CHRISTOPHER SUMMER  FESTIVAL
This year’s programme

Free admission

If you believe in the saying "your New Year's Eve is a preview of the rest of your year", you should also believe "expect surprises, for summer and the Christopher Festival are here!" That's precisely why we are inviting you to a real milonga in the heart of the Old Town, where you will see and hear the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra along with Tangata, a quintet loved by the global tango community. 

Tickets:
32, 42, 62, 82 Lt

If you associate the term "quartet" with a collective of serious musicians, playing serious music in serious halls with serious expressions on their faces, and if the mere thought of listening to such a collective already bores you, well throw that stereotype straight into the garbage can, because in Vilnius you can see some very special guests whose performances not only bring smiles to people's faces, but also unrestrained laughter. This is the funniest quartet in the world - MozArt Group!

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62, 82 Lt

The Christopher Summer Festival has arranged a special summer dessert to revive everyone who can't wait to hear some unsual and original sounds! One would say that the energy of rock and the elegance of classical music could never partner one another, unless, that is, the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra and guitarist Martynas Kuliavas take the stage together.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

Vienna is not only one of the most stunning European capitals, it is also a city that gave us the greatest classical musicians, the kings of the waltz, elegant Viennese balls, setting the highest benchmark for musical life. So don't miss this chance to listen to our guests from Austria who have prepared a glorious, celebratory programme which intertwines the mischief of the operetta, the sweeping grandour of dance, and the lightness and playfulness of Mozart.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

If you want to hear the true serenity of the soul above the empty noise that surrounds us and at least for a moment retreat from the never-ending rush, you must come to the Trecanum concert. The collective's artistic director Etienne Stoffel, learned in the art of Gregorian chant at the renowned Solesmes Abbey, gladly shares his knowledge with both the other members of Trecanum as well as every member of the audience.

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Spain'? Most likely the flamenco, the corrida, wine, delicious cuisine, lively nights and temperamental personalities? This specifically multilateral present image is the result of the influence of many nations and individuals, which seem to come to life in the programmes of the L'incantari ensemble and transport audiences to the very roots of Spanish culture. 

Tickets:
32, 42, 62, 82 Lt

It would appear that Joscho Stephan, guitar virtuoso, named as the successor of gypsy jazz pioneer, Django Reinhardt, could feel at home anywhere. The performer's affable approach infects others with positive energy, his natural temperament is transfused into his way of speaking, his gestures, and his music.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

Elena Strazdaitė-Bekerienė is the most prominent Lithuanian violinist from the 20th century who enthralled half of Europe with her playing. Although the Second World War destroyed her plans for an international solo career (she had been invited to the United States), her presence here was a true highlight in our cultural legacy. Teaching at the pre-war Lithuanian Academy of Music and later at the M. K. Čiurlionis Arts Gymnasium, this pioneer of Lithuanian violin pedagogy taught more than a hundred students, releasing them to pursue their dreams all over the world.

One of them was violinist Dana Pomerancaitė-Mazurkevich, who was born and raised in Lithuania.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

When the eight members of the vocal ensemble Voices Unlimited met for their first rehearsal, they didn't have the slightest inclination that in only a few years time an audience 8,000 strong would be giving them a standing ovation at the World Choir Games in China, or that the most well known concert halls would be opening their doors to them, or that they themselves would become cultural ambassadors for the city of Salzburg throughout the world.

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

Jacob Fischer - this renowned guitar virtuoso is inviting audiences to a recital full of surprises, featuring Scandinavian folk songs as well as Brazilian music flavoured with jazz tones. This particular combination is truly rare for Lithuanian concert halls, so don't miss this chance to dive into the whirlpool of light-coloured Northern melancholy, bossa nova nostalgia and crazy improvizations! 

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

The finest traditions are kept alive at the Christopher Summer Festival - following the impressive performances of Joana Amendoeira and Hélder Moutinho, this year the magic of fado will be revealed by a couple of young performers - Marco Oliviera and Ricardo Parreira. 
Age is no barrier when it comes to masterfulness. That's how these two could be described.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62, 82 Lt

Music For A While is an excellent collective of jazz musicians from Norway which was formed in 2004 that performs works by composer Kurt Weill exclusively. This concept proved to be winner from the very beginning: the ensemble has since enjoyed great success not only in concert halls in their own country, but abroad as well. 
The formula for this success, it seems, lies in the unique style of the composer's works...

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

When asked to share their feelings about this concert, the performers all agreed that it is useless to ‘talk' about romances... they must be listened to. Why? Because they are "verses and melodies that when listened to touch our deepest places, where the eternal and most moving are woven together into the most beautiful lines of prose: on love, longing, and time which goes by so fast..."

