Keep Singing Jono Meko įkvėptas festivalis

Festival inspired by Jonas Mekas
December 13-14, 2024

PROGRAM

MAIN PROGRAM – The House of Signatories (Pilies str. 26)
NIGHT PROGRAM – Estradà (Vilniaus g. 22)

Tickets: pay what you want at the venue 

 

December 13-14 | Friday – Saturday 

17:00–22:00

Audiovisual instalation „Monteverdi Comes Alive“ 
Basement of the House of Signatories (Pilies g. 26)

While exploring the legacy of George Maciunas, the outline of a device he designed to compose music automatically was unexpectedly discovered. Deciphering the texts and surviving sketches, the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center reconstructed Maciunas’ music generator, enabling us to hear images. In the audiovisual project “Monteverdi Comes Alive” (as it’s well known, Maciunas was a great admirer of Claudio Monteverdi), the brightest highlights of the Fluxus collection and their remixes by Mantas Kuginis—“Fluxus Jokes”—come to life. The project also features recreated fragments of Monteverdi’s lost opera, including a vocal part performed by none other than George Maciunas himself.

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December 13 | Friday

 

MAIN PROGRAM | 18:00–23:00
Sztral Hall of the House of Signatories (Pilies str. 26) / Entrance via Eskedar Coffee Bar

Before each performance, Jonas Mekas’s poetry is read by Ričardas Šileika

18:00

Simonas Nekrošius 

Simonas Nekrošius is most active in various events, where he emerges with sound objects of his own creation. Using his acoustic and electroacoustic mechanisms-instruments, he crafts entropic visual and auditory performances, often adapting his objects to the specific characteristics of the surrounding environment. Through an experimental process, his works reveal elements of playfulness and DIY ingenuity, maintaining an inherent sense of spontaneity and freedom in his creativity.

 

19:00

Keep Singing Big Band

Dalius Naujo (mušamieji / dirigentas), Kenny Wollesen (būgnai), Tony Scherr (kontrabosas), Jonathon Haffner (saksofonas), Aurimas Rimeikis (trimitas), Mindaugas Vadoklis (trimitas), Apolinaras Dubauskas (trimitas), Dominykas Vyšniauskas (trimitas), Danielius Pancerovas (tenorinis saksofonas), Dovydas Stalmokas (saksofonas) Arminas Bižys (saksofonas), Kazimieras Jušinskas (saksofonas), Kornelijus Pukinskis (saksofonas), Nojus Jurkus (saksofonas), Simonas Kaupinis (tūba), Mikas Kurtinaitis (tūba), Mėta Gabrielė Pelegrimaitė-Kaupinė (fleita), Salomėja Kalvelytė (fleita), Kristupas Gikas (fleita), Jovaras Šiekštelė (trombonas), Povilas Jurkša (trombonas), Jievaras Jasinskis (trombonas), Dominykas Norkūnas (gitara), Tomas Dičiūnas (klavišiniai)

The idea to form an entirely new festival ensemble was proposed by Kenny Wollesen, a regular participant of Keep Singing. We are thrilled to introduce the swing-focused Keep Singing Big Band, built around a core trio from New York who previously performed with Jonas Mekas in the band Himalayas: the inventive drummer Kenny Wollesen, bassist Tony Scherr (who in his youth played swing in jazz legend Woody Herman’s big band), and saxophone virtuoso Jonathon Haffner. Joining them is a host of talented and accomplished musicians from Vilnius! The debut big band program features swing classics by Count Basie and Stan Kenton, selected by Dovydas Stalmokas, alongside original compositions by Dalius Naujo.

20:00

DeeeVeee

Diana Fonseca & Viltė Gustytė – Berlin based Mexican-Lithuanian duet. Various artifacts and microphones, psychedelic noise, ice cream in the rain. DeeeVeee! Roller Coaster in the whirlpool of excitement, rabbit hole in the winter. In between dimensions. Let’s do it!

 

21:00

Rocket Sci 

Kenny Wollesen (bass drum), Tony Scherr (electric guitar), Jonathon Haffner (saxophone), Dalius Naujo (drums)

Rocket Sci is a band on the move. No, really, they are! With drumming duties split between two master drummers who both play standing up and permanently mobile, they are capable of being Pied Pipers leading their audience on a literal shamanistic journey down the street. Kenny Wollesen and Dalius Naujo, the two rhythm kings in question, are rounded out in the lineup by bari/alto sax veteran Jonathon Haffner and guitarist Tony Scherr and the sound the four create is strangely hypnotic and immensely accessible, leaving the listener with infectious themes and melodies ricocheting around the brain.

 

22:15

Jono Meko trumpųjų filmų programa

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NIGHT PROGRAM | 23:00…..
Estradà | Vilniaus str. 22 

Quark Effect

Kornelijus Pukinskis (saxophone), Matas Samulionis (electronics), Dominykas Snarskis (drums)

Quark Effect is a trio specializing in contemporary improvisational music, blending the principles of acoustic and electronic sound into a unified musical language. Drawing inspiration from experimental, avant-garde, post-punk, and free jazz, the trio’s sound evolves with each performance, driven by improvisation as their central creative force. In their music, Quark Effect boldly transitions between extremes: from maximum freedom to strict synchronization, from art to science, from soft drones to intense screams, and from acoustic to digital soundscapes. Each performance becomes a unique, ever-changing experience, offering the audience a fresh perspective on every piece.

