Aušrelė Juškevičienė

Associated Professor at the LMTA Department of Folk Instruments. Subjects: Kanklės, Chamber Ensemble, Instrumentation, Music Education. Languages:  English (B2), Russian (C1).

Aušrelė Juškevičienė is a kanklės (an authentic Lithuanian plucked string instrument) music performer. She graduated with a degree in kanklės in 1988 from the Lithuanian State Conservatory (now – the LMTA) where she studied in Professor Pranas Stepulis’ class. Later, Aušrelė followed postgraduate studies at the LMTA (1989–1993) and since 1993 has taught in her alma mater at the Department of Folk Instruments and Accordion.

Aušrelė Juškevičienė started her career in music in 1982. As a kanklės music performer (both high-pitched and bass kanklės), she has played in chamber ensembles of various composition, where the most prominent, among others, are the folk instrument ensemble Sutartinė (1982–1984), the Kanklės Trio of the Lithuanian Art Museum (1986–2005), the folk instrument ensemble Kanklės (1992–2002), and the folk instrument ensemble Vaivora (2003–2018). Among the most remarkable milestones of these ensembles are their recordings of works by Lithuanian composers on the Lithuanian radio; several CDs; participation in national and international projects and festivals; and concert tours in Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, the USA, Canada, Latvia, and Japan.

Together with the ensemble Vaivora, Aušrelė Juškevičienė has won several international competitions and the Grand Prix (Moscow, Russia, 2008; St. Petersburg, Russia, 2009; Osaka, Japan, 2011). In 2007, she was nominated a laureate of the Golden Disc, a prestigious award by the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union.

Aušrelė Juškevičienė has worked together with kanklės music performers Professor Lina Naikelienė, Aistė Bružaitė, Jolanta Babaliauskienė, Ingrida Spalinskaitė; also, with birbynė (authentic Lithuanian wind instrument) performers Antanas Smolskus, Eugenijus Čiplys, Egidijus Ališauskas, Irmantas Andriūnas; and acclaimed singers Virgilijus Noreika, Irena Milkevičiūtė, and Asta Krikščiūnaitė.

For many years, in 2003-2018, both as a kanklės performer and conductor, Aušrelė Juškevičienė took part in the kanklės concert May the Kanklės Play of the Lithuania’s Song Celebration.

Aušrelė Juškevičienė is frequently invited to be on the jury board at various national and international competitions. She has led master classes and participated in the Erasmus + programme (Riga, 2011; Helsinki, 2016).

Since 1993, Aušrelė Juškevičienė has been a member of the Lithuanian Folk Instrumental Music Association Kanklės and in 2012 was elected a chairperson of the association. She has been a member of the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union since 1998.