psychological aspect of creativity.

Of course, I would be happy if some of the students became very traditional theatre directors. But this curriculum is exceptionally contemporary, it opens the doors to the theatre while not being super closed, dedicated only to theatre people who just live in a dark room with artificial lights and visual concepts. We must stay open to other art forms. I imagine my students as open-minded people. Their Lithuanian roots are very important, but they should stay open-minded European citizens. 

So, what I hear is that for you as a course leader the key concept is universality.

I believe that in the future it will be more and more complicated to choose a classical way of being a theatre director or actor in a traditional institution. From what I see, what is happening in the culture, I’m convinced there will be less and less support in the culture field. If there is an economic or any other kind of crisis, the first thing to impose restrictions on is culture. There are so many young people all over Europe who are creative in many ways and they’re trying to find their place in culture, but there will be fewer chances to do it in the classical way.

If you graduate and are prepared for a classical way of work, you might be in a trap. To avoid depression and frustration, it is important to get ready for very, very different jobs. It is a curse to be stuck with only one dream and believe that your diploma will make it come true, that you will become a theatre director in an institution you have always dreamed of. So what if you don’t become one? Does it mean you are unsuccessful even though you can use your skills somewhere else? In this situation, I do not believe in the American dream –  that you just have to work hard and you will achieve your dream. It is an illusion that doesn’t take into account the constantly changing circumstances. It is very important for me how these young people can be adaptive, let’s say: okay, if I can’t do this, I can choose another thing, I want to use my skills elsewhere, but I cannot be unhappy because I am not in the biggest theatre and I’m a loser. The winner is who is in, and the loser is who is out. We have to stop this kind of thinking. 

You have 29 years of experience working in the theatre. Bearing in mind your expertise and wide network, you could continue working with international teams, present your work at world-renowned theatre festivals; yet, you’ve chosen to start an independent class of directors here, in Lithuania. What’s in it there for you?

I was very close to having my own class in Hungary, but I couldn’t accept the offer because I didn’t get enough freedom. Luckily, I have very good friends in Lithuania. Actor and director, founder of the Klaipeda Youth Theatre Valentinas Masalskis came up with this idea and I could not resist. I love working with Valentinas: I appreciate him not only as a theatre professional, but as a teacher as well. I like his way of thinking: he is an open-minded person and I really believe in his talent and decisions. I love working with Lithuanian actors and I have good relations with Lithuanian theatres.  I feel like I have the support and all necessary tools for this work –  this is very inspiring. 

In the last few years, I have been quite successful working both individually and with my company. But the international festival life has become less and less interesting for me. In this festival life, I did not see the purpose of building a wider network. A more interesting angle for me has been the social aspect of theatre, what can we do to use our skills for society. This is what I tried to do in Hungary till the point when I gave up because of the political atmosphere. I left the country and I have not worked there for more than 6 years.

The chance to teach gives me enough time to work on social aspects of theatre, it is a real laboratory. I want to learn as much as I want to teach. It can be a big chance for me personally to be richer in my mind, in my soul and I didn’t want to refuse it. But it is not so easy because I can’t settle in Lithuania, I will have to travel. I’ll lead the class and take full responsibility for the students, and I’m going to have some help from Rugilė Latvėnaitė and Paulius Pinigis who will be my co-workers. Valentinas and the Klaipėda Youth Theatre are also a huge support for me. 

How much time are you planning to spend in Klaipeda, Lithuania, working with students directly?

The plan is to be in Lithuania for 12 weeks each year. Altogether, it is three months of very intensive work separated by two-week periods when students will work only with me, while there will be no other courses.  

From my experience of workshops, this camp-like teamwork can be very intensive, but it gives special experiences. It is totally different from being together for two hours and going home – in our case, we will be together for two weeks and one month later, two weeks again. In between these periods, Paulius and Rugilė will continue the work; the communication between us will be permanent so I will be able to follow the development of students’ work. 

What is your take on the Lithuanian theatre? In an interview, you once said that the Lithuanian theatre audience is very patient because you’ve never seen theatre performances that have such a long duration as here.

I am no expert, but I have experience of working with three different theatres in Lithuania where I’ve met actors of different generations. What I’ve seen I like it very much. The actors seem to be very engaged, and creative. Last time I worked with the Youth Theater in Vilnius, I was pleasantly surprised by how all the 23 actors were enthusiastic. They were there from the beginning till the end, staying focused and following the instructions; but if they didn’t agree on something, they would tell me, and we worked on it. I’ve met lots of people who are critical and have a very good sense of humour. The irony and humour are very close in Lithuania and Hungary because of the Soviet memories. I understand how people think and it helps me.  

For non-theater people, this may sound a little bit strange: why it should be a big deal if people are working? Everybody’s working, what’s the big deal? But I have lots of experiences from very different theatres and I find my experience of the Lithuanian theatre unique.  

Maybe, sometimes, the Lithuanian theatre is too traditional. People come to an institution, they sit in a dark room and watch the stage with a big statement of some big famous man. When we have such gurus, we follow their rules without thinking.

This is why I like the Klaipeda Youth Theatre so much – I see how the young generation can figure out their own way to the theatre, making a music band, creating new type of children performances, or working with aesthetics. This is a theatre that works like a community project, not a place with one director to be followed. In the 21st century, we cannot accept the concept of a big leader. Somehow, we have to understand how we can build less hierarchical structures and a more balanced relation between directors and actors, dramaturgs, scenographers and others. 

I do understand the problem of an authoritarian theatre director, but still, a young person just entering this field usually needs a mentor, a teacher, someone to rely on or even follow for some time. Are you planning to become such a figure yourself?

If you are a teacher, you must be ready to deconstruct your position. To find a way to be direct and inspire young people to act the same. If you are a leader and everything what you say is like an order, it is the worst scenario in pedagogy. My job is to give a frame so that inside it the student can find their freedom.

I don’t know what will happen in ten years, so I can’t tell them that if you want to be a good theatre director, you have to do this or that. What if ten years later it will be completely different? What I must give them is a safe space without any kind of pressure to find their dreams and ideas. 

My new class will include a group of individuals with their own unique set of mind and I do not want to build a team, unless it’s their choice. I’m a leader, but I am here for you and not vice versa. I don’t want to see myself in anybody. It’s much more interesting to see the other character, the other person. 

The imagination is so great, but life sometimes can seem so short and small. I want to show them how we can find this bridge between our imagination and real life. It is a way to reach happiness, not the American style of happiness, but it is a way to be pleased. I don’t think young people should be suffering and feel permanent pressure. They have to be happy open-minded artists, communicate with different people and able to build useful happy communities.

So, your course is like a dream coming true: happiness, joy, freedom of creativity…

I hear what you say: if the new program is cutting-edge, it must be fashionable – in other words, this is what you should say, this is what sounds good, no more tradition, just a new generation, you are all so beautiful and don’t have to learn anything, just express what you think. No, no, no. There are some frames you have to accept, and this is what I learned myself as a student.

In 2000, you graduated from the Budapest University of Theatre and Film Arts. How do you recall your experience as a student? Was there anything similar to the philosophy of teaching you have been telling me about?

Times were different, the concept of school at that time in Hungary was very traditional. Back then, it was very clear that the teachers had to follow the way of the older masters, it was very important to put pressure on the students, we had to accept everything what the teachers said, everything was about hierarchy and respect, following without questions. The problem then was that the teachers didn’t see the reality, the teachers were people with very clear theatre concepts but they didn’t see lots of things from Europe and other art forms. Maybe it would have worked in the seventies when you lived in the Soviet times and there were prospects of going to the theatre and working there till the end of your life. But in the beginning of the 21st century, this completely changed and my teachers didn’t know anything about a mobile and flexible way of thinking.  

Even though we didn’t learn anything about other types of theatre, what I really got to know is how to respect the text, how to work with it, how to understand what is behind the words, how to understand the characters, the conflicts, and the classical dramaturgy as such. Also, my class supervising teacher was very consistent. In some questions, he was very narrow-minded, but he was very consistent, and this is something what students can learn from this traditional way. 

Now it is different, students have to know how to involve people in their creation, how to find the money for it, how to be flexible, travel, and learn. The world is much bigger than 20 or 40 years ago. There are new technologies, and we have to accept them; maybe we don’t like them, maybe we don’t want to work with them, but we have to know about them. Without this, we can’t participate in social interactions. We cannot be people from the dark room of the theatre.

But the energy that comes from the teacher is only one side of the coin. These young people will have a chance to be together for four years. This is a big thing. They can inspire and learn from each other. Sometimes, the most important thing is meeting with other students and making plans, imagining future, and working together. 

Juta Liutkevičiūtė 
Edited by Viltė Gridasova 
12 May 2023

Tuesday June 6th, 2023

Admission to the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre

The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre delivers studies in music, theatre, film, dance, art history and theory at the bachelor’s, masters and doctoral levels.

The duration of Bachelor studies is 4 years (8 semesters). The official length of programmes is 240 credits (ECTS). 

The duration of Master studies is 2 years (4 semesters). The official length of programmes is 120 credits (ECTS). 

All study programmes of Bachelor and Master degree are accredited by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education. 

The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre delivers doctoral studies as well. Art doctoral studies are conducted in the fields of Music, Theatre and Film, scientific doctoral studies – in the field of History and Theory of Art and Ethnology in the area of Humanities. 

All information about admission you can find here.

