St. George's Church

HOPAK by Dunai, 2009 Niagara Folk Arts Festival at St.George Hall

The St.Catharines-based Dunai Dance Ensemble performed their Hopak on May 18, 2009 during the Niagara Folk Arts Festival, at St.George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church hall on Facer St. in St.Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The ensemble's artistic director is Orest Samitz.

Hill of Crosses Lithuania

J. Massenet Meditation

Auguste E. Janonyte plays 'Meditation' from 'Thaïs' by Jules Massenet

Concert for the Restoration of Independence day in Lithuania at the St Virgin Mary Church in Šiauliai, Lithuania. 15/02/2019

Šiauliai Chamber Orchestra
Violin - Augustė Emilija Janonytė
Conductor - Vilhelmas Čepinskis

Blessed George Matulaitis-Matulewicz

A brief video in honor of the 100th anniversary of the renovation of the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Blessed George saved the congregation from extinction.

A video with more footage:

Juozas Pakalnis Romantiškoji uvertiūra- Lietuvos kariuomenės orkestras

Juozas Pakalnis (1912-1948) Romantiškoji uvertiūra / Romantic Overture, aranžavo /arrangement by Kazys Daugėla
Atlieka Lietuvos kariuomenės orkestras / Lithuanian Army Band
Dirigentas ir meno vadovas /conductor and artistic director maj. Egidijus Ališauskas,
Diriguoja kapitonas/ conductor capt. Dainius Pavilionis
Lietuvos kariuomenės orkestras švenčia 25-erių metų kūrybinės veiklos sukaktį.
Įrašas iš šventinio koncerto Lietuvos nacionalinėje filharmonijoje 2016.11.05.

© Video recording by Kazys Daugėla, 2016, Vilnius, Lithuania

Juozo Pakalnio (1912-1948) gyvenimas tetruko vos 35 metus, tačiau lietuvių muzikos istorija mena Juozą Pakalnį - dirigentą, atlikėją, pedagogą, o svarbiausia - kompozitorių, baleto Sužadėtinė autorių.
Gana greit Juozas Pakalnis Lietuvoje išsikovojo autoritetą kaip talentingas muzikas. Nors didelę laiko dalį atimdavo darbas orkestre, konservatorijoje, dalyvavimas koncertuose, Juozas Pakalnis intensyviai kūrė iki pat mirties. Interpretacinė bei pedagoginė veikla padėjo muzikui bręsti ir tobulėti, o studijos Leipcigo konservatorijoje galutinai subrandino jį kaip kompozitorių.
Juozas Pakalnis gimė 1912 m. rugpjūčio 4 d. Veselkiškių kaime (Pakruojo rajone). 1926 m. pradėjo mokytis Klaipėdos muzikos mokykloje fleitos klasėje pas čekų pedagogus Albertą Bursiką, vėliau - Franzą Beningą. Baigęs mokyklą, 1930 m. buvo priimtas į Kauno Valstybės teatro orkestrą, o nuo 1931 m. ėmė dėstyti fleitos specialybę Kauno muzikos mokykloje, parašė pirmuosius stambesnės formos kūrinius. 1936 m. jaunasis muzikas debiutavo ir kaip dirigentas - jo diriguojamas Valstybės teatro orkestras atliko jo paties kūrybą. Taip pat muzikas koncertavo kaip solistas fleitininkas. 1938-1939 m. Juozas Pakalnis studijavo Leipcigo konservatorijoje dirigavimą pas Hermanną Abendrothą, kompoziciją pas Johanną Nepomuką Davidą. Grįžęs į Lietuvą, toliau tęsė dirigento darbą Kauno Valstybės teatre. Juozas Pakalnis mirė 1948 m. sausio 28 d. Vilniuje.
Juozo Pakalnio muzikinis palikimas apima keliolika solinių ir chorinių dainų, kamerines, simfonines kompozicijas, nebaigtą operą ir stambiausią kūrinį - baletą. Juozo Pakalnio muzikinė kalba artima vėlyvajam romantizmui. Kompozicijoms būdinga spalvinga instrumentuotė, melodingumas, lyrinės melodijos dažnai primena lietuviško folkloro intonacijas, gyvybingumo muzikai suteikia išraiškingas ritmas.

