3rd annual Creative Educational Chamber Music Camp “Let’s Play Music Together” in Birzhai (Lithuania)
After last year’s success, the town of Birzhai and the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union (LMU) agreed to join forces once again with the V. Jakubenas Music School to organize the 3rd annual Creative Education Chamber Music Camp “Muzikuokime drauge” (Let’s Play Music Together) in Birzhai. Thanks to the invitation of Professor Petras Kunca, Board member of the association, the ECMTA was also closely associated with the realization of the project. With the strong support of Mrs Irute VERZIENE, Mayor of Birzhai and in the presence of Mr Aleksandras ZELTINIS, member of the Lithuanian Parliament, the session was an even greater success than last year. Led by Professor Kunca, Audronė Žigaitytė-Nekrošienė, President of the LMU, and Rima Zuoziene, Director of the Jakubenas School, the camp has now expanded to include students and teachers from more schools in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia: 24 student ensembles participated, from duos to a 15-member string ensemble, with a great many local students and teachers involved. In all, over 80 students participated, mostly between the ages of 8 and 20, many of them accompanied by their teachers. Repertoire included arrangements of popular pieces and children’s works as well as standard masterpieces, and every concert programme was filled with variety of instrumentation, style, age and level of participants. The spirit of the camp was clearly an excellent balance between ability, careful preparation, and inclusiveness.