Choir Competition of Juozas Naujalis jury
Thursday February 9th, 2023 12:33 PM
6th International Choir Competition of Juozas Naujalis members of the jury
Ēriks Ešenvalds is one of the most sought-after composers working today, with a busy commission schedule and performances of his music heard on every continent. After study at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary and the Latvian Academy of Music, he became a member of the State Choir Latvija. In 2011 he was awarded the two-year position of Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Since then Ēriks has won multiple awards for his work and undertakes many international residencies working on his music and lecturing.
Recent large-scale premieres include Lakes Awake at Dawn for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Pleiades for the Grant Park Music Festival Chicago, A Shadow for the BBC Proms, Dreams Under Your Feet for the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Whispers on the Prairie Wind for the Utah Symphony and Utah Chamber Artists, St Luke Passion for the Latvian Radio Choir and Sinfonietta Riga, Visions of Arctic: Sea for the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, and the major multimedia symphonies Nordic Light and Volcano Symphony, both premiered in Latvia with further performances around the world. His full-scale opera The Immured was premiered at the Latvian National Opera in 2016 to great acclaim.
His compositions appear on recordings from Trinity College Choir Cambridge and Polyphony with Britten Sinfonia on Hyperion, Portland State Chamber Choir and the Vasari Singers on Naxos, Latvian Radio Choir with Sinfonietta Riga on Ondine, Elīna Garanča with the Latvian Radio Choir on Deutsche Grammophon, ORA Singers on Harmonia Mundi, VOCES8 on Decca Classics, The Crossing on New Focus, Merton College Choir Oxford on Delphian, and Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University, the University College Dublin Choral Scholars, and the National Youth Choir of Scotland on Signum, amongst others.
Edition Peters Artist Management is managing Ēriks Ešenvalds’ commissions and workshop schedule. Ēriks Ešenvalds is published by Musica Baltica in global partnership with Edition Peters.
Doc. Anna Moniuszko – graduated Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (Poland) in , achieving Master degree in choral and instrumental conducting. She began her academic career in FCUM in 2003. In 2010 she received PhD degree in conducting, following with post – doc degree (habilitation) in 2015. She continues to work in her Alma Mater giving classes on conducting and early music performance. In 2003 she began her cooperation with one of the oldest academic choirs in Poland – The Choir of Medical University in Białystok, with which she won many prizes in international choirs competitions and was also awarded with several individual prizes for the best conductor of the competition. In 2005 she founded professional Early Music Ensemble „Diletto” which specializes in historical performing of early music, especially of the baroque period. In over a decade the „Diletto” ensemble has staged 7 baroque operas and many of the most famous oratorios such as G.F.Haendel’s „Messiah”, „Israel in Egypt”, „Brockes Passion” , J.S. Bach’s „Weihnachtsoratorium”, „Oster – oratorium”, „Ascension- oratorium”, „St. John’s Passion” and many more. She is the Artistic Director of the „International Festival of Early Arts” in Białystok, International Choir Competition „Cantu Gaudeamus” and series of concerts „Music of Baroque Masters”. In the year 2016 she was honoured with the Artistic Prize of the President of the City of Białystok (Poland) for her artistic activity. In 2020 she received ministerial Honorary Badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture” and Artistic Award of the Marshal of the Podlaskie Voivodeship (2022).
Dr. Linas Balandis (b. 1988, Lithuania) graduated in Choir Conducting under Vytautas Miškinis from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (2013) and PhD at the same institution, under Povilas Gylys and Danutė Kalavinskaitė (2018). He is the winner of four international competitions: The Art and Education in the 21st Century in Portugal (2009); V. Rovdo Conductors’ Competition (2014) in Minsk, at which he was also awarded two Special Prizes (the prize of the magazine Belarus Musician among them); VII International choir conductors’ competitions „Towards Polyphony“1st place winner, special choir sympathy prize, special prize for the best interpretation of K. Szymanowski „A chtóz tam puka“ (Poland, 2016); III International Juozas Naujalis choir conductors’ competition 2nd place winner, special prize for the best interpretation of Western Europe composer’s piece – Anton Bruckner Os justi (Lithuania, 2017). Furthermore, he has won prizes at five Lithuanian competitions (including the Lithuanian Young Conductors Competition). He is currently the conductor and Artistic Director of the male choir Kariūnas at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Artistic Director of Šiauliai State Chamber Choir „Polifonija“. Choirmaster of mixed choir in Music and Theater Academy of Lithuania (Choir Conducting Department).