“Jauna Muzika” Vilnius City Municipality Choir was established in 1989 and is currently regarded as one of the most professional and most competent of vocal groups in Lithuania, hosting more than 30 performances in Lithuania and abroad every year. As of 1992 the choir was led by the Conductor and composer Vaclovas Augustinas.
ACTIVITY
“Jauna Muzika” is a winner of sixteen international choral competitions and the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. Thanks to its high-level performance, the choir has earned wide international acknowledgement.
The groups tours include European countries, China, Japan, Israel and prestigious stages of the world. The multilevel and charismatic group not only offers numerous performances, but is also the initiator, organiser and performer of important projects. As of 1995 the choir has been organising creative labs for choral music interpretation and conducting, as of 2008 – Vox Juventutis Choral Competition for Young Composers. In recent decade the choir has prepared performances featuring the opera-zarzuela DaliGala by H. Kunčius and G. Kuprevičius (2008), the special project With Respect to MKČ with Stavanger Brass Band for Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009 events (2009), the Great Mass by J. S. Bach with German State Rheinland-Pfalz Symphonic Orchestra (2012), The Year oratory by B. Kutavičius at the Unesco headquarters in Paris (2014), The Traveller's Notes project, dedicated to the choirs 25th anniversary (2015), Kantrimusik and Mitternachstueck by M. Kagel (directed by O. Koršunovas) at Concertgebow hall in Bruges (2015) and Semele by G. F. Handel (2017). V. Augustinas (b. 1959), the Senior Conductor and Artistic Director of the choir, is a particularly versatile personality, successfully working in different fields of music. He graduated from Choral Conducting in 1981 (class of Hermanas Perelšteinas) and Composition in 1992 (class of Julius Juzeliūnas). V. Augustinas also plays and creates music at rock bands “Saulės laikrodis” and “Antis”. He currently teaches at the Faculties of Composition, Singing and Jazz of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, is a professor and Head of the Faculty of Composition. His most significant and most abundant share of creative work consists of choral music, often performed in Lithuania and abroad. In 2010 V. Augustinas was awarded with the Lithuanian National Culture and Arts Prize.