Third
1966 Chicago
Author: Kazys Skaisgirys
English translation: Rita Giedraitis
The third Lithuanian Song Festival took place on July 3, 1966 at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, Ill. It featured 41 choirs from the United States and Canada, 16 of which were children’s choirs (made up of children attending Lithuanian Saturday schools in these countries). There were approximately 1,200 singers and 11,000 audience members. The program publication’s editor was journalist Stasys Daunys; the cover’s illustrator was Vladas Vijeikis. Included in this publication were photographs (starting from 1924) and journalist Vladas Jakubėnas’s articles about past Lithuanian Song Festivals, the names of the current festival’s organizing committee, the repertoire in both English and Lithuanian languages, photographs of the conductors, accompanists, and choirs of the third Lithuanian Song Festival, and a list of financial donors for this festival.
The organizing committee for the third Lithuanian Song Festival was as follows: Dr. Steponas Biežis – chairman, Jonas Paštukas, Antanas Šantaras, Kostas Dočkus, Stasys Šiaučiūnas, Jonas Jurkūnas, Jonas Zdanius, Jonas Kubilius, SJ, and a representative from the Lithuanian Canadian Community. Nine other committees were formed to assist the organizing committee. The main members of the repertoire committee were Jonas Zdanius, Petras Armonas, and Juozas Kreivėnas.
The Honorary Conductor from the second Lithuanian Song Festival, Aleksandras Aleksis, passed the conductor’s baton to this festival’s Honorary Conductor Alice Stephens, who conducted the American and Lithuanian National Anthems as well as Kačanauskas’s “Malda už Tėvynę” (“Prayer for the Homeland”). Other conductors at the third Lithuanian Song Festival were Petras Armonas, Jeronimas Kačinskas, Alfonsas Mikulskis, Faustas Strolia, and Bronius Budriūnas. The children’s choirs were accompanied by a thirty-one member psaltery (ancient harp) orchestra from Cleveland, Ohio, led by Ona Mikulskienė. The highlight of the third Lithuanian Song Festival was the cantata “Tėviškės Namai” (“Our Homeland”), composed by Bronius Budriūnas. It was performed by members of the adult choirs and featured soloists Dana Stankaitytė and Rimtautas Dabšys. Accompanists for this piece were Raimonda Apeikytė (piano) and Vladas Jakubėnas (organ). The composer of this cantata was also its conductor at this festival. This cantata was written specifically for the third Lithuanian Song Festival and was prominently featured in the program.
Composer and music critic Vladas Jakubėnas reviewed the third Lithuanian Song Festival for the journal “Aidai”, whereas professor Juozas Žilevičius did likewise for the Lithuanian daily newspaper “Draugas”. The following is an excerpt from Žilevičius’s article:
The third Lithuanian Song Festival has been indelibly written into the historical pages of Lithuanian cultural events outside the boundaries of Lithuania. Less complex songs resonated boldly during this festival. However, less than ideal acoustics in the amphitheater hindered the overall sound, especially during the song "Oželis" ("The Goat"). The featured song for this festival was B. Budriūnas’s cantata, commissioned two years in advance of the festival. Unfortunately, due to a delay in completion of this piece, the participating choirs received the cantata only several months prior to the song festival. Therefore, only some adult choirs performed the cantata. Though the piece sounded impressive, I can only imagine how grand it would have been had all the adult choirs joined in its performance! Nevertheless, the cantata’s composer included enough musical variations to achieve a beautiful, melodic sound, and thus established himself as a prominent Lithuanian composer. Soprano soloist Dana Stankaitytė and bass baritone Rimtautas Dabšys performed admirably, holding their own even during the loudest choir parts. Pianist Raimonda Apeikytė, from Los Angeles, proved to be technically masterful accompanying this cantata. The children's choirs performed admirably as well, seemingly comfortable with the songs. The psaltery orchestra was exceptional, no doubt due to the efforts of their leader Ona Mikulskienė. The psaltery accompaniment parts were well written by Alfonsas Mikulskis. The conductor of the children's choir, Faustas Strolia, proved to be very competent in this role.