Event description
"The Historian with a Guitar" is an evening of stories and music with historian Tomas Balkelis, violinist Paulius Vaicekauskas and director Agne Sunklodaite. Tomas Balkelis is a historian working at the Lithuanian Historical Institute. He defended his PhD in history at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is the author of books published abroad and in Lithuania, "The Making of Modern Lithuania" (2012) and "The Fatal Years: Lithuania 1914-1923: War, Revolution and the Birth of a Nation" (2019), and at the same time a great songwriter, a citizen of the world, and a funny and interesting person. The one and a half hour event passes by in a blink of an eye as our hero, interviewed by Agnė Sunklodaitė, immerses the audience in a very colourful story of his life, full of travels, disappointments, discoveries, humour, science, and most importantly, the idea that one should not be confined to the frame of one's profession. A person is much more than his profession or his position in society. It is a very inspiring encounter, after which the audience says that they would like to see a sequel, because the content is very inspiring and encourages them not only to take an interest in history, but also to unleash their creative powers. Tomas's memories and stories are accompanied by his own songs, which he accompanies himself on the guitar and which are greatly enhanced by the improvisations of the violinist Paulijus Vaicekauskas.