LMTA information 
1 June 2023

Monday June 5th, 2023

THE ACADEMY ORGANIZED AN IMPRESSIVE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION “ARTS SQUARE”

On 3 June in Lukiškių Square, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre organised an impressive birthday celebration open to the public. The year of 2023 is special for the Academy – the major and largest higher school of music, theatre, dance, and film in Lithuania and the Baltic states has turned 90 years old!

On this occasion, one of Vilnius’ main public spaces located just in front of the LMTA Central building was transformed into Arts Square: here, from 4 pm, everyone was welcome to enjoy music, theatre, and dance performances and film screenings by the Academy’s talented students, charismatic teachers, and renowned graduates.

Lukiškių Square and its neighbouring areas were turned into several venues for various performances: in the square, two stages for music and theatre performances, and a space for a dance performance were installed; electronic music was played from the balcony of the LMTA Central building, while short films were shown in the adjacent Aukų Street, and the part of Gediminas Avenue closer to the Academy’s building invited to multiple audio and video installations.

The celebration was opened on the big stage by the performance of the LMTA Wind and Percussion Orchestra and the LMTA Brass Ensemble Brass LT (directed by Prof. Dr. Robertas Beinaris, Assoc. Prof. Egidijus Ališauskas, Assoc. Prof. Rimvydas Savickas, Remigijus Vilys, and Linas Rupšlaukis). Distinguished tenor, LMTA graduate Rafailas Karpis was appear on the stage. The listeners also admired charismatic opera soloist, Assoc. Prof. Ieva Prudnikovaitė with the LMTA Accordion Orchestra (directed by Prof. Raimondas Sviackevičius and Tadas Motiečius), the LMTA Accordion Trio UnSeen, and the performance was accompanied by tango dancers Assoc. Prof. Dr. Brigita Rodriguez and Carlos Rodriguez. The LMTA Folk Instrument Orchestra (directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aistė Bružaitė and Assoc. Prof. Egidijus Ališauskas) accompanied soprano Asta Krikščiūnaitė, a winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Art, and an LMTA professor. The Cello Orchestra of the LMTA Department of String Instruments (directed by Prof. Rimantas Armonas) prepared a special surprise for the audience: 44 cellists appeared on the stage!

Arts Square also featured soloists of the Opera Studio of the LMTA Department of Vocal Performance (conductor – Assoc. Prof. Martynas Staškus, stage director – Assoc. Prof. Jūratė Sodytė-Bradauskienė) – they performed finale scene of the opera Le Nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart; students of the Department of Acting and Directing (directed by Prof.  Viktorija Kuodytė and Prof. Darius Meškauskas); graduating students of the Theatre Department of the Klaipėda Faculty (supervisors – Prof. Valentinas Masalskis, Assoc. Prof. Nijolė Sinkevičiūtė-Kriūnienė). LMTA professor Aidas Giniotis performed with his colleagues from the Keistuoliai Theatre, actors Ilona Balsytė and Darius Auželis. The audience also enjoyed the songs performed by LMTA graduate, actor Saulius Bareikis.

A dance venue, specially equipped for the celebration, showed a performance Wreck – List of Extinct Species (choreographer Pietro Marullo, composer Jean Noël Boissé, producer Be kompanijos) by the LMTA Department of Dance and Movement. Towards the evening, the guests could enjoy a real party to be thrown on the big stage by jazz bands Quark Effect and SynthEtika.

In addition to performances by bigger bands, the smaller stage will feature DJ Iggy Shaolin, percussionist Lukas Budzinauskas, while Migluma & Vecera, Robotic Folk, El Chico Fuendre, and Maria Paskevic were playing their electronic music from the balcony of the LMTA Central Building. From 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., the LMTA Department of Film and Television, which this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of its establishment, showed short films in the cinema space (Aukų Street, next to the LMTA Central building).  

Arts Square, the celebration of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre’s anniversary was impressive!

LMTA information 
7 June 2023

Photos from the Arts Aquare, photographers Mantas Bartaševičius, Povilas Jarmala, and Donatas Ališauskas (all pictures are published in the photography blog):

 

Saturday May 20th, 2023

City, Cinema, and Media: Baltic Sea Region Film Conference

Call for papers: Baltic Sea Region Film Conference City, Cinema, and Media (Vilnius, Lithuania) 

Abstract/Panel submission deadline: June 23, 2023 
Conference dates: October 20–21, 2023 
Venue: Sinemateka (Goštauto str. 2, Vilnius)
Mode of participation: In person only 
Conference language: English 
Organizer: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Lithuanian Culture Research Institute, Media Education and Research Centre “Meno avilys” 
Partners: Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia, Latvian Academy of Culture, Vilnius City Municipality

In the light of global processes, such as climate change, militarization, and geopolitical reshufflings, a city is both a backdrop and an active participant in ever-evolving ways of mediating the transformation of conditions for human and non-human dwellers. Such films as For Sama (dir. Waad Al-Kateab, 2019) and Mariupolis 2 (dir. Mantas Kvedaravičius and Hanna Bilobrova, 2022) capture urban experiences from a personal perspective. As we witness the new forms of audiovisual mediation enter our public and private spaces, the conference invites the researchers to collectively reflect about them. City, Cinema, and Media (the 8th edition of the Baltic Sea Region Film History Conference) focuses on the cinema and urban space. The conference engages with questions of representation, distribution, exhibition and audience,  as well as intersections of urban, cinema and media studies. 

Historically, cinema’s connections with the city have been referred to as chemistry between “celluloid and asphalt.” In classical film studies, both the city and cinema have been analyzed through frameworks of modernity. However, today when we think about moving image and a city, we also think about a pixel and forms of data representation, digital and global interconnections.  The contemporary urban and cinema studies demonstrate how productive such interdisciplinary approaches are. The crucial changes in moving image technology (digital turn) and global urbanization, brought the remarkably productive spatial turn into cinema studies. By now it is widely accepted that cinema is a particularly spatial form of media which both organizes the spatial imaginaries inside the frame and at the same time actively renders the space through film production, distribution, and exhibition. 

The goal of this conference is to bring together researchers who are interested in cinema, media studies and  the cross disciplinary approach of film (moving image, home movies, performing arts, etc.),  audiovisual media (TV, video games) and city (urban studies, architecture, geography, art, literature, etc.). We welcome papers from researchers across the academic spectrum as well as inter/transdisciplinary engagements and encourage papers from scholars focusing on both cinema history, contemporary film, media cultures, Baltic Sea region related topics and beyond.  

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Cinema and urban cultures;
  • Cinematic urban genres, tropes and narratives;
  • Cities in audiovisual imaginaries;
  • Urban visions and visualizations in moving image, urban architecture in audiovisual media;
  • Urban soundscapes in audiovisual media;
  • Urban place and space in audiovisual media;
  • Home in the city – cinematic representation of public and non-public spaces;
  • Screen cultures in public and private urban spaces;
  • Film exhibition infrastructure, cinemas in cities, audiences and distribution practices in cities;
  • Role of film festivals in film and urban cultures;
  • Digital city and city as a global film-set;
  • Urban representations of disasters, war and conflict in film;
  • Queering the city in film;
  • Feminism and city in film;
  • Body and urban space in film;
  • Film archives as urban infrastructures;
  • Security cameras in public and private urban spaces;
  • City and ecosystem in moving image;
  • Urban environmental media; 
  • City and securitization discourse in film;
  • City, design and fashion in film;
  • Decolonizing the urban space in/through film and media;
  • Decolonial methodologies in cinema and media studies.

For queries regarding submissions, please contact conference organisers
PhD Lina Kaminskaitė
lina.jancoriene@lmta.lt and PhD Ilona Jurkonytė conference@balticfilmhistory.org

Program committee and coordinators: PhD Eva Näripea, PhD Zane Balčus, Mantė Valiūnaitė, Vitalij Binevič, Ona Kotryna Dikavičiūtė.

The conference proceedings will form the basis for a thematic issue of the academic journal Studies in Eastern European Cinema.

SUBMISSION GUIDLINES 
Paper proposals in English (250–300 words) and a short biography (200 words) is expected by June 23, 2023 and can be submitted here: BalticFilmConference2023.

Applicants will be notified of acceptance/nonacceptance by July 7, 2023.

There are no conference fees.

LMTA Department of History and Theory of Art
17 May 2023

Tuesday May 16th, 2023

Arts Square: LMTA Invites to Celebrate its Anniversary

The year of 2023 is special for the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre – the major and largest higher school of music, theatre, dance, and film in Lithuania and the Baltic states has turned 90 years old! On this occasion, on 3 June in Lukiškių Square, the Academy is organising a celebration open to the public. One of Vilnius’ main public spaces located just in front of the LMTA Central building will transform into Arts Square: here, from 4 pm, everyone is welcome to enjoy music, theatre, and dance performances and film screenings by the Academy’s talented students, charismatic teachers, and renowned graduates. Now way you can ignore this event. Follow the motto of the LMTA celebration – Come, Hear, See! 

PROGRAMME

Lukiškių Square and its neighbouring areas will turn into several venues for various performances: in the square, two stages for music and theatre performances, and a space for a dance performance will be installed; electronic music will be played from the balcony of the LMTA Central building, while short films to be shown in the adjacent Aukų Street, and the part of Gediminas Avenue closer to the Academy’s building will invite to multiple audio and video installations. The Arts Square will bring together LMTA students and graduates of different generations! The graduates will remember the enjoyable times of their studies, while the guests of the celebration will be able to become part of the special community of people united by art and so feel their zestful creativity.

