Mixed Choir "Klaipėda"
Miglė Mosėnienė is the concertmaster and artistic director of the Klaipėda choir.
Kazys Kšanas is the chief conductor of the choir, Professor Emeritus at Klaipėda University and Klaipėda’s Master of Culture.
Mixed Choir "Klaipėda" was founded in 1953 by prof. Klemensas Griauzdė, a conductor and composer. In 1956-1986, the choir was a part of the Klaipėda Folk Opera Theatre. In the period 1956 to 1966, the choir was led by Aleksejus Pozdnejevas, Aleksandras Buzys, Augustinas Kepenis, Robertas Varnas, and Juozas Idzelis, and, in 1966-1986, by prof. Kazys Kšanas.
However, the activities of the choir within the above thirty-year period were not limited to opera performances: the choir organised individual concerts of choral music, concerts with the symphony orchestra and soloists of the Folk Opera Theatre, as well as participated in the republican song festivals, choir festivals and other events held in Klaipėda and other cities, and choral music festivals held abroad, such as the Bela Bartok festival in Debrecen (Hungary, 1972), and festivals in Bulgaria (1975) and Germany (1983). The choir used to give concerts in Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Russia and other countries.
In 1987, after the establishment of the State Musical Theatre on the basis of the Klaipėda Folk Opera Theatre, the choir left the theatre and began to function independently. It was granted the status of a Lithuanian model choir and the name “Klaipėda”.
Currently, under the auspices of the ŽVEJŲ RŪMAI Culture Centre, the choir is actively performing in the city and the entire Lithuania, as well as abroad. The choir’s repertoire includes creations of various genres and styles: starting from baroque and classical music to the works by contemporary composers. The creations of Lithuanian composers, sacred music, Evangelical spiritual songs, marine-themed songs, and Catholic music play a significant role in the performance programme of the choir. In continuation of the tradition of the Folk Opera Theatre, a considerable part of the programmes of the choir’s repertoire consist of excerpts from operas and operettas.
The Klaipėda choir regularly participates in the Song Festivals of the Western Lithuania Region (2016-2019), and, in 2018, it sang at the World Lithuanian Song Festival named “Vardan tos…” (“In the name…”) that was dedicated to the centenary of the restored State of Lithuania.
Since 1975, the Klaipėda choir has participated the Klaipėdos muzikos pavasaris (Klaipėda Music Spring) festival seventeen times. It has also given concerts at the following international festivals: Voices of Nuoro in Sardinia (Italy, 1990), European Choir Days in Bremen (Germany, 1993, 1996), Uelzen (Germany, 1998, 2000), Ciampino (Italy, 2002), Unterwossen (Germany, 2008). The choir also performed in Macedonia (2006), Vigo (Spain, 2010), Tallinn (Estonia, 2016), Punsk (Poland, 2017) and other.
The following famous Lithuanian opera soloists have performed with the Klaipėda choir not once: Virgilijus Noreika, Irena Milkevičiūtė, Vladimiras Prudnikovas, Eugenijus Vasilevskis, Vytautas Kurnickas, Gražina Kurnickienė, Eduardas Kaniava, Sigutė Stonytė, Asta Krikščiūnaitė and other. The concerts of the Klaipėda choir often involve participation of the soloists from Klaipėda: doc. Mindaugas Gylys, Viačeslavas Tarasovas, and prof. Valentina Vadoklienė, the soloists of Klaipėda State Musical Theatre: Judita Butkytė-Komovienė, Steponas Zonys, Dalia Kužmarskytė, and Rokas Spalinskas, as well as soloists Audronė Levickytė, Stasys Šniukšta, Elena Lučkienė and other.
Sacred music programmes performed in Lithuanian churches continue to play an important role in the concert activities of the choir. These include concerts at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Palanga (2015, 2016), at the St Isidore Church in Renavas, Mažeikiai District (2017), at the Džiūgaukim...Aleliuja (Let’s Rejoice...Alleluia), the 19th Sacred Music Festival, at the Church of St Vincent de Paul in Marijampolė (2018), at the Church of the St John the Baptist in Biržai and the Biržai Castle (2019), and at the Church of the Apostles St Peter and St Paul in Varniai (2019).
On 28 December 2019, a memorable and very special event of the Klaipėda choir took place: a concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of prof. Kazys Kšanas, a long-time artistic director and permanent conductor of the concerts of the Klaipėda choir.
"Fairy-tale About Kitten, Cock-a-Dodle-Doo and Seven Goatlings"
