“The festival will fill the new center of Vilnius with cultural energy. “Vilnius Spring Festival” concerts will take place in the National Art Gallery and will reveal the potential of the new center of Vilnius, directing the attention of Vilnius residents and tourists coming to Vilnius to this bank of the Neris river, replacing the usual places of events, walks and discoveries in the city of Vilnius, expanding the cultural map of the city. Lithuania has been a member of the European Union and NATO for 20 years, and its citizens have unique conditions to live safely, actively create and widely present national creativity, which is exactly why this festival starts on May 9 – in commemoration of Europe Day, and this year’s festival will exclusively feature premieres by Lithuanian creators! “, says the initiators of the festival, St. Nerijus Masevičius, director of the Christopher Chamber Orchestra.
During the festival, on May 9, 16, 23 and 30, exclusively Lithuanian premieres will be performed, including St. Kristoforos chamber orchestra concerts together with producer, electronic music creator Leon Somov, performer, composer Raminta Naujanyte – Bjelle, a performance with the jazz ensemble “Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble” assembled by Jievars Jasinskis and an oratorio by composer Giedrė Pauliukevičiūtė performed together with the choir “Liepaitė”.
The concert opens with symphonic jazz compositions
Specially created symphonic jazz compositions enriched by St. The string group of the Christopher Chamber Orchestra will sound! This special concert will also be dedicated to celebrating the 20th anniversary of the EU and NATO.
“Cooperation with St. The Christopher Chamber Orchestra is a unique opportunity to create an innovative symphonic/jazz sound while writing music for the big band and string orchestra. The sound of the string orchestra will not only enrich the scores of jazz works, but also provide new colors and sound possibilities when experiencing the sound of symphonic jazz,” say the members of Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble.
The first concert in Lithuania with sensory gloves
St. Kristoforos Chamber Orchestra together with Bjelle is creating a special program that will be performed on May 16 during the festival. This concert will feature new works by Bjelles for voice, MiMu Gloves, electronics and orchestra. If until now Bjelle performed only one or a few pieces in his concerts with these uniquely controlled gloves, this time he will perform the whole concert with them!
“It will be extremely intriguing St. A concert by Kristoforos Chamber Orchestra and Bjelles, who is not afraid to experiment boldly”, says the conductor of the orchestra, Modestas Barkauskas. MiMu Gloves is a device created by renowned British composer, performer and innovator Imogen Heap and her team that allows you to control and create music with hand gestures. These sensory gloves are best revealed when interacting with other acoustic and electronic instruments, and this time they will be used to reveal the sound of new compositions with combinations of vocals, live electronics, saxophone and orchestra,” shares Bjelle. During the performance, the guests of the concert will also take the stage: Milda and Teresė Adrijauskaitės, Adas Gecevičius and Matas Samulionis.
Unexpected duet of Leon Somov and cellos
Vilnius is a city where baroque sophistication is combined with modern architecture, where the calm pace of the city is combined with the modern rhythm of life, where you will always find oases of peace and intense everyday life.
“The producer Leon Somov, well known to the public, performed in an unexpected musical role during the Vilnius Spring Festival. Leon Somov will create a unique sound of electronic music, trying to take the gathered listeners to the spirit of the times of J. S. Bach, J. Haydn! The original musical approach of Leon Somov will be revealed on the stage next to the duo of cellists Dom Jakštas and Ignė Pikalavičiūtė. Everything is live already on May 23”, says M. Barkauskas.
The final oratorio of the festival
Vilnius Spring Festival, which will be held for the first time, will invite to its final concert on May 30, and St. The premiere of the oratorio “Gradus Ad Cor” by the composer Giedrė Pauliukevičiūtė performed by the Kristoforos Chamber Orchestra and Choir “Liepaitė”.
The oratorio “Gradus Ad Cor” is a musical-poetic narrative of texts about closeness, love, and knowledge of the world. The nine parts of the oratorio are like symbolic stairs to the heart, leading in a spiral to childhood memories, changing thoughts and opening new perceptions and feelings, and gently illuminating the present with new colors. This concert is exclusively dedicated to Children’s Day.
During the “Vilnius Spring Festival” there are as many as 4 musical premieres created especially for this festival. The festival will combine classical music traditions with jazz, electronic and experimental music styles. The organizers hope that this festival will become one of the brightest, most important meetings, music premieres and communication places in Vilnius.