Arts Square invites you to exclusive performances organised by all the three LMTA faculties – the Faculty of Music, the Faculty of Theatre and Cinema, and the Klaipėda Faculty. The celebration will open on the big stage by the performance of the LMTA Wind and Percussion Orchestra and the LMTA Brass Ensemble Brass LT (directed by Prof. Robertas Beinaris, Assoc. Prof. Egidijus Ališauskas, Assoc. Prof. Rimvydas Savickas, Remigijus Vilys, and Linas Rupšlaukis). Distinguished tenor, LMTA graduate Rafailas Karpis will appear on the stage. The listeners will also admire charismatic opera soloist Ieva Prudnikovaitė with the LMTA Accordion Orchestra (directed by Prof. Raimondas Sviackevičius and Tadas Motiečius), the LMTA Accordion Trio UnSeen, and the performance will be accompanied by tango dancers Assoc. Prof. Dr. Brigita Rodriguez and Carlos Rodriguez. The LMTA Folk Instrument Orchestra (directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aistė Bružaitė and Assoc. Prof. Egidijus Ališauskas) will accompany soprano Asta Krikščiūnaitė, a winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Art, and an LMTA professor. The Cello Orchestra of the LMTA Department of String Instruments (directed by Prof. Rimantas Armonas) has prepared a special surprise for the audience: more than 30 cellists will appear on the stage!

Arts Square will also feature soloists of the Opera Studio of the LMTA Department of Vocal Performance (conductor – Assoc. Prof. Martynas Staškus, stage director – Assoc. Prof. Jūratė Sodytė-Bradauskienė); students of the Department of Acting and Directing (directed by Prof.  Viktorija Kuodytė and Prof. Darius Meškauskas); graduating students of the Theatre Department of the Klaipėda Faculty (supervisors – Prof. Valentinas Masalskis, Assoc. Prof. Nijolė Sinkevičiūtė-Kriūnienė). LMTA graduates, actors Gediminas Storpirštis, Darius Miniotas and Jonas Krivickas will be oozing the charming vibes of poetry. LMTA professor Aidas Giniotis will perform with his colleagues from the Keistuoliai Theatre, actors Ilona Balsytė and Darius Auželis.

A dance venue, specially equipped for the celebration, will show a performance Wreck – List of Extinct Species (choreographer Pietro Marullo, composer Jean Noël Boissé, producer Be kompanijos) by the LMTA Department of Dance and Movement. Towards the evening, the guests can enjoy a real party to be thrown on the big stage by jazz bands Quark Effect and SynthEtika.

In addition to performances by bigger bands, the smaller stage will feature DJ Iggy Shaolin, percussionist Lukas Budzinauskas, while Migluma & Vecera, Robotic Folk, El Chico Fuendre, and Maria Paskevic will be playing their electronic music from the balcony of the LMTA Central Building. From 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., the LMTA Department of Film and Television, which this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of its establishment, will show short films in the cinema space (Aukų Street, next to the LMTA Central building the), and Gediminas Avenue (in between J. Tumo-Vaižganto Street and Vasario 16-osios Street) will feature audio and video installations by LMTA graduates.  

The history of the LMTA starts in 1933, when the Kaunas Conservatory was established in the then capital of Lithuania. The theatre studies were launched in 1952 in Vilnius, the cinema study programmes – in 1993, and dance studies– since 1998. Today, studies take place not only in the capital, but also in the port city of Lithuania: the faculties in Klaipėda, that operated in 1975–1997, re-joined the LMTA in 2018 as the Klaipėda Faculty. The celebration events dedicated to the LMTA 90th anniversary will be held throughout the year. 

Arts Square, the celebration of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre’s anniversary takes place on 3 June (Saturday) 4 pm-11 pm in Lukiškių Square, Vilnius. 

LMTA information 
16 May 2023

Thursday April 27th, 2023

Theatre director Árpád Schilling selecting the student course at the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty

This June, at the Klaipėda Faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA), internationally recognised Hungarian director Árpád Schilling is selecting a group of students. “This is the first time in the history of Lithuania and the LMTA when a course in Directing is taken by a guest from abroad, a European-level theatre artist,” says Valentinas Masalskis, the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty professor, a well-known Lithuanian actor and director. While Á. Schilling will lead a course in Theatre and Event Directing, the Klaipėda Youth Theatre is going to contribute to the implementation of the studies.

“For the Academy, it’s a great honour that Á. Schilling, a talented director, a wise and humble teacher, a responsible and socially engaged artist, is to lead a course in Klaipeda. I am sure that prospective students of this course led by Á. Schilling and his team will not only learn the art of directing, but also build a solid foundation of values, develop an empathetic and, at the same time, critical attitude toward the world,” says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramunė Balevičiūtė, Vice-Rector of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

The Audience of the Lithuanian theatre is familiar with Árpád Shilling’s works. The director’s productions awarded the prestigious Europe Prize Theatrical Realities prize keep attracting the audience and have acquired a status of a special event in the theatre community. In Lithuania, Á. Schilling has created performances The Great Evil (Lt. „Didis blogis”, Lithuanian National Drama Theatre), #nowhere („Įstrigę“, Klaipėda Youth Theatre), Autonomy (Lt. „Autonomija“), and Barbarians („Barbarai“, State Youth Theater).

Actor Valentinas Masalskis, LMTA professor, founder and artistic director of the Klaipėda Youth Theatre has closely cooperated with A. Schilling and created the major roles in Schilling’s productions. This year, at the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty, Valentinas Masalskis is starting a new course for young actors and is looking forward to a fruitful cooperation between his students and Á. Schilling’s course of directors.

“Árpád is a very busy person; finding time and funds for this cooperation was a difficult and long journey. However, this is the first time in the history of Lithuania and the LMTA when a course in Directing is selected by a guest from abroad, a European-level theatre artist. I am glad that the Klaipeda Youth Theatre can make a financial contribution to the education of the younger generation of theatre directors,” says V. Masalskis.

Á. Schilling is, too, looking forward to the prospects brought by new activities: “I have almost 30 years of work experience, and during this time I’ve written plays, directed theatre, opera, and circus performances, worked with both professionals and amateurs, and, for over 10 years, led the Krétakör Theatre. But I’ve never led a student class of my own. I would like to thank actor and director Valentin Masalskis for this opportunity.” In this study programme, Á. Schilling will be assisted by the Klaipeda Youth Theatre actors Rugilė Latvėnaitė and Paulius Pinigis.

Theatre and Event Directing studies at the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty are the only studies in Lithuania and Europe of such kind that prepare theatre professionals possessing a wide range of skills to able to direct various performances and events. Graduates will obtain a Bachelor of Arts and a professional teacher qualification. The course is provided for the Lithuanian students. 


LMTA information
27 April 2023 

Monday April 24th, 2023

Application for Juozas Naujalis Competition is starting!

The 4th Juozas Naujalis International Competition for Choral Conductors is being held by the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (hereinafter, ‘the LAMT’) and will take place in Vilnius from November the 3rd to 5th, 2023. The Competition is open to young conductors of any nationality aged between 18 and 35, currently studying or having obtained a degree(s) in choral conducting from the institutions of higher education, such as universities, academies, colleges, conservatories, etc. All selected participants will contend in one category. The Competition will consist of two qualifying rounds and the final round.

The application for the 4th Juozas Naujalis International Competition for Choral Conductors is open through April 24, 2023. All applicants willing to participate in the competition must submit a complete application portfolio consisting of an official application form available on the LMTA website, a concise CV, a current photograph, and link(s) to video recording(s) of an applicant conducting a choir. The total duration of the recording(s) should not exceed 10 minutes; a recording should be of the work or rehearsal with the choir; the recording(s) cannot be modified, cut, or merged in any way; and it is mandatory to film the conductor from the front. must be submitted by email (naujaliscompetition@lmta.lt). The application form must be submitted by July 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern European Time).

Rules, Schedule and Repertoire
Application form

LAMT information
2023 04 24

Wednesday April 19th, 2023

“Nordplus” intensive course “IMMEDIA”: Synergy of Space, Visuals, and Sound

From April 21st to 30th, in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, together with 11 partnering higher arts education institutions from the Nordic and Baltic countries, is organizing the Nordplus intensive courses IMMEDIA for the third time.

The program involves students of various specialties: composers, sound designers, sound, visual, and media artists. They are supported by experienced electronic and electroacoustic composition, sound, and video technology experts from partner institutions who are ready to share their experience with students and help them implement creative ideas: Peter Baranov (Denmark), Hans Gunter Lock (Estonia), Samuli Homanen (Finland), Lauri Huikuri (Finland), Jussi Tuohino (Finland), Petri Kulju (Finland), Alejandro Olarte (Finland), Rolands Kronlaks (Latvia), Mantautas Krukauskas (Lithuania), Daniel Biro (Norway), Anders Tveit (Norway), Palle Dahlstedt (Sweden), Daniel Hjorth (Sweden), Per Anders Nilsson (Sweden).

Students will learn to create spatial audio, combining it with visuals, and implement their creative visions. Implementation of projects will be ensured by LMTA Music Innovation Studies Centre.

The results of the creative workshops will be presented to a wide audience by the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, together with the Lithuanian Composers’ Union and the Jauna Muzika festival, in an immersive media concert in a specially designed spatial sound and video installation in the cultural complex “SODAS 2123”. Listeners are invited to immerse themselves in spatial music with video projections, to enjoy and evaluate the joint work results of international student groups, and IMMEDIA teachers works.

