The Vilnius Municipal Choir “Jauna Muzika” in co-operation with the Culture and Art Department, Vilnius Municipality and in some cases with the Lithuanian Music Academy have been organising the Choral and Vocal-Instrumental Music Interpretation and Conducting Courses for choir leaders, music teachers, and students since 1995.
Great interest in the conducting courses showed the big demand for such events in Lithuania and abroad. It became a reason for organizing such courses permanently.
The masterclass at the Lithuanian Music Academy, led by one of the choral music coryphées Frieder Bernius, the artistic director of the Stuttgart Chamber Choir and the Stuttgart Chamber and Baroque orchestras, were held in March 1995.
Werner Pfaff, conductor, artistic director of the Studio Vokale Karlsruhe and Professor of the Frankfurter Hochschule für Musik, came to Vilnius the next year.