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GREETINGS FROM SUNNY TORONTO TO MY

SONG FESTIVAL FRIENDS!

 We Canadians are very proud of our Olympic gold medals.  Having watched the races and competitions, I’ve decided to take up figure skating. Before I shop for skates and sign up for lessons, I have some INFORMATION for you.

Please read carefully and be sure to meet all deadlines.

CONCERT WEAR

 The concert wear committee consists of Ramunė Stravinskaitė, Ramunė Stravinskienė and Jūra Landry.  The order forms have already been sent out to the children’s choirs, and the men’s order forms will be sent out shortly. Order forms will not be required for the women, as we will order shawls (wraps) for you.  There will be a single order placed for ALL the items, so if you miss the deadline you’ll be out of luck. In that case, you’ll be clapping, rather than singing.

C HILDREN’S choir chaperones will sit with them and wear the same t-shirts, so be sure to include them in your orders.

WOMEN in the youth and adult choirs will wear their own black blouses or dressy t-shirts, black slacks (not jeans) or long black skirts, and black (or dark) shoes (not running shoes), and provide their own amber or brass brooches for the linen shawls (wraps?) that we will supply.

MEN will wear black pants (not jeans) and black shoes (not running shoes).  We will order your linen shirts and sashes.

 We’ll look fabulous!  Check out the sample photos!!

SOUND RECORDINGS

Darius Polikaitis and his talented singers continue to work hard, recording our songs.  Be sure to check the website at least a couple of times every week for new postings.  During rehearsals it becomes very obvious who has been practicing with the recordings.  They’re developing as choristers and are happy with their performance.  And that makes me happy too!  (But I’m still going to buy those skates.)

By the way, I have some good news: we’re patting each other on the back because we can now finish NEBUVO TAI ŽEMĖ without a break, and without complaining afterwards.  The recordings are excellent and, after listening to them every single day between now and the concert, we’ll amaze the entire village! So, everyone: courage and perseverance!

The CHILDREN will sing without songbooks!  Our kids are very capable and the books are a distraction.  My choristers have memorized almost all of the songs from the website.  Their parents tell me that even they’ve learned the repertoire because their kids have been singing along with the recordings at home. 

ADULTS AND YOUTHS will be singing the national anthems and VIEŠPATIES PASAULIS from memory, and the other songs with the songbooks.  Of course, by July 4 we’ll have everything memorized too.

VIDEO SCREENS

During the performance, our expert photographers, Daina and Romas Puteris, will produce a visual display on several huge screens to show everyone who we are and how we live. Daina and Romas are asking every choir to submit at least 3 photos to photovisionsdigital@rogers.com by March 25.  One should show your city’s most famous landmark, the others ─scenes from your Lithuanian community’s events.   

It will be fun to see our own and our friends’ smiling faces, but also to show each other where we live, what we do, what we enjoy. 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your patience! For checking (at least 50 times by now) the lists, for the encouragement, the photos I “talk” to when I need to focus, the 150 daily visits to the website, the hotel reservations (we own the Marriott), and for your trust. 

Three choirs are coming from Lithuania, one from Punsk and one from London, England ─ how exciting!!

Enough for today.  I’m off shopping for my skates.  (I don’t understand why one of my tenors suggested yesterday that I’d be better suited to being a goalie on a hockey team and should forget the figure skating…)

 BE HAPPY AND SING, EVERYONE!

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

 I wish you all the best in 2010 as we shift into high gear with renewed enthusiasm for our work.  Of course, every turn of a new calendar page brings new anxieties because there is still so much to be done in the coming months. When my heart starts pounding and my hair stands on end, I remember that I’m not travelling down this path of song for only myself, and I’m not travelling alone.  I draw comfort and energy from all of you – directors, representatives, singers. You are very dear to me and I’m looking forward to seeing you on July 2.

In Toronto the beehive is buzzing with preparations to welcome 1,000 choristers and many, many listeners.  Singers: stay healthy, attend every rehearsal, and practice singing everywhere – at home or in your car – with the excellent recordings provided. Choir directors: inspire, lead and teach your singers. Representatives: support your directors by meeting all the administrative deadlines. Everyone planning to be part of the audience: keep adding those coins to your piggy banks and get ready to join us and experience the beauty of song.  Looking forward to seeing you in Toronto!

OUR SEMINAR AT DAINAVA IS OVER, BUT IN MY THOUGHTS AND IN MY HEART, “I AM THE SONG”!