Concert on April 29th, Saturday, at 20:00 (student concert) and April 30th, Sunday, at cultural hub “SODAS 2123”.

IMMEDIA partners: Bergen University, Grieg Academy, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Jazeps Vitols Latvian academy of Music, Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama, Malmö Academy of Music, Norwegian Academy of Music, Sibelius Academy, Oulu Applied Arts University, Royal Danish Academy of Music, Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Metropolia Applied Arts University.

LMTA International Relations Office
2023 04 19

Thursday April 13th, 2023

The Conversations in the Great Hall with composers Mindaugas Urbaitis and Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle

What can unite and what can set apart composers belonging to different generations? What kind of dialogue would you expect between the teacher and his yesterday’s student and today’s colleague? On April 18, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre hosted an event within The Conversations in the Great Hall – a series of dialogues between artists representing different generations – with composers Mindaugas Urbaitis and Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle. This free event held in the LMTA Great Hall was led by musicologist Rasa Murauskaitė-Juškienė.  

Mindaugas Urbaitis is an LMTA professor and Raminta Naujanytė is an LMTA doctoral student. There is no doubt she has attended Professor Urbaitis’s classes and listened to the radio programmes Modus that Professor Urbaitis, together with composer Šarūnas Nakas, have been presenting for decades. Today, however, Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle is not merely a music creator, but a performer who also expresses herself in the field of experimental pop music, while Mindaugas Urbaitis is an “academic” composer who doesn’t not appear on the stage (except for interviews where he acts as a host or an interlocutor).  So, is there a “genetic” connection between composers of different generations, who yet belong to the same, Lithuanian, music composition school?

Mindaugas Urbaitis (b. 1952) is one of the most consistent and, as the Music Information Centre Lithuania Mic.lt states, the most radical minimalists in Lithuania whose creative thinking was once strongly influenced by early American minimalism.  Mic.lt says that at the beginning of the creative career, Urbaitis’ extended compositions based on the constant repetition of barely changing material would cause outrage. In the late 1980s, the musical language of the composer became less ascetic, and his compositions started to be based on certain recognisable motifs of composers of the past (Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Bruckner, Wagner, Piazzola).  Among Urbaitis’ variety of genres, we can find ballets (Acid City, The Process (Lt. Procesas)) that have led to successful productions on the national stage.  

In 1975, M. Urbaitis graduated from the then Lithuanian State Conservatory, in the composition class of Professor Julius Juzeliūnas.  Today M. Urbaitis teaches at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and his lectures are dedicated to the European music after 1945, 20th-century U.S. music, and new composition techniques.  In 1991-1996, M. Urbaitis was vice-president and president of the Agency of the Lithuanian Copyright Protection Association (LATGA).

The current president of LATGA is Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle (b. 1991). Currently an LMTA doctorate student, Raminta entered the Academy in 2011, and it is worth noting that Raminta’s first choice was choir conducting, but in the second year she switched to academic composition. For her master’s studies, Raminta chose digital creation, and today among numerous creative trends of this versatile artist we can also find experimental pop. Recently, Bjelle’s experiments in playing interactive gloves, which is also related to her doctoral research, have become especially intriguing. Raminta has studied composition with Dr. Mykolas Natalevičius and Prof. Dr. Mārtiņš Viļums, with whom she continues her doctorate studies. In 2018, she went to Iceland within Erasmus programme and, although she does recollect this period as particularly inspiring, it also helped her appreciate all the positive aspects of music education in Lithuania.

By the way, the 2nd-floor lobby of the LMTA Central Building invites you to the exhibition 90 Pauses. Catch Your Luck! where you can see the mementos presented by Raminta Naujanytė and Mindaugas Urbaitis: Raminta’s coloured face imprint, glass bottle neck, and rings for performing interactive music, as well as Urbaitis’ so-called “half-diploma” marking completion of the first half of the studies awarded to students in Musicology and Composition during the celebration held on 3 March 1973.

The Conversations in the Great Hall with Mindaugas Urbaitis and Raminta Naujanyte-Bjelle took place on Tuesday, April 18, 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Gedimino ave. 42).

LMTA information:
Beata Baublinskienė
English translation by Viltė Gridasova 
18 April 2023  

Friday March 31st, 2023

90th LMTA Anniversary Celebration at the Philharmonic Society

This year, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA) is celebrating its 90th anniversary. On March 29, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society hold a celebratory event to commemorate the special date in the history of the LMTA, the largest higher education institution in the Baltic States providing studies in music, theater, cinema, and dance. The celebration concert featured the Academy’s students – from performances by the LMTA Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Choir, chamber ensembles and soloists, to the premiere of a new piece by LMTA doctoral students Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle and Matas Samulionis. The LMTA Rector, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė greeted the audience with a celebration speech.

On the occasion of the anniversary, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre received congratulations from President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė. During the ceremony held before the concert, special guests – Minister of Education, Science and Sports Jurgita Šiugždinienė, Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys, Chairman of the Committee on Culture of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Prof. Vytautas Juozapaitis, Mayor-Elect of Vilnius Valdas Benkunskas, Chairman of the Research Council of Lithuania Prof. Dr. Gintaras Valinčius, Rector of Mykolas Romeris University Prof. Dr. Inga Žalėnienė, Rector of the Lithuanian Sports University Prof. Dr. Diana Rėklaitienė, Vice-Rectors of Vilnius Academy of Arts Dr. Ieva Pleikienė and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marius Iršėnas, and members of the Association of Specialised Music Education in Lithuania, among others – expressed their congratulations.

The two-part concert featured the young LMTA talents who impressed the audience with their imposing interpretations: the remarkable performing skills of the aspiring musicians were not left unnoticed. The concert was opened by the LMTA Chamber Choir performing Gaudeamus, an anthem of the academic community, under the baton of Prof. Gintautas Venislovas, the artistic director of the choir. Linas Rimša’s Sanctus from Missa lituana continued the programme. It was followed Vytautas Germanavičius’ Aismarės, a piece for folk chamber ensemble performed by students of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aistė Bružaitė, Assoc. Prof. Jolanta Babaliauskienė, Assoc. Prof. Egidijus Ališauskas, and lecturer Kęstutis Lipeika: Jokūbas Vaitelė (birbynė), Tomas Nedzinskas (birbynė), Saulė Zadesenec (kanklės), Ūla Paliokaitė (kanklės), Gabija Tatlauskaitė (kanklės), Viktorija Gečaitė (kanklės), and Aušrine Ulinskaitė (bass kanklės).

Students of Prof. Dr. Indrė Baikštytė’s chamber ensemble class – Jonas Benjaminas Balsys (piano), Paulina Jankovskytė (violin), and Ludvikas Silickas (cello)– performed a stylish interpretation of Eduardas Balsys’ Habanera. Also, the audience could enjoy Anatoly Shenderov’s arrangement for piano trio.

Pianist Arminas Suchovas’ (Prof. Zbignevas Ibelgauptas’ class) rendering of Ballade in G minor by Frédéric Chopin was compelling. György Ligeti Bagatelles No. 1, 3, and 4, performed by students of Assoc. Prof. Julius Černius’ quintet class Ainė Kaziukonytė (flute), Valerija Vitkauskaitė (oboe), Morta Jurkėnaitė (clarinet), Lukas Grinkas (bassoon) and Gediminas Abaris (French horn), represented the 20th-century classical music.

A playful interpretation by marimba virtuosos Lukas Budzinauskas, Karolis Jurgaitis and Džiugas Daugirda, students of Sigitas Gailius and Tomas Kulikauskas, thrilled the audience. The young musicians performed AftaStuba!, a song by Mark Ford, in an incredibly elegant manner, while the whole performance even became a small mise-en-scène.

The premiere of Spaces by Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle and Matas Samulionis, LMTA doctoral students, was particularly awaited by the listeners. The intrigue was not merely the new piece, but the ways of its performing that had to reveal technological potential of today’s process of creating music: Bjelle (Prof. Dr. Mārtiņš Viļums’ class), apart from performing the vocals, used interactive music gloves, while Matas Samulionis (Assoc. Prof. Mantas Krukauskas class) played synthesizers and effects chains.

The second part of the concert saw an impressive performance by the LMTA Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by the artistic director Assoc. Prof. Martynas Staškus, the orchestra continued inspiring the audience with renderings of European and Lithuanian classics. The fifth fragment The Manor of Eglė’s Parents of Eduardas Balsys’ ballet Eglė the Queen of Serpents was followed by the second movement of Julius Juzeliūnas’ Concerto for clarinet and strings Allegretto con brio, soloist Rapolas Bartulis, Assoc. Prof. Rimvydas Savickas’ student. Violinist Kristijonas Pūtys (a student of Prof. Dr. Rūta Lipinaitytė) – the Grand Prix winner of the 2nd Baltic Strings competition – performed Camille Saint-Saëns’ Etude in the Form of a Waltz Op. 52 No. 6 (arranged by Eugène Ysaÿe) with incredible enthusiasm.

The audience then admired marvellous sounds of solo tuba performance by Eglė Liutkauskaitė’s (a student of Assoc. Prof. Laimonas Masevičius) rendering of Romanza, the second movement of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Concerto in F minor for bass tuba and orchestra.