Jam session

 

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December 14 | Saturday 

MAIN PROGRAM | 18:00–23:00
Sztral Hall of the House of Signatories (Pilies str. 26) / Entrance via Eskedar Coffee Bar

Before each performance, Jonas Mekas’s poetry is read by Ričardas Šileika

18:00

Rasa Project

Apolinaras Dubauskas (trumpet), Danielius Pancerovas (saxophone), Danielius Skeivelas (bass guitar ), Dominykas Norkūnas (guitar), Rasa Vaštakaitė (drums) 

The newly formed ensemble, created especially for the festival, offers listeners a touch of brightness and ease. Slightly funky, yet far from ultra-jazz—a hint of summer, even in the depths of December.

18:45

Šalna Live 

The debut solo project by Mėta Gabrielė Pelegrimaitė-Kaupinė is a fusion of experimental electronic dance music, eclectic influences from various genres, and spoken word. At its core are the lyrics, which serve as a therapeutic outlet for expressing intense inner states. The texts are steeped in themes of apathy, a delicate balance between existence and nonexistence, confusion, and suffering—sometimes delivered bluntly, other times wrapped in metaphor. The artist herself describes it simply as “clumsy rap and beats.”

 

19:15

Ūtara & friends 

Sutartinės – Aušra Kriaučiūnė, Rūta Aladavičienė, Jolanta Vaišvilienė, Aušra Žičkienė, Lilija Milašienė, Tony Scherr (electric guitar), Jonathon Haffner (saxophone), Dalius Naujo (drums, percussion) and special guests

One of Lithuania’s most prominent sutartinės (traditional polyphonic songs) groups, Ūtara, returns to the festival once again. This time, the unique ensemble will merge the magic of sutartinės with the improvisations of New York guests—guitarist Tony Scherr, saxophonist Jonathon Haffner, and the festival’s heart and soul, drummer Dalius Naujalis. Special guests are also on the horizon!

20:15

Luvhurts 

Mantvydas Pranulis (keyboard, voice), Dominykas Snarskis (drums), Kornelijus Pukinskis (saxophone)

The band was formed a few years ago by Mantvydas Leonas Pranulis—a jazz and alternative music artist, social project initiator, and bandleader—who invited longtime collaborators and like-minded friends to join him in making music. When the group was founded, all its members were lonely souls suffering from a lack of love. Although all three members have since found love (or love has found them), the musicians insist that Luvhurts will continue as long as at least one member has something to say about the pain of love. Once the wounds are fully healed, the band’s existence will lose its purpose. But not tonight. Tonight, we’ll hear stories of both painful love and joy as the band celebrates the release of their new album, “till the rest of this.”

 

21:00

Keep Singing Ensemble

Kristiana Jodko (voice), Lora Kmieliauskaitė (violin), Tony Scherr (guitar), Jonathon Haffner (saxophone), Eugenijus Varkalis (flutes, saxophone), Matas Samulionis (synthesizer), Simonas Kaupinis (tuba), Haroldas Parulis (clarinet) Džiugas Daugirda (percussion), Dalius Naujo (drums), Danielius Pancerovas (percussion), special guests – Emilija Noreikaite (poetry), Adomas Budrevičius (drums)

Another brand-new festival ensemble, the Keep Singing Ensemble, merges acoustic and electronic music directions, bringing together like-minded guests from New York, members of the band Silent Bullets, and other individual musicians. Eugenijus Varkalis, a close friend of Jonas Mekas and composer of music for several of his films, including As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, will also join the ensemble. The program primarily features original compositions by Dalius Naujo, complemented by the poetry of Jonas Mekas.

 

22:15

Jono Meko trumpųjų filmų programa

 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

NIGHT PROGRAM | 23:00…..
Estradà | Vilniaus str. 22 

 

Fleitų 3

Mėta Gabrielė Pelegrimaitė-Kaupinė (flute), Salomėja Kalvelytė (flute, alto flute), Kristupas Gikas (flute, piccolo, bass flute)

The ensemble Fleitų 3, active on the contemporary and improvisational music scene, captivates listeners with their original free improvisation compositions. Transforming the familiar sound of flutes into unrecognizable sonic textures, they reveal the instruments’ remarkable versatility. Through their experimentation with various techniques, the trio invites audiences on an enchanting and mesmerizing journey of sound.

 

Jam session

 

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Festival music directors: Dalius Naujokaitis-Naujo and Mindaugas Vadoklis
Producer: Gintaras Sodeika
Communication coordinator: Matas Drukteinis
Visual identity: Ineta Armonavičiūtė

Organised by: the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center and the House of Signatories of the Nacional Museum of Lithuania
Supported by: Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius City
Partners: Estradà, Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, Cultural Agency „Art Gene“, „BonusFX“, „Eskedar Coffee“