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

The sounds of the exotic charango will be heard for the first time here in Lithuania. It is a traditional instrument from the Andes similar to a miniature version of the familiar classical guitar. Even if at first glance it appears as if the charango is more of a toy than a musical instrument, in the hands of a talented performer it can produce the sounds of a choir, soloists, or even percussion... Too good to be true? Then seeing this concert is a must!

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

Even though pianist Alice Baccalini is a genuine Italian, born and studying in Milan, for this concert she has prepared a programme with Paris as its central theme. This city is as inseperable from names such as Frederyk Chopin and Franz Liszt as are the great classics from Vienna.

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

The members of Luz de luna did not choose such a poetic name for their trio by chance: their music does indeed flood the heart like moonlight, reaching into the very darkest corners.
The collective's concerts perfectly balance a mixture of world music, classical and jazz sounds, and the performers are of different backgrounds but share a similar world view.

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

Sometimes a major, special event does not demand a pompous presentation or a huge performance space - sometimes all it takes is two musicians in a chamber hall who combine their talents to create a subtle and moving miracle. 
Laureate of the 2008 J. Heifetz International Competition, violinist Justina Auškelytė and pianist Cesare Pezzi are a duet that creates more than special sounding music...

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

Passion and expression typify the duo of cellist Gleb Pyšniak and pianist Ole Christian Haagenrud, and leave no doubts about their brilliance. Enchanting not only the hearts of their audiences, but also of the strictest international competition juries, their performance is certain to delight guests of the Christopher Summer Festival as well.

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

Having spent many years writing works for other Lithuanian artists, producing songs and instrumental works, guitarist Martynas Kuliavas is now inviting audiences to the launch of his first solo album. This evening will feature both older favourites and new compositions performed on acoustic and electric guitar. This release is a unique event in Lithuania's musical panorama and a brave step forward for this musician who has been given the title of best instrumentalist.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62, 82 Lt

Astor Piazzolla's tango opera Maria de Buenos Aires is an emotional and dramatic story about the life of a young Argentinian woman. The opera tells of the main character's, Maria's, journey from the outskirts to the city centre's night clubs. Adoration in the cabaret is followed by complete condemnation, decline and death...

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

Back from Spain, Germany, Austria and Russia, the brightest Lithuanian talents invite you to a fiery evening where the flamenco and the tango will sound a little different - like the flamentango.
Andrius Masilionis, who is learning the secrets of the flamenco guitar in Spain's Cristina Heeren Fundacion de arte Flamenko, will entrance all with his improvizations that pulsate with liberty and vitality. Although the other artists are classical musicians deepening their knowledge at the best European and Russian schools, they have chosen the temperamental tango for this evening - afterall, true virtuosity has no limits!

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

It appears the young accordion virtuoso Martynas Levickis, whose performances leave nothing but the best impressions, was born to play this instrument. However, the laureate of more than thirty national and international competitions, the winner of the Coupe Mondiale 2010 world accordionists' competition, the first in Lithuania's history, and star of the TV project "Lithuania's talents" does not overrate his well-deserved titles and laurels, saying that his mission has only just begun. And just what mission is that?

Tickets:
27, 32, 42, 52 Lt

Welcome to the era of noisy big bands, polka-dot skirts and elegant hats, an age infected with dance fever! The Christopher Summer Festival stage will become a cosy jazz club where the unrestrained, energy-packed dance style called lindyhop will reign supreme, along with eleven lindyhop nuts in love with this movement.
They are the Rhythm Junkies street swing ensemble. Always happy and in a good mood, this collective knows exactly how to make even the biggest skeptics tap their toes in time to the music.

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

A bouquet of famous melodies with a hint of jazz harmony added, the softly burning, subtle, spell-binding and disarming vocals of Giedrė Kilčiauskienė, embraced by a perfectly balanced instrumental accompaniement - this is a combination perfect for an intimate summer evening. And even if you might have heard this concert's works many times before, this time you'll be pleasantly surprised: the essence of jazz is improvization, so you never know how things will sound in the "here and now".

Tickets:
32, 42, 52, 62 Lt

Classical music and the pulsating freedom of jazz, all with a Polish flavour. This is how one could describe the project initiated by one of the most famous Polish jazz performers, recognized for his activities by the legendary Duke Ellington himself. Włodzimierz Nahorny's sextet presents a new interpretation of works by F. Chopin and R. Maciejewski, giving them new value and stepping over long-established stereotypes.

Free admission

The Christopher Summer Festival, the Vilnius Teachers' House and the "Kraujas" Oncohematological Patients Association once again invites you to a fantastic musical event organized to help people suffering from leukaemia. Last summer during this event 331 potential donors registered - a surprising, pleasing and awe-inspiring record (up till then the greatest amount of donors in one day was 115)! Every new member on the donors register can become someone's hope for survival and to break free from the chains of leukaemia. So let's get together once again and whilst listening to lots of different music let's set the words "Live Don't Die" the right way round.