Many listeners couldn’t help smiling when listening to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Finale from the opera The Marriage of Figaro. A pleasantly invigorating and uplifting, the finale was performed by students of the Department of Vocal Performance: Sopranos Austėja Zinkevičiūtė (Prof. Irena Milkevičiūtė’s class), Beata Kučinskaitė (Prof. Sigutė Stonytė’s class), Emilė Elena Dačinskaitė (Prof. Asta Krikščiūnaitė’s class), Viktorija Jakštienė (Prof. Deividas Staponkus’ class), Giedrė Kisieliūtė (lecturer Saulė Šerytė’s class), and Eglė Klimašauskaitė (Assoc. Prof. Aušra Stasiūnaitė’s class); tenor Dominykas Urba (Prof. Algirdas Janutas’ class); baritones Deividas Bartkus (Assoc. Prof. Liudas Norvaišas’s class) and Regimantas Gabšys (Prof. Vladimiras Prudnikovas’ class); bass-baritone Jevgenijus Kovalčiukas (Assoc. Prof. Liudas Norvaišas’ class), and bass Alfredas Miniotas (Prof. Vladimiras Prudnikovas’ class).

The concert was closed by Johannes Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture in C minor. In the finale of the piece, the Gaudeamus anthem sounded once again: and, at that moment, the conductor Martynas Staškus turned to the audience inviting the academic community and all guests of the event to join the choir. The evening ended on an upbeat note. The events celebrating the Academy’s anniversary are to continue throughout the year and will take place on the premises of the LMTA Vilnius and Klaipėda faculties and beyond them, in various venues of the cities.

Beata Baublinskienė 
English translation by Viltė Gridasova
31 March 2023 

Wednesday March 29th, 2023

The LMTA Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary

The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA), the only higher school of music, theatre, film, and dance in Lithuania and the largest in the Baltic states, is celebrating its 90th anniversary.  On this occasion, the Academy held a press conference to present the essentials of today’s LMTA life and highlight the event programme of the anniversary year.

Today, the Academy is the largest higher education institution of music, theatre, film, and dance in the Baltic States. This is the result of consistent work by many generations,” said LMTA Rector Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė at the press conference.

Established 90 years ago in Kaunas, the conservatory was the first higher music school in Lithuania – thanks to efforts by such distinguished people as Juozas Naujalis, Juozas Gruodis, Juozas Tallat-Kelpša, and others. Yet, today, the Academy is much more than that. Judita Žukienė continues: “Today, we’ve grown quite a lot – we offer studies not only in music, but also in theater, film, and dance at all the three study cycles. We have university status and are proud not only of our artists, but also of our researchers.

Being leaders in the region, we feel responsible for the field of culture and its prospects because we constantly strike a balance between two areas: we cherish tradition we have inherited and we preserve our cultural identity; on the other hand, we understand that today’s first-year students of the Academy are the creators of tomorrow’s Lithuanian, and perhaps even more global, art. As a result, we embrace change: we do not know what the Lithuanian art will look like several decades later. We prepare students who are ready to accept challenges and think individually because each of us is a creator. We are proud of our lecturers, the most prominent Lithuanian artists and researchers in music, theater, cinema, and dance.”

Today, the LMTA today is not only a higher music school (as it was when it was founded), but also offers studies in theatre, cinema, and dance. The Academy has faculties in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and Klaipėda. One of the participants of the press conference was actor and director Valentinas Masalskis, a professor at the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty. In 1976, Masalskis graduated from the then State Conservatory and began teaching at the LMTA in 2008. Today, Masalskis is particularly concerned about the culture of the Western Lithuania.

Klaipėda’s capacity is increasing. At the moment, I’m working with about 20 students who are graduating this year. Some of them may leave to different parts of Lithuania, but some will stay in Klaipėda and its region. For me, that’s the most important thing. I represent this part of Lithuania and I am glad when young people stay here and create. Because we cannot think only about Vilnius or Kaunas, we must think about the whole country,” stated Valentinas Masalskis.

This year, Professor is also taking a new group of student actors at the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty: “The new generation is a pleasure for me. These young people are much freer, more confident, more motivated than I once was. I remember that during my studies, I was just spinning my wheels. Secondly, I am very happy about Klaipeda: the city is fairly empty and it does not have so many temptations for a young person. Vilnius as the capital offers numerous temptations. When you arrive at Klaipeda, you have the sea, the nature, and your work. And that work starts from eight in the morning until ten at night. I’m a learner too— I’m learning from my students. If the teacher becomes just a teacher, this is very bad. A teacher must learn every day. Today, I’d be a very good student because I’d love to study.”

The LMTA Klaipėda Faculty also hosts students from Ukraine who are studying in Professor’s V. Masalskis’ course. They arrived from the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television. V. Masalskis continued: “These students are exceptionally gifted; they were selected from 40 million. Our students are selected from 2,5 million, and the motivation is absolutely different. From these students, I’ve learned that now I’m going to demand more intelligence from young people. So that they read much more. The Ukrainian students have impressed with their knowledge.”

Another participant of the press conference, Audrius Stonys, LMTA Professor and Doctor of Arts, graduated from the then Conservatory in 1989 (in TV directing). Yet, the Department of Film and Television was founded only in 1993. A. Stonys remembered he was a frequent guest at the Academy from the age of seven as his parents, actors Česlovas Stonys and Regina Kazlauskaitė, were studying here. Later, Henrikas Šablevičius began to teach at the Academy and he was the one who founded the Department of Film and Television. A. Stonys states that today young people who want to study film no longer need to explain why it is worth choosing Vilnius, and not, for example, Łódź, Krakow or Prague that boast their prominent film schools. Many LMTA graduates have become laureates at key film festivals, and the Lithuanian cinema, cultivated by the LMTA, is world-famous.

Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle, a well-known composer and performer, is a doctoral student at the LMTA. She says that there is a big difference if you had to compare the LMTA now and 12 years ago. For a student, today’s studies at the LMTA are convenient and enjoyable. “The Academy boasts a high concentration of distinguished people able to provide the most relevant knowledge. And you can access them all so easily – what you need to do is get this knowledge. I’ve studied abroad, it’s far from the case elsewhere.”

On 29 March, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society hosts the celebration event of the 90th LMTA anniversary. The concert will feature a new piece Spaces created by Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle and Matas Samulionis exclusively for this occasion. The piece will be performed with modular synthesizers (Mantas Samulionis), while Bjelle will sing and use interactive music gloves.

The celebration concert will also feature works by Eduardas Balsys, Julius Juzeliūnas, Vytautas Germanavičius, Linas Rimša, and music by European classics. The music will be performed by the LMTA Symphony Orchestra, the LMTA Chamber Choir, the LMTA chamber ensembles and solo performers, under the baton of Martynas Staškus and Gintautas Venislovas.

At the press conference, Eglė Kasteckaitė, Head of the LMTA Art Centre presented the event programme for the whole anniversary year. Throughout 2023, the LMTA will host a series of interviews called Conversations in the Great Hall that will feature artists representing different generations. The series was started last December with a conversation between Prof. Vytautas Landsbergis and LMTA Rector, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė. This was followed by interviews with pianists Petras and Lukas Geniušas, film directors Algimantas Puipa and Laurynas Bareiša, and theatre directors Gytis Padegimas and Aleksandras Špilevojus. On 18 April, the LMTA Great Hall invites you to enjoy a conversation between composers Mindaugas Urbaitis and Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle (moderated by Rasa Murauskaitė-Juškienė). A month later, on 19 May, the cycle of Conversations will continue with a meeting with choreographers Aira Naginevičiūtė-Adomaitiene and Greta Grinevičiūtė (moderated by theatre critic Vaidas Jauniškis). In the autumn, Conversations in the Great Hall will feature actors Valentinas Masalskis and Matas Dirginčius, Nele Savičenko and Jovita Jankelaitytė, Gintaras Varnas and the younger generation of theatre actors.

On 3 June, the LMTA invites you to a special event named Skambanti aikštė (Lt. A Square Full of Sounds). This event – the LMTA alumni reunion – will take place in Lukiškės Square. This Vilnius square, located just in front of the LMTA Central Building, will turn into a huge stage open to the public, where representatives of different LMTA departments will perform music, present theatre and dance performances, and film screenings.

On 9 September, the celebration events dedicated to the 90th LMTA anniversary will move to Klaipėda. In numerous spaces of the Lithuanian port – on ferries, in the Smiltynė beach, on the banks of the River Danė, and other venues– the students and teachers of the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty invite you to join The Jazzing Ferry, to see The Vision of the Past of Smiltynė Kurhaus, Dance Improvisations, and other events.

This year, several competitions– among others, the 3rd International Virgilijus Noreika Competition for Singers, the International Accordion Competition Vilnius 2023, the 4th Juozas Naujalis Competition for Choral Conductors – and scientific conferences organised by the LMTA are dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Academy. Throughout the year, an exhibition 90 Pauses. Catch Your Luck! invites visitors to see a collection of mementos that have brought good luck to their owners, the LMTA lecturers, professors, artists, and performers. To commemorate the anniversary, the LMTA has published a book 90 Facts and Stories About the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Lt. „90 faktų ir istorijų apie Lietuvos muzikos ir teatro akademiją”), a collection of facts from the LMTA official history as well as stories and memories of teachers revealing the informal life of the Academy.

Beata Baublinskienė
English translation by Viltė Gridasova 

28 March 2023  

Pictures by Gabija Matkutė:

Friday February 24th, 2023

“The word „tomorrow“ no longer existed after February 24, 2022”

„We are a group of Ukrainian students for whom the word „tomorrow“ no longer existed after February 24, 2022. We had no plans for the future“, – students from Ukraine say. After the war started, they were accepted to continue their studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. In solidarity with Ukraine and its people, we share the authentic story of the students.

