The Concert took place on Sunday, July 4th at 2PM
in the Hershey Centre, Mississauga, Ontario.
Gabija Petrauskas, ”DYNAMIC”, September 2010 issue
An 86 year tradition, started in 1924 in Lithuania, was continued once again in Mississauga, Ontario Canada this summer. It was a celebration of Lithuanian heritage through song. Here are some interesting statistics: over 1000 voices (1,111 to be exact) aged from 5 to 95 years sang in the festival chorus. 58 choirs or song groups participated from the UK, USA, Canada, Lithuania and Poland. ½ of the choir was made up of youths and children. 17 choir directors conducted the choir during the concert. The Hannaford Street Silver Band’s 40 person wind and percussion orchestra accompanied the massive chorus. The audience of over 4,000 came from across Canada and the US. 37 songs were performed in all. 6 songs were new creations written specifically for this Song Festival. 7 songs involved audience participation. Over 300 volunteers (young and old) from the Toronto/Mississauga Lithuanian Canadian Community contributed their time and their talents over the past 4 years of preparation to ensure the success of the Lithuanian Festival of Song 2010.
read more…
The IX Lithuanian Song Festival in Toronto on the 4th of July, 2010
Rasa Brittain, “BRIDGES”, 2010 July/August issue
View photo album
In any Lithuanian festival, the primary objective is to be festive, and how we do it – by celebrating song, dance, art, mushroom-picking, or any other unique aspect of our culture – is just the excuse for a serious tribal throwdown. In the case of this Dainų Švente, the music-making managed to hold its own against the merry-making.
But make no mistake, the party is a magnet. Lithuanian choirs across the continent swelled last fall, or were created outright, by folks who decided to legitimize their trek to Toronto by learning the repertoire and actually participating in the concert. And the event may be billed as a North American song festival, but welcomed all comers in the final roster of over 1,100 singers and 50 choirs from the United States and Canada, the British Isles, Poland, and of course, Lithuania. read more…
“LITHUANIAN HERITAGE” — 2010 July/August issue
View the cover of this issue.
View interior pages.
J.P. Antonacci, ”MISSISSAUGA NEWS” – 07/03/2010
Rock and Roll. The Lithuanian Song Festival will cover many styles and venues this weekend, but last night, it was all rock and roll, Lithuanian style featuring Marijonas Mikutavicius in concert. Staff photo by Rob Beintema.
They may be few in number, but Lithuanians sure know how to party. More than 1,000 people from Lithuanian communities in North America and Europe filled Malton’s International Centre last night to kick off the IX Festival of Song with a concert by legendary Lithuanian musician Marijonas Mikutavicius. read more…
Chris Clay, ”MISSISSAUGA NEWS” – 2010/06/28
A festival celebrating Lithuanian music and culture is staging several of its events in Mississauga this weekend (July 2-4).
The IX Lithuanian Song Festival will host a pair of concerts in Mississauga — Friday at the International Centre in Malton and Sunday at the Hershey Centre. Also, Mississauga’s Lithuanian Martyrs’ Church will host a mass on Sunday at 10 a.m. The festival concludes with a Sunday gala and dance at the International Centre. read more…
Gabija Petrauskas, “BRIDGES” – 2010 June
The 9th North American Lithuanian Song Festival will take place July 2-4th weekend, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 1200 voice choir main concert, Sunday, July 4th at 2pm, Hershey Centre, Mississauga,Ontario, Canada. Website for information and tickets: www.dainusvente.org OR www.lithuaniansongfest.org
This summer’s long weekend in July is eagerly anticipated by the Lithuanian Community in Toronto. Just over a hundred people of all ages are directly involved in organizing and hosting the 9th North American Lithuanian Song Festival in Toronto, Canada. Their work began four years ago when the 8th Festival in Chicago, Illinois ended and the “torch” was handed over, as in a relay, to the Principal Music and Artistic Director, Dalia Skrinskaitė-Viskontienė and Organizing Committee Co-Chairs, Paulius and Rasa Kurai of Toronto. Four years of planning will be over “in the blink of an eye” in three days this July. read more…
Andrea Benotas, “CHOIRS ONTARIO”– 2010 Spring
A song from my mother accompanied me as I drifted off to sleep in her arms as a baby. A song from my grandmother comforted me after I fell off my bicycle, as she wiped the dirt off my clothes, my knee scraped and bleeding. A song from my sister as we climbed into bed, arranging our stuffed animals, ready to go to sleep. A song at home; a song at school; a song every Sunday at church, and every summer at camp.
With song I have conquered many fears, surpassed some of life’s hurdles, celebrated friendships and successes, mourned bitter losses. With song I have become who I am. Through song, I find meaning. Through song I exist. I am the song. read more…
Birutė Litvinienė, “BRIDGES” – 2010 May
If nations were to be asked to open their heritage treasure chests, at the forefront of Lithuania’s cultural treasury would be dainos ─ our songs. The word is as ancient as the Lithuanian language and, according to Indian linguist Professor Suniti Kuman Chattergi, comes from the old Indo-European word dhaina: “To think, to ponder, to give thought to.” read more…
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. read more…
A small community with a big heart
Krystyna Cap, www.heritagetoronto.org , April, 2010
Lithuania was once part of the largest state in Europe. In alliance with Poland from 1386 until its third partition in 1795, the commonwealth at its height occupied almost 1.2 million square kilometres – about one quarter the size of the European Union. Today, Lithuania is approximately 65,000 square kilometres, just slightly smaller than the province of New Brunswick. Yet, Lithuanians have a rich culture and heritage spanning more than a millennium. read more…
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