Vaclovas Juodpusis. Juozas Pakalnis. - Vilnius: Vaga, 1972

Although Juozas Pakalnis (1912-1948) lived only 35 years, he has left a distinct mark in the history of Lithuanian music as a conductor, performer, pedagogue and most significantly - a composer, author of a ballet Fiancée.
It did not take long for Juozas Pakalnis to become recognised as a talented musician in Lithuania. Even though work in the orchestra, at the conservatoire, and performing in various concerts took a considerable amount of time, Juozas Pakalnis remained active as a composer until his death. Performing career and pedagogical work has helped the musician to mature and grow, while his studies at the Leipzig Conservatoire put final touches on his compositional style.
Juozas Pakalnis was born in Veselkiškės village (Pakruojis district) on August 4, 1912. In 1926 he entered Klaipėda music school where he studied flute with Czech pedagogues Albert Bursik and Franz Bening. Upon graduation in 1930 he got the flutist position in the Kaunas State Theatre orchestra, and in 1931 started teaching flute at the Kaunas music school. At that time he composed his first large-scale compositions. In 1936 he made his conducting debut directing the State Theatre orchestra in performance of his own compositions. He also performed as flute soloist. In 1938-39 Juozas Pakalnis studied conducting with Hermann Abendnoth and composition with Johann Nepomuk David at the Leipzig Conservatoire. Upon his return to Lithuania he continued his conducting career at the Kaunas State Theatre. Juozas Pakalnis died on January 28, 1948 in Vilnius.
Juozas Pakalnis' output consists of solo and choral songs, chamber and symphonic works, unfinished opera and his largest composition - a ballet. The composers' idiom is close to late romanticism, his compositions abound in colourful instrumentation, vigorous rhythms and lyrical melodies akin to Lithuanian folk music.

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To purchase score and parts: kazys.daugela@yahoo.com
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Kaunas | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Kaunas


00:01:40 1 Etymology
00:02:26 2 Folk history
00:03:12 3 Coat of arms
00:04:40 4 History
00:04:49 4.1 Early history
00:05:25 4.2 Grand Duchy of Lithuania
00:07:26 4.3 Russian Empire
00:10:00 4.4 Interwar Lithuania
00:18:59 4.5 Soviet occupation and the June Uprising
00:24:48 4.6 Nazi occupation
00:26:33 4.7 Jewish community of Kaunas
00:29:38 4.8 Soviet administration
00:32:43 4.9 Restored independence
00:34:44 5 Geography
00:35:09 5.1 Administrative divisions
00:35:21 6 Climate
00:36:44 7 Religion
00:37:37 8 Culture
00:40:03 8.1 Museums
00:42:01 8.2 Theaters
00:43:04 9 Parks, Leisure, and Cemeteries
00:44:40 10 Economy
00:49:39 11 Demographics
00:51:46 12 Municipality council
00:52:17 12.1 Mayors
00:54:00 13 Transportation
00:54:09 13.1 Airports
00:55:07 13.2 Highways
00:55:53 13.3 Bridges
00:57:06 13.4 Railways
00:58:00 13.5 Hydrofoil
00:58:24 13.6 Public transportation
00:59:48 14 Sports
01:02:25 15 Education
01:04:26 16 Annual events
01:05:27 17 Notable residents
01:05:36 18 Twin towns – sister cities
01:05:49 19 Honours



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- Socrates



SUMMARY
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Kaunas (; Lithuanian: [ˈkɐʊˑnɐs] (listen); also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania and the historical centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the centre of a county in Trakai Municipality of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915.
During the interwar period, it served as the temporary capital of Lithuania, when Vilnius, the traditional capital, was considered part of Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was nicknamed the Little Paris because of its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, the interior design of the time, and a widespread café culture. The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label. It contributed to Kaunas being named as the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to be designated as a UNESCO City of Design. Kaunas has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2022, together with Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.The city is the capital of Kaunas County, and the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the Kaunas District Municipality. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and is near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water in the whole of Lithuania.