These students came from Kyiv National I.K. Karpenko-Karyi Theater, Cinema and Television University. They have been studying at LMTA since the beginning of the war, here Ukrainian students attends lectures by professor Valentina Masalskis of the Faculty of Klaipėda. Students say:

“Kids, you will have your own theater!” It was strange and funny for us to hear such words at the first meeting. We are a group of Ukrainian students for whom the word “tomorrow” no longer existed after February 24, 2022. We had no plans for the future. But then we still didn’t know who Valentinas was. But when we understood who we were dealing with, the words spoken at the first meeting no longer seemed so crazy.  This is how the creative association “Amæntes” was formed – it is a play on the Latin words “amentes” – crazy and “amantes” – lovers. We would hardly have come up with such a name if we had not met Valentinas on our life path. It was he who taught us to be madly in love with the theater. We call him “Batko” (Ukrainian: Father) among ourselves and hope to be a worthy continuation of his cause, which will be embodied in our performances and creative projects, which we will certainly continue to create in Ukraine after the victory. We even had a joke that later in the textbooks they would write: “Valentinas Masalskis is the founder of the new wave of Ukrainian theater.”  “You can imagine how many things had to happen for you and I to meet, it’s not just like that” Valentinas.

LMTA information
24 February 2023 

Tuesday February 7th, 2023

On February 7, LMTA Celebrates Its Anniversary

On February 7, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre celebrates its 90th anniversary. 90 years ago, the Minister of Education signed an order for the establishment of the music education institution in Kaunas, the then temporary capital of Lithuania. The LMTA, the largest in Lithuania higher education institution in the field of music, theater, dance and film, will celebrate its anniversary through the year by inviting the public to events, exhibitions, conferences that are to take place both at the Academy and in other venues.

Today, the LMTA combines different types of performing and screen arts and the Academy’s faculties operate in Vilnius and Klaipėda, while everything started in Kaunas (the then temporary capital of Lithuania) with the launch of music studies and the establishment of the Conservatory. 

LMTA Rector, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė tells that the Lithuanian musicians, for quite a while, had cherished a dream to found a conservatory in the country. This dream was associated with the need for bringing up professional musicians in Lithuania and the development of the Lithuanian art. An example of such aspirations is reflected in a letter by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: ”  It is necessary to launch courses for organists and obtain permission to establish the “National Conservatory”. He could obtain permission but can’t handle the rest. 1000 roubles for the capital is requred. ” One thousand is too little,” I explain. But he was so passionate that promised an apartment as a gift and that we don’t need a lot of pianos, one would be enough – a couple of professors and one physharmonica, and when everything goes well, it’ll be possible to rent another piano! In short, the Čiurlionis National Conservatory is almost ready.” (25 November 1909).

“After the restoration of Lithuania’s Independence in 1918, as soon as in June of the same year, Juozas Naujalis, Juozas Tallat-Kelpša and Teodoras Brazys applied to the Council of Lithuania with a request to establish the Lithuanian State Conservatory in Vilnius. However, the decision took quite a long time. It was only in 1933 that Kaunas State Music School was reorganised into a higher education institution – the Conservatory. 7 February – the day when the Minister of Education signed the order for its establishment – became the birthday of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre,” continues the LMTA Rector.

The celebration will last for a year and feature a wide range of events.  On 29 March, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall will host a solemn event to honour the Academy’s anniversary, as 90 years ago, on 1 April 1933, the opening ceremony of the Conservatory took place at the State Theatre.

The Academy’s anniversary celebration for a wider audience is scheduled for 3 June and is to take place on the Lukiškės square in Vilnius, just in front of the LMTA Central Building.

On the eve of 2023, Conversations in the Great Hall, a cycle of interviews dedicated to the LMTA anniversary year, started. The first conversation was with Professor, LMTA Doctor of Honour, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis interviewed by the LMTA Rector Judita Žukienė. In January, there was a conversation with pianists, LMTA professors Petras Geniušas and Lukas Geniušas.

Later, the LMTA Great Hall is going to host more interviews: on 21 February, there will be a conversation with film directors Prof. Algimantas Puipa and Assoc. Prof. Laurynas Bareiša; the March meeting will feature theatre directors, Prof. Gintaras Varnas and LMTA graduate Antanas Obcarskas. And there will be more conversations with actors, singers, composers, modern dance art creators. The lobby of the second floor of the LMTA Central Building invites to an exhibition titled 90 Pauses. Catch Your Luck!  Apart from these, Vilnius and Klaipėda are bound to enjoy many other events dedicated to the Academy’s anniversary. 

LMTA information 
7 February 2023 

Thursday February 2nd, 2023

MOMENTS FROM LMTA ERASMUS+ STUDENT CONCERT

 On 2022, December 14 an Erasmus+ student concert took place at the Balcony Theatre. 

The concert was organized by Audrius Dobrovolskas, a senior specialist of the International Relations Department, together with Erasmus+ foreign students, to celebrate the upcoming holidays and the end of the autumn semester.

Participants:

Kyrylo Kremenchuk (Department of Acting and Directing)
Zurab Gorgiashvili (Department of String Instruments)
Asaf Erez, Voris Sarris (Department of Composition)
Massimo Restifo Pecorella, Antonella Laguardia (Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments)
Solitaire Bachhuber (Department of Vocal Performance)
Matteo Lattarulo (Department of Piano and Organ) 
Yevheniia Tkachuk (Department of Film and Television)
Kateryna Zelinska (Department of Acting and Directing)
Voris Sarris, Anna Pohlova (Department of Dance and Movement)

We are sharing the moments of this concert!

LMTA information
2 February 2023

 

Tuesday January 17th, 2023

THE YEAR OF THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LMTA HAS STARTED

An interview with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė, Rector of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and a musicologist.

This year, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre celebrates its 90th anniversary. For our school, this is a remarkable year linking a time-honoured tradition and a frenetic present. The Academy’s community is starting the anniversary year by revealing itself to the public even more: we’re preparing a wide range of festivals, concerts, staged plays, various performances at the LMTA halls, Lithuanian concert spaces, Gediminas Avenue and Lukiškių Square in Vilnius, and other venues. We’re having a conversation with the LMTA Rector, musicologist, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė, as we are curious to open wide the Academy’s doors, behind which you would observe lots of work in full swing.

Laimutė Ligeikaitė
7 meno dienos 

You have been part of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre for over 30 years – since the beginning of your studies in 1991. As a music historian, beyond any doubt, you have been observing and following the development of this school. So, my first question is related to the most recent times: in your view, since the restoration of Lithuania’s independence, which milestones of the LMTA transformation can be highlighted as the ones leading to what and where the Academy is today?

After the restoration of Lithuania’s independence, the expansion of the LMTA has been smooth and consistent (particularly, in terms of the study fields and programmes). The Academy has withstood transformations of higher education reforms and today it is a higher education institution that provides studies to music, theatre, film, and dance artists and researchers. During this period, the name of our school has changed twice: in 1992, the Lithuanian State Conservatory was given a name of the Lithuanian Academy of Music, and in 2004, the theatre direction – the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA) – was included in the name. One of the most prominent changes during this period took place in 1993 when the Academy started training film artists. So, this year is also special for the LMTA Department of Film and TV – it is celebrating its 30th anniversary. In addition, we are delighted to have dance artists under the one roof. We also foster knowledge and experience in art pedagogy and art therapy.

These thirty years have seen various transformations and migrations. The LMTA Kaunas Faculty has become part of Vytautas Magnus University. And the Klaipeda Faculty, after having been part of Klaipėda University for a couple of decades, reunited with the LMTA in 2018. It is obvious that by being together, by pooling all the resources, we can achieve much more.

We can easily state that the LMTA is the main higher education institution offering studies for professional music, theater, film, and dance artists. The school covers an incredibly wide range of professions, its graduates fill almost all the niches of the art world in Lithuania (and abroad). Unquestionably, it is a large institution that operates in Vilnius and Klaipėda. What helps and what disrupts a stable activity of this complex mechanism?

Shared beliefs and values enable creators and researchers belonging to different generations and art fields to find a common language and be part of the whole without losing their identity. The LMTA 2030 Strategy declares unanimity within our community as a value which is imperative for all of us: “Openness and sustainability, creativity, identity, academic freedom, responsibility and tolerance, equal opportunities for all, and the unity of our community.” Clearly, in a large institution, some processes are more challenging to manage, we may occasionally face problems, and communication becomes more complicated. In such cases, it is important to identify the issue in a  timely manner, find the cause and solve the problem in a systematic way to avoid its recurrence.  We do spend a lot of time on this. I am happy that we have students who often initiate relevant questions and at the same time become involved in finding the solutions. Sometimes, I’m amazed at the creativity with which representatives of different art directions and specialisations find the common denominator for their activity. Maybe, it happens because the process of creating art on stage and screen implies lots of cooperation, and without it you cannot even imagine, for example, making a film or staging an opera performance.

How would you describe the Academy’s relevance in the cultural life of present-day Lithuania? Is the Academy by itself capable of enduring the overall discouraging cultural situation, the spread of second-rate “art”? Is the LMTA visible enough to stimulate the society’s need for timeless values? What can help you? And what can become an obstacle?

