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Nijolė Benotas and Gabija Petrauskas
“LITHUANIAN HERITAGE” – 2010 May/June

The success or failure of any event depends on the people creating it and shaping it. Upon the conclusion of the 8th Lithuanian Song Festival in Chicago, Illinois in July of 2006, we were assured of the continuity of this tradition because the commitment to create and shape the 9th Song Festival was made by Dalia Skrinskaitė-Viskontas of Toronto, Canada. She is the Principal Artistic Director of the 9th Lithuanian Song Festival taking place the July 2-4 weekend in Toronto.

The Song Festival in Chicago in 2006, was a revival of a tradition dormant for the past several decades. To keep this tradition vibrant, it was essential that the “torch” be passed on as in a relay, to the next Artistic Director. Dalia, in taking on the “torch” for the next Song Festival in 2010, indicated: “I knew we needed continuity – perhaps I was meant to be the conduit of that continuity and with the help of many talented and committed people in Toronto, I knew that we could do it. I was also keenly aware that 20 years have gone by since Toronto soloist and choirmaster Vaclovas Verikaitis and 5 years since composer and choirmaster Jonas Govėdas had passed away. I grew up under the tutelage of the first and worked closely as a colleague with the second – so perhaps the upcoming Festival is in large part also for them.”

Dalia is a professional teacher, choirmaster, church organist, performer, soloist and effective leader. She is committed to continuous improvement and strives for ever higher quality in her work. She thrives on and rises to meet new challenges with a high degree of enthusiasm. Dalia always took great care to develop her inner soul through music – she has travelled the world’s major concert halls, attended numerous musical professional development conferences and seminars. All that she learned she shared selflessly with pupils in her classrooms, with singers in her choirs, and through her active participation in her parish and the broader Lithuanian Community.

Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, she left following the Second World War, with her parents at a very young age and lived as a displaced person in various refugee camps until the family settled in Canada. Her ties to Lithuania have always continued to be strong. As she developed professionally, she intensified her professional links with musicians and composers in Lithuania. To this day Dalia maintains a very strong bond with her Lithuanian heritage and is keenly aware of its contribution to the formation of her spiritual/creative side, primarily through music and song. She has always been generous in sharing the treasure trove of cultural heritage, understanding and soul, found in the music of Lithuania whether through fostering young voices of children, of students, of adults, of seniors. Song has a place in everyone’s life, at all stages of life. Perhaps, then, it’s not surprising that she chose as the logo for the 9th Lithuanian Song Festival the phrase – “I Am The Song”!!!

She is convinced that all 1200 singers who have already signed up to sing in the Festival Choir are also people who “live in song”. Why else would they come to Toronto from Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, Punsk in Poland, from Lithuania, Australia, Europe and from across Canada? “This Song Festival is not mine, it belongs to every person who heard the call to come and sing, who put in the hours required for rehearsals, who generously donated their free time and their hard earned money to join us in song and to give joy through song!”, says Dalia. “My most sincere thanks, admiration and love belong to them.”

We asked Dalia what motivated her to take on such a mammoth project? Whence came the vision for the Song Festival and the desire to give so much of herself and to take the risk? She replied: “I was raised in a family sincerely adhering to the principles – For God, Fellow man and Country, espoused by the Scout movement. I have a keen sense of duty and service. Growing up, I was not aware of any other options. There was no debate about whether we would spend our summers in Lithuanian summer camps, about whether or not we would attend Lithuanian Heritage school on Saturday mornings. These were givens and played an important part in shaping my life and who I am. It is something I am accustomed to and is a part of me to this day.”

Dalia demonstrates selflessness and humility in giving full credit to others who shaped her life. She fondly remembers her piano teacher, Danutė Rautins, without whose influence she would not have pursued her musical career. “She instilled in me a deep love and understanding that there is no end to finding beauty through music.” She remembers that during her formative years “I grew up surrounded by operas, concerts, art, pictures – everything was treasured by my parents and made available to me. Perhaps it’s easier to just surround oneself with beautiful music and beautiful things and to get pleasure from them every day… but… then there would be no one to share in all this beauty and joy. And this is the crux of the matter for us involved in choral work. For us it is essential to share the joy and to give it as a gift to one another – a gift that never ends! This is the key motivator for me – sharing the joy! I look forward to standing in front of the 1200 voice Festival Chorus. Although we will have come from very disparate corners of the world, we will perform as a unit and give you the gift of song.”

We look forward to seeing you there, at the 9th Lithuanian Song Festival in Toronto, Canada, July 2-4, 2010. The final closing song of the Festival is a new creation called “It wasn’t the land, it was the person” (“Nebuvo tai þemë, tai buvo þmogus”) in recognition of the fact that being Lithuanian does not depend upon a physical location, but rather, most importantly, it depends on the spirit within you – it depends upon you!