Juozas Rimas (born 1942) is a Lithuanian oboist and professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre who has recorded over 150 pieces and played for a number of regional orchestras.
Juozas Rimas graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 1965, and completed his post-graduate studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1969. He began performing as a soloist in 1961, and has been one of the most active Lithuanian soloists since then. Rimas' performances have frequently been featured on Lithuanian National Radio. He has participated in a number of international festivals, performing in the genres of classical music, jazz, and Lithuanian folk music, as well as premiering about 50 pieces written for the oboe by Georgian, Uzbek, and Russian composers.
In 2004, Rimas was honored with Lithuania's Order of Vytautas the Great (Officer's Cross)lt:Vytauto Didžiojo ordino Karininko kryžius.
Music of Lithuania refers to all forms of music associated with Lithuania, which has a long history of the folk, popular and classical musical development. Music was an important part of polytheistic, pre-Christian Lithuania – rituals were accompanied by music instruments and singing, deeds of the heroes and those who didn't return from the war were celebrated in songs.
"Tautiška giesmė" or "Lietuvos himnas", also known by its incipit "Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų", is the national anthem of Lithuania. The music and lyrics were written in 1898 by Vincas Kudirka, when Lithuania was still part of the Russian Empire. The fifty-word poem was a condensation of Kudirka's conceptions of the Lithuanian state, the Lithuanian people, and their past. Shortly before his death in 1899, the anthem was performed for Lithuanians living in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The National Kaunas Drama Theatre (NKDT), formerly Kaunas State Drama Theatre, is a theatre and theatre company in Kaunas, Lithuania. The company is the oldest professional theatre troupe in Lithuania, founded in 1920 at the building now known as the Kaunas State Musical Theatre. It moved to its current location, the building formerly housing the "Metropolitain" cinema, in 1959.
Vytautas Juozapaitis is a Lithuanian singer (baritone), recipient of Lithuanian National Prize, a soloist of Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and Kaunas State Musical Theatre, a professor of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and a docent of Vilnius College of Higher Education, and a television personality. He has performed in many international venues and is considered the most famous contemporary Lithuanian baritone.
The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania, is a state-supported conservatory that trains students in music, theatre, and multimedia arts.
Onutė Narbutaitė is a Lithuanian composer.
Culture of Lithuania combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the unique Lithuanian language, with Nordic cultural aspects and Catholic traditions resulting from historical ties with Poland. Although linguistic resemblances represent strong cultural ties with Latvia in various historical moments Lithuania was influenced by Nordic, Germanic and Slavic cultures. Various cultural changes occurred throughout Lithuania's transformation from a country occupied by the Soviet Union to an independent Baltic state. The culture of Lithuania can be divided into five ethnographic regions: Dzūkija, Samogitia, Aukštaitija, Sudovia and Mažoji Lietuva.
Vytautas Miškinis is a Lithuanian composer, choral conductor and academic teacher. He is artistic director of Ąžuoliukas, a boys' and youth choir and music school, and of other ensembles, performing internationally. He has taught choral conducting at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre from 1985. His groups have won prizes at international competitions, where he also served as member of the jury. His compositions are part of international standard choral repertoire.
Linda Maxey is a celebrated concert marimbist virtuoso and was the first marimbist presented by Community Concerts, a division of Columbia Artists Management in New York that presented concerts to a network of subscription audiences whose pooled resources attracted leading performers and ensembles.
Mindaugas Piečaitis is a Lithuanian composer and conductor who has worked with several major Lithuanian musical organizations. He gained international attention as the composer and conductor of a chamber orchestra piece featuring a performance by Nora, a cat who plays the piano.
Mindaugas Rojus is a Lithuanian opera singer, a soloist of Klaipėda State Music Theatre, and a member of a stage duo Žemaitijos perlai.
Eglė Špokaitė is a Lithuanian ballet dancer, most notably a Principal Ballerina for the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (1989–2011) and the only ballet dancer on the List of Famous Lithuanians. She co-founded the Egle Špokaitė Ballet School in Vilnius, Lithuania (2008), where she also served as artistic director. In the United States, she founded the Ballet Institute of San Diego dance school (2016). Špokaitė is also a choreographer, actress, and public speaker. She's the winner of the Lithuanian National Prize, as well as numerous other awards and honors. She lives and works between San Diego, CA and Vilnius.
Giedrius Antanas Kuprevičius is a Lithuanian composer and music educator.
Sigutė Stonytė is a Lithuanian soprano and professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Raminta Šerkšnytė is a Lithuanian composer, pianist and associate professor of composition. She is a laureate of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, in 2020 she was nominated (shortlisted) for a Gramophone Classical Music Award. Her De profundis for string orchestra (1998), composed when she was just twenty-two years of age, is one of the most popular and performed Lithuanian compositions across the world. Maestro Gidon Kremer described De profundis as “the calling card of Baltic music”.
Leon Somov & Jazzu was a Lithuanian electronic music group, composed of Leonas Somovas, also known as Leon Somov, and Justė Arlauskaitė, also known as Jazzu.
The Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival, colloquially known also as the Song Celebration is a Lithuanian massive traditional song and dance festival. It takes place roughly every four years. The event has been a national celebration throughout the interwar and upon Lithuania regaining its independence in 1990. The main event is traditionally hosted at Vingis Park in Vilnius.
Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė is a Lithuanian politician and the incumbent Minister of Education, Science and Sports, succeeding Gintautas Jakštas on 27 June 2024. She has served as a Member of the Seimas since 2016, and has additionally served as Deputy Speaker of the Seimas since 2020 and as First Vice Chairwoman of the Homeland Union since 2021.
Faustas Latėnas was a Lithuanian composer, theatre manager, politician and diplomat. He composed mostly incidental music, and also scores for films and television. He was vice-minister of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, advisor to the prime minister in cultural affairs, and cultural attaché in Moscow.
Birutė is a two-act opera composed by Mikas Petrauskas based on the play by Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis. It was first performed on 6 November 1906 in Vilnius and became the first Lithuanian national opera. The plot is based on the medieval legend about the love between Birutė and Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis recorded in the Lithuanian Chronicles. The opera was written for the amateur Lithuanian performers and thus is mostly valued for its historical significance.