It’s obvious that the Academy does not only fulfill the mission of educating aspiring artists for Lithuania and the world; it also unites the most prominent contemporary music, theater, film, and dance artists and researchers for joint activities, for assessment of prospects and insights. Our teaching staff are proactive members of the world of culture and art: they participate in the development of cultural policy and the activities of creative organisations. By providing education to the young, we are eager to provide them with the respect for fundamental values and openness to innovation. Yet, developing taste, fostering the need for higher values, and raising the prestige of the artist’s profession is a complex task that requires involvement of a wider range of stakeholders.

Now, speaking generally, what was the role of the appearance of this institution at the outset of the 20th century in the history of the formation of Lithuania as a state?

The establishment of the conservatory was an ambitious dream of our musicians (Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Česlovas Sasnauskas, Juozas Naujalis, Juozas Tallat-Kelpša, Teodoras Brazys, Stasys Šimkus, etc.) of the beginning of the 20th century. The need for professional musicians and the importance of a national higher education music school were perceived immediately after Lithuania’s restoration of independence, and this was not going to be postponed to better times. Already in 1919, when in Lithuania three hostile forces and their armies were simultaneously trying to usurp our territories and freedom, when the life was hard and tense, the state provided funding for a music school founded by Juozas Naujalis. The music school became state-owned (1920) and was an influential culture hub where the most prominent music teachers of the time, young composers and music performers returning from their studies in the West to share novelties were teaching.

The residents of Kaunas would informally refer to the school as a conservatory long before this name was legalised. Due to the lack of premises in Kaunas and the lack of funds, the reorganisation of the music school into a higher education institution was taking a long time. As the then-capital of a European state could not be imagined without an opera house and a conservatory, the establishment of the Conservatory in Kaunas in 1933 completed the stage of institutionalization of professional musical art in Lithuania. This step ensured preservation and development of the traditions of national art, provided the foundations for the teaching tradition of today.

From those earlier days of the Academy, is there a saying, a lesson or an event that you can personally relate to and that is valuable or interesting to you? Perhaps, there is a historical personality you admire?

Recently, I’ve had a chance to delve deeper into the circumstances of the establishment of the Conservatory, and in this context, the portrait of composer Juozas Naujalis, the founder and director of Kaunas Music School, has gained new colours for me. Juozas Naujalis is, in fact, the first director of our school who developed the first professional music education programme in Lithuania (from courses for organists to the programme of the Lithuanian Conservatory), built a competent teaching team and managed to obtain an entire building for the Conservatory. The documents stored in the archives reveal the adversities Naujalis was facing while transforming the school – consistently and patiently – into a conservatory. Some of the lines from the director’s documents (written a century ago) sound as if they are from today: “We are able to enrol only one quarter out of those who are willing to study”, “we need to build a new building for the school”, etc. Naujalis is an inspiring example of the relentless pursuit of the set goal.

For a higher education institution, undeniably, the most important part is students. Have you noticed how young people change with each generation – from their worldview, mindset to their everyday commitment, responsibilities and behaviour?

It is obvious that generations of students are changing and it is this change that guarantees the continuity and renewal of a higher education institution. I can get a first-hand view of how the students’ tastes, self-expression, and needs are changing. The same pieces of music receive a variety of reactions, opinions and expectations are expressed in a different way, and more and more new challenges related to studies are arising. Yet, it encourages you to rethink the content of studies, revise tasks and look for other means of motivation. Each student generation reveals new opportunities, new points of view, and inspires us to renew, modify, search for new points of contact between generations. I’ve learned a lot from my students.

I think you’ve also heard people saying that “almost anyone can get on stage, sing, jump, and act. What can you study there for four or six years?”, and so on. How would you reply?

Such considerations might be possible if you did not have direct encounters with professional art. If you go to the theater, a concert hall or the cinema, such questions will disappear. At the LMTA, we develop not only the mastery of the creative work or performance of young artists, we also develop a broader knowledge of art processes, structure, and laws, and we teach to evaluate and think critically. We educate artists who are prepared for independent work and creative process, for future changes and challenges, who are able not to replicate or reproduce, but to create, and this all is based on long-term work, a wide scope of knowledge. After all, our current first-year student will be creating or performing in the 2050s.

Other qualities of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre that are of no less (and perhaps even more) significance than a long-standing tradition are modernity and novelty. You will have even better conditions for the modernisation of studies after moving into the new campus of the Academy (which is currently being constructed). What are the indications of the Academy’s modernity and what prospects will open in the new place?

We’ve always understood and emphasised that we are providing education to the creators of the art of the future. Openness and tolerance for innovation is one of the fundamental values of the LMTA community. However, to remain relevant, you need daily efforts, new impulses, and the appropriate conditions. The Academy’s campus is one more dream of artists of different fields to study, collaborate, create together, and this dream is gradually becoming reality. Yet, new premises with state-of-the-art equipment are only a prerequisite. Who is going to teach and study in those new premises is far more important. That’s why, we pay a lot of attention to internationality, creating numerous opportunities for teachers and students to gain experience from foreign schools, updating the content of study programmes and strengthening competencies.

Staying modern means living for tomorrow every day. By understanding and building on the experience of long-standing traditions, focusing on long-lasting value and timeless beliefs and values, constantly renewing ourselves and boldly implementing innovations, we can preserve the likelihood that we will still be relevant to future generations. I have no doubt that the LMTA has a very reasonable chance.

Thank you for the conversation.

English translation by Viltė Gridasova 
24 January 2023

Thursday December 8th, 2022

Doctoral students’ art project defenses

Information about doctoral students’ art project defenses

Defence of Agnė Railaitė-Jurkūnienė Artistic Project “The partnership of collaborative pianist: Halina Znaidzilauskaitė interpretive contribution”

Supervisors of Artistic Research Project:

Artistic supervisor: Prof. Irena Armonienė

Research supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Laima Budzinauskienė

Defence Board of the artistic research project:

Chairman:

Prof. Dr. Indrė Baikštytė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Music C 001)

 

Members:

Prof. Nijolė Ralytė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Music C 001)

Prof. Dr. Julian Hellaby (Coventry University, Piano, Music)

Prof. Dr. Lina Navickaitė-Martinelli (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre,

Humanities, Art Research H 003, Musicology)

Prof. Dr. Habil. Leonidas Melnikas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Humanities,

Art Research H 003, Musicology)

DEFENCE OF THE ARTISTIC PART

December 12, Tuesday, 18:30 LMTA Building 1: Great Hall (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

Programme:

1. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) “Schlummert ein from Cantata Ich habe genug” BWV Nr. 82

2. Robert Schumann (1810–1856) “Widmung from Myrthen op. 25

3. Benjamin Godard (1849–1895) “Legende Pastorale from “Scotch scenes ”

4. Eugène Bozza (1905–1991) “Fantaisie pastorale”

5. Vytautas Montvila (1935–2003) „Trys pastoralės“

6. Jonas Jurkūnas (1978) “Vem ska trösta Knytet ”

7. Amilcarre Ponchielli (1834–1886), Fra Cristoforo aria Al tuo trono from the opera “I Promessi Sposi”

8. Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Filippo’s Aria “Ella giammai m‘amò!” from the opera “Don Carlos”

9. Charles Gounod (1818–1893) “Mephistopheles’ Couplets” from the opera “Faust”

DEFENCE OF THE RESEARCH PART

December 14, Wednesday, 10:00 LMTA Building 1: Juozas Karosas Hall (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)


Defence of Vytautas Germanavičius Artistic Project “Transformation of archaic interval structures and their application in microtonal music composition”

Supervisors of Artistic Research Project:

Artistic supervisor: Prof. Rytis Mažulis

Research supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rima Povilionienė

Defence Board of the artistic research project:

Chairman:

Prof. Dr. Ričardas Kabelis (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Music, Composition)

 

Members:

Prof. Dr. Mārtiņš Viļums (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Music, Composition)

Prof. Dr. Habil. Gražina Daunoravičienė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre,

Humanities, Art Research H 003, Musicology)

Prof. Dr. Rūta Stanevičiūtė-Kelmickienė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre,

Humanities, Art Research H 003, Musicology)

Prof. Juhani Nuorvala (Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Music, Composition)

DEFENCE OF THE ARTISTIC PART

December 13, Tuesday, 19:00 LMTA Building 1: LMTA Julius Juzeliūnas spatial sound sphere (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

Programme:

Vytautas Germanavičius. „ Rotte Bäume“ (2018)

Vytautas Germanavičius. „ I was killed by a Banana Tree“ (2019)

Vytautas Germanavičius. „ Blooming Ice“ (2020)

Vytautas Germanavičius. „L`astéroïde B612“ (2020)

Vytautas Germanavičius. „Be titro / Sans Titre / No Titre“ (2021)

Vytautas Germanavičius. „Avalanche“ (2022)

DEFENCE OF THE RESEARCH PART

December 15, Thursday, 14:00 LMTA Building 1: Juozas Karosas Hall (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius


Defence of Vytis Nivinskas Artistic Project “Transformations of jazz double bass in the contexts of innovation and experimentation”

Supervisors of Artistic Research Project:

Artistic supervisor: Prof. Anders Jormin

Research supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rūta Stanevičiūtė-Kelmickienė

Defence Board of the artistic research project:

Chairman: Prof. Petras Vyšniauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Music C 001)

Members:

Prof. Egidijus Buožis (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Music C 001)

Prof. Dr. Lina Navickaitė-Martinelli (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Humanities, Art Research H 003, Musicology

Prof. Dr. Audronė Žiūraitytė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Humanities, Art Research H 003, Musicology)

Assoc. Prof. Thomas Markusson (University of Gothenburg, Music)

