Seventh
1991 Chicago
Author: Kazys Skaisgirys
English translation: Rita Giedraitis
The seventh Lithuanian Song Festival took place on May 26, 1991 at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion. It was organized under the auspices of the American and Canadian Lithuanian Communities. This Song Festival was part of a broader Lithuanian Music Festival taking place at the same time. The chairman of the Lithuanian Music Festival was Stasys Baras. The Song Festival’s organizing committee members were: Vaclovas Momkus – chairman; Vladas Stropus, Raimundas Korzonas, and Faustas Strolia – vice-chairmen; Danguolė Ilginytė – secretary; Alė Steponavičienė – treasurer; Dalia Kučėnienė – chairperson of the Cultural Committee. The repertoire committee included Rita Kliorienė and Dalia Viskontienė – chairpersons, Algirdas Bielskus, Jonas Govėdas, Darius Polikaitis, Faustas Strolia, and Loreta Venclauskienė. The Song Festival’s program publication editor was Danutė Bindokienė; the cover was illustrated by Petras Aleksa. The motto for the Song Festival was “Kad Tu Liktum Gyva!” (“That You May Continue to Flourish!”) (referring to the country of Lithuania).
The Honorary Conductor for the Song Festival was Petras Armonas. Other conductors were: Darius Polikaitis, Jonas Govėdas, Rita Kliorienė, Dalia Viskontienė, Emilija Sakadolskienė, Gediminas Purlys, Viktoras Ralys, Česlovas Radžiūnas, Raimundas Obalis, and Faustas Strolia. Many songs were accompanied by The Republic of Lithuania’s Opera and Ballet Theater symphony orchestra, which played at the performance of the opera “I Lituani” and other Lithuanian Music Festival events. The seventh Song Festival had about 900 program performers: approximately 500 adult choir singers, 200 youth choir singers, 200 Lithuanian folk dancers, and 46 members of the orchestra. The Pavilion, which seats 6,000 people, seemed to be filled to capacity.
In her review of the seventh Lithuanian Song Festival for the Lithuanian newspaper “Draugas”, musicologist Loreta Venclauskienė wrote:
For the past several years, choir conductors have been lamenting that the overall quality of choirs is weakening. The reason for this appears to be a lack of interest by the younger generation to become choir members, thus leaving many choirs with a roster of aging singers. The repertoire committee took this into account and appeared to select less complex, yet no less beautiful, songs. This Song Festival’s program consisted mainly of Lithuanian folk songs, with Lithuanian folk dances providing a nice variation to the program. In addition, there was a conscious attempt to feature more performances by the youth choirs. It appears, in my opinion, that the organizing and repertoire committees’ approach to the Song Festival was successful — the adult choirs performed well, the folk dances (organized by Nijole Pupienė) enhanced the festive mood, and the youth choir performances provide hope that Lithuanian cultural traditions will continue into the future. The Song Festival’s program appealed to all ages; the conductors’ mutual respect for one another’s talents was palpable as each strived to bring out the highest quality of performance by the participating choirs. However, it was unfortunate that the most artistically noteworthy presentation, a medley of Lithuanian folk songs by Kazys Viktoras Banaitis, orchestrated and conducted by Jonas Govėdas, was placed in the beginning of the second half and fell victim to noise interference by an audience returning to its seats after intermission.
Journalist and composer Algis Šimkus also wrote a review of the seventh Lithuanian Song Festival for “Draugas”. The following are his concluding remarks from that review:
The seventh Lithuanian Song Festival should be considered a success; it was a clear demonstration that Lithuanian culture is alive and well outside the boundaries of our homeland. The Song Festival attracted many Lithuanians from Canada and the United States and reflected our patriotic spirit to guests of different nationalities. The master of ceremonies, actress Ann Jillian (Lithuanian name - Jūratė Nausėdaitė), competently and with appropriate humorous interjections, introduced the program’s itinerary in both the Lithuanian and English languages. At the conclusion of the Song Festival, the energetic chairman of the Lithuanian Music Festival, Stasys Baras, expressed his gratitude to all in attendance in a short, yet effective speech. The seventh Lithuanian Song Festival ended with Faustas Strolia conducting three songs: "Parveski, Viešpatie" ("Bring us Home, Lord"), composed by Juozas Strolia, "Lietuva Brangi" ("My Beloved Lithuania") by Juozas Naujalis, and his own composition to the words of Vytė Nemunėlis, "Grįšim, Grįšim" ("We Will Return").