Dainius Puodžiukas
Associate Professor of the LMTA Department of String Instruments. Subjects: Violin. Languages: English (C1), Russian (C1).
Dainius Puodžiukas was born in Vilnius, into a family of musicians. A graduate of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, he continued his studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. For a year, the young musician followed an internship programme at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse (Paris, France). Having successfully completed his bachelor’s and master’s studies at the LMTA, the violinist left for the USA. Here, within Artist Diploma Programme, the musician studied at Boston University (Massachusetts) and Longy School of Music of Bard College (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and in 2005 earned a cum lauder degree.
Dainius Puodžiukas has appeared in numerous events such as, among others, Music Academy of the West Summer Festival (Santa Barbara, California), Heifetz Music Institute Summer Festival (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, the USA), Soesterberg International Music Festival (the Netherlands), and the Thomas Mann Festival (Nida, Lithuania). In 2011, the title of a laureate of the International Competition Young Virtuosos (New York, the USA) granted the violinist an opportunity to perform solo at the acclaimed Carnegie Hall.
In 2005-2006, Dainius Puodžiukas taught violin at Boston University College of Fine Arts and Worcester Academy of Music (the USA). In 2008, upon returning to Lithuania, he joined the teaching team of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, a year later became Head of the Department and worked in the school until 2014. At the same time, in 2006-2017, Dainius Puodžiukas taught violin and chamber ensemble at the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania), and in 2017, joined the staff of the LMTA. Dainius Puodžiukas’ students are laureates of many national and international competitions.
Dainius Puodžiukas is one of the founders of the National Jonas Urba String Competition. In addition to his performing and teaching activities, the violinist is regularly invited to lead master classes, deliver speeches and presentations at scientific conferences, and participate as a member of evaluation committees at national and international competitions.