DEFENCE OF THE ARTISTIC PART

December 13, Tuesday, 19:00 LMTA Building 1: Balcony Theatre (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

Programme:

Transformacijos (2022)

Music is the Ocean (2019)

Interviu (2021)

Nuages Gris (1881)

Balti medžiai (2018)

Po milijono metų (2020)

DEFENCE OF THE RESEARCH PART

December 15, Thursday, 10:00 LMTA Building 1: Juozas Karosas Hall (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

Friday November 18th, 2022

Online seminars in the frame of II BALTIC STRINGS international competition-festival 2022

Online seminars in the frame of II BALTIC STRINGS international competition-festival 2022

November 21st 6 PM – “Bond2tradition: a Licence to Interpret” (Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Gediminas Dačinskas)

November 25th 6 PM – “Physical Disorders of Performers and Their Prevention” (Lecturer Prof. Dr. Indrė Baikštytė)

Indrė Baikštytė graduated Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, improved her skills at the Berlin University of the Arts, in 2015 pianist was granted Doctor of Arts degree by the LMTA. I. Baikštytė is a laureate of many international solo, concertmaster and chamber ensemble competitions, she also won first prizes as a member of the piano trio “FortVio” – in 2015 ensemble became the Winner of the Culture and Art award of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The pianist plays solo with orchestras, actively collaborates with Lithuanian and foreign instrumentalists, willingly performs contemporary music, promotes the work of Lithuanian composers. I. Baikštytė is a professor of the Department of Chamber Ensemble at LMTA and Head of the Contemporary and Improvisational Music specialization.

Physical Disorders of Performers and Their Prevention

Performing art is directly related to the physiological processes of creative activity – to the performer’s posture, movement coordination, breathing, blood circulation, as well as to the biochemical processes of the human brain. All this directly affects the success and results of creative work. For active and creative performers who link their future with instrument management and stage activities, it is strongly recommended to pay attention to all these issues and take care of their physical health. During the seminar, the somatic and vegetative expressions of the performers’ nervous system, as well as stress and its management methods, will be discussed. It has already been proven that after assessing their physical condition and adapting appropriate ways of managing it, performers could feel more stable, prevent the most common physical disorders of performers, or deal with them properly if they do occur.

Gediminas Dačinskas studied at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and at the University Mozarteum Salzburg. Since 2003, the musician has devoted a major part of his professional activity to the Čiurlionis Quartet, a state-funded division of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society. Gediminas Dačinskas has played solo with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Klaipėda and Šiauliai Chamber Orchestras, the Gaida Festival Ensemble, Salzburg Orchestra Pro Musica, the Mozarteum University Symphony Orchestra, and others. Since 1998, Gediminas Dačinskas has taken part in the activity of the Vilnius New Music Ensemble, has played, among others, with ensembles Trio Advance, Vilnius String Quartet, The Camerata Salzburg and Darmstadt State Opera. Apart from teaching at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the violist joined in 2009, he also gives master classes in Lithuania and abroad.

“Bond2tradition: a Licence to Interpret”

Young aspiring musicians are confronted with enormous pressure, coming from a decade-long exposure to established patterns of interpretation devolved from teaching stuff of elder generations. Is an artistic independence just ever-fading chimere? What are important decisions to make, trailing own path in a flourishing variety of academic mastery? And where the thin line between a living tradition and worn out cliche lays? Let’s explore some decisive aspects and useful tools in this for centuries relevant discourse. So, let’s acquire ourselves an important licence – to interpret.

Events

2023/12/04

LMTA DEPARTMENT OF STRING INSTRUMENTS STUDENT CONCERT

2023 December 4, Monday, 18:00
LMTA Great Hall
(Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

LMTA DEPARTMENT OF STRING INSTRUMENTS STUDENT CONCERT

Participants:
Dina Novikova (violin)
Kristina Bernadickaitė (viola)
Martynas Grigas (viola)
Gabriella Elisabeth Snipes (viola)
Marija Vaitkutė (viola)
Augustinas Sokalski (cello)
Monika Tijūnonytė (cello)
Kornelija Morkevičiūtė (cello, continuo)
Aušvydas Kriščiūnas (double bass)

Accompanists:
Marija Bilinska
Milda Juci
ūtė

Programme: A. M. Ariosti, J. S. Bach, R. Schumann, G. Fauré, H. Büsser, G. Enescu, P. Hindemith, G. Kurtág

Free entrance

2023/12/04

CLARINETTIST JONAS MORKŪNAS MASTERCLASSES

2023 December 4, Monday, 13:00–18:00
LMTA Congress Hall, Room 
302  (Vilniaus Str. 6-2, Vilnius)

CLARINETTIST JONAS MORKŪNAS MASTERCLASSES

LMTA Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments students are participating (Lect. Antanas Taločka, Assoc. Prof. Julius Černius, Assoc. Prof. Rimvydas Savickas):
Morta Jurkėnaitė
Petras Kisielius
Oresta Aurelija Kvitka
Gustas Leskauskas
Benjaminas Markevi
čius
Augustinas Anrytis Petkus
Marco Scacciaferro
Simonas Šablevi
čius
Vakar
ė Taločkaitė

Accompanists:
Lina Šatkutė
Gintarė Rudaitytė

Programme: C. Stamitz, W. A. Mozart, C. M. von Weber, G. Donizetti, J. Brahms, Ph. Gaubert, F. Poulenc, J. Françaix, J. Widmann

Free entrance

2023/12/04

AN EVENING OF EUPHONY AND TUBA MUSIC

2023 December 4, Monday, 18:00
LMTA Juozas Karosas Hall 
(Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

AN EVENING OF EUPHONY AND TUBA MUSIC

Students of Assoc. Prof. Laimonas Masevičius are participating:

Euphony players:
Kasparas Nognius
Viktorija Siauryt
ė
Lukas Varpučianskis

Tuba players:
Jakub Antonkiewič
Vytautas Jaskevičius
Assoc. Prof. Laimonas Masevičius

Accompanist Jonė Punytė Svigarienė

Concert is led by Laimonas Masevičius

Programme: T. Susato, M. Bruch, G. Fauré, A. Piazzolla, P. McCartney, R. Szentpáli

Free entrance

2023/12/08

LMTA DEPARTMENT OF JAZZ CONCERT

2023 December 8, Friday, 18:00
LMTA Juozas Karosas Hall
 (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

LMTA DEPARTMENT OF JAZZ CONCERT

LMTA Department of Jazz students and lecturers are participating
Indrė Karbauskaitė
Rugilė Railaitė
Lukrecija Penkauskaitė
Monika Galdikaitė
Gerda Švedaitė
Gabriela Paulina Ždanovičiūtė
Beatričė Šimaitytė
Airė Kulbickaitė
Romualdas Karžinauskas
Gabrielius Gribauskas
Arkadijus Kurlianskas
David Papšel
Martynas Pinaitis
Prof. Art
ūras Anusauskas
Lekt. Vaidas Urmilevi
čius

The programme will include arrangements of jazz standards and original compositions

FREE ENTRANCE

2023/12/11

ADVENT EVENING “LOOKING FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS”

2023 December 11, Monday, 18:30
LMTA Juozas Karosas Hall
 (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

ADVENT EVENING “LOOKING FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS” 

Students and teachers of the children’s music school-studio “MuMo” of the LMTA are participating

Actors:
Atėnė Karaliūtė
Urtė Letkauskaitė
Kristijonas Bastys

Evening is hosted by:
Kotryna Račiūnaitė and Milita Lozoraitytė

Free entrance

2023/12/12

LECTURE “HOW I CREATE MY CONCERT PROGRAMMES”

2023 December 12, Tuesday, 16:30 
LMTA Juozas Karosas Hall
(Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius, IInd floor)

LECTURE “HOW I CREATE MY CONCERT PROGRAMMES”

The lecture will be given by pianist, pedagogue and concert producer GINTARAS JANUŠEVIČIUS (Lithuania / Germany)

For a decade, the name of pianist Gintaras Januševičius has been associated with narrative/programmatic recitals. By carefully selecting works for his programmes, paying attention to their combination, to the integrity of the concert, and enriching the action on stage with talking to the audience and theatrical elements, he creates a distinctive and unique genre of recital. He has successfully presented his programmes throughout Europe, as well as in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Hamamatsu and other cities around the world. His most popular recitals are Dreamcatcher (2014), All Chopin Waltzes (2015), The New Colossus (2019), Stories of the Merchant of Venice (2022), and his latest programme The Little Prince, based on the novel by A. de Saint-Exupery, debuted in 2023. In his lecture “How I create my concert programmes”, G. Januševičius presents his working process and reveals the elements of programme development and the importance of working with the audience.

The lecture series is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

Free entrance

More: www.janusevicius.com

2023/12/13

GUSTAS LESKAUSKAS (CLARINET) RECITAL

2023 December 13, Wednesday, 18:00  
LMTA Juozas Karosas Hall (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)

GUSTAS LESKAUSKAS (CLARINET) RECITAL

Teacher – Assoc. Prof. Rimvydas Savickas 
Accompanist Lina Šatkutė

Programme: 
Claude Debussy (1862–1918). „Pirmoji rapsodija“ klarnetui ir fortepijonui, L. 116 
Jörg Widmann (1973). „Fantazija“ klarnetui solo (1993) 
Carl Nielsen (1865–1931). Koncertas klarnetui, op. 57 
I d. – Allegretto un poco 
II d. – Poco Adagio 
III d. – Allegro non troppo 
IV d. – Allegro vivace 

Free entrance