 I whole-heartedly extend my gratitude to the 45 participants who came with such enthusiasm to the 2010 Song Festival’s repertoire preparation seminar.

I am very grateful to Rita Klorienė, who designed such a splendid and rich seminar program.  Also, my appreciation goes to Aušrinė Širvinskienė, who decorated our surroundings with musical symbols, adapting interesting rituals and uniting us as a singing family.

My thanks to Rusnė Kasputienė and her crew, who didn’t let us go hungry, thirsty, or to lose any weight despite our hard work, and to “Miss Fun,” Kristina Kliorytė, who so aptly described each participant’s contribution and rewarded him or her with just the right gift.

Frank Bianchi, director of the Cleveland Symphony’s Youth Choir, filled our “goody bags” with engaging ideas, professional advice and humour.

Our indispensable accompanist, Ričardas Sokas, transformed the piano into a full orchestra.  Because we were so engaged, we didn’t realize the sun was setting even though we started practicing at 9 o’clock in the mornings.

Petras Aglinskas delighted us with his masterful playing and touched our hearts with his guitar strings in the “Cabaret.”  Surrounded by beautiful music and friendship, we felt thankful to be together.

Together we “read” the 2010 Festival’s repertoire and became acquainted with the intricacy of the notes and songs, and convinced that no choir at the Festival will have a chance to get bored:  we’ll be moving and singing from the heart, the way we did on the August 20-23 weekend at Dainava.

We left the Seminar inspired to work hard, and motivated by the understanding that our work and values are determined not by the towns or countries we live in, but by the people who share our ideals and love of music.  As we sang in the final song, “it is not the place, but the person, who captivates our hearts”.  Let’s all live the next 10 months in song.

I send my best wishes, I thank you, and I wish you great success!

DEAR PARTICIPANTS OF THE NINTH LITHUANIAN SONG FESTIVAL SEMINAR

 Wow and WOW!  How WONDERFUL it was to be with all of you during our recent weekend at Dainava.   We accomplished so very much and had fun doing it.

Heartfelt thanks to each of you for your sincere collaboration, cooperation and friendship, which allowed us to get through a very rigorous schedule.  It once again became apparent how much can be accomplished when we come together and contribute our unique talents towards a common purpose.  Every one of you, from conductor to accompanist, from singer to jokester, to those who offered their kind words and quiet support just by being there, was an important piece of the beautiful mosaic we created together.  How beautiful it was, how truly greater the whole was than the sum of it parts, and how different it would have been had any one of its pieces been missing.  And so I say thank you to each of you for your whole-hearted participation in the seminar program.

Thanks to Rusnė Kasputis and the wonderful chefs, Regina Greenhalch and Milita Buruchinaall.  All of you kept our tummies from growling and made sure that we had plenty of energy to conquer the 38-song repertoire!  This is not to mention the wine and snacks you provided, which allowed us to unwind after a hard day.

Speaking of relaxing, wasn’t our very own “Dainava cabaret” and guest guitarist, Petras Aglinskas a super way to end the day?  A warm thank you to you, Petrai.

A big thanks to Aušrinė Širvinskienė for the beautiful poster, which welcomed us as we entered the hall, provided the backdrop at our rehearsal sessions, and created much excitement for the upcoming festival.  Thanks for the song, which we continue to create together.  Thanks, too, for the fabulous “ice-breaker” activities you organized for our first evening, which helped us meet new faces and rekindle old friendships. 

Thanks to SUPER-ACCOMPANIST, Ričardas Sokas.  How simple you made our jobs as conductors.  How easy it was to lead the group when you offered such strong support while eyeing every nuance.

I am certain I speak for all of us when I say the seminar would not nearly have been the same without Frank Bianchi:  what an inspiration he was to us all.  Frank, from all of us, a most sincere Lithuanian AČIŪ!  You are remarkable.

And Kristina Klioryte, aka Miss Fun – you were… FUN!  Witty, quick, never allowing us to get too serious.  Thank you, my child.

I am thrilled knowing that our upcoming preparations for the Ninth Lithuanian Song Festival will afford us many opportunities to work closely together.  

As I reread this letter, I come across many superlatives.   I’m just not sure I’ve written enough of them!  And so, let me take the opportunity to thank you once again for the fantastic atmosphere you created.  It was so good to have been able to spend several days together and bask in the goodness and warmth, which emanated from you.

I hope that you will keep sharing the spark you put in your hearts as the seminar came to a close, and keep the fire going…

DAINA AŠ GYVENU!