Every year Kaunas Wind Orchestra "Ąžuolynas" prepares a number of original works specially composed for wind orchestra. The virtuosic and highly skilled lines of the orchestra's voices merge into a harmonious and effective sound, proving once again that music for wind instruments is infinitely colourful and varied, entangling in a whirlwind of rhythms and melodies, and often surpassing the scores of symphonic works with its richness of sound.

From Lithuania, to Western Europe, to America - this year's Musica academia programme, which was put together by the chief conductor of the Ąžuolynas Orchestra, Giedrius Vaznys, could be summarised in a nutshell. Spanish composer Ferrer Ferran (b.1966) will invite you to take a walk through a magical forest inhabited by elves, fairies and gnomes. The composer likes to say that one should not forget to "dream", and with his music he says he wants to make the world a happier place. The orchestra will be joined in this work by oboist, professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and artistic director of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra Musica Humana, Dr. Robertas Beinaris, who is an active concert performer in Lithuania and abroad, and who always embarks with a youthful spirit on new and unknown musical journeys.

Composer, conductor and flutist Franco Cesarini was born in the majestic country of the Alps, where mountains are a natural part of every human life. In seven movements, the Swiss composer creates landscapes of matter and spiritual states - storm, fog, alpine pasture, melancholy, light improvisations, etc.

The listener will hear and feel that more than half of the works on the programme are written in the spirit of dance. John Mackey (1973), an American composer of contemporary classical music, has for several years concentrated on contemporary dance and ballet, and this has had a profound influence on his orchestral work. His Undertow is like a strong underwater current moving in the opposite direction to the surface, whose energy is conveyed by the composer's shifting metres and impressive percussive effects. Frank Tichel (b. 1958) was inspired by the eruption of Vesuvius. The American composer imagines this work as an aggressive dance in the last days of doomed Pompeii. The musical episodes of the work encompass a wide range of moods, from canonical-sounding galloping to quiet, meandering oases of melody. Finally, El camino real (The Real Way) by another American composer, Alfredo Reed (1921-2005), is a fantasy in which the rhythms and harmonies of traditional flamenco shine. Everything Beautiful by Samuel Robert Haz is a monument to the Master, dedicated to the music teacher, conductor and mentor of young music teachers, Charles (Chuck) Campbell, Jr. His spirit has inspired many with his confidence and love of music.

"Every year we try to include new works by Lithuanian composers in our programmes. In this way, the repertoire of Lithuanian national music for wind instruments is expanded, and the aim is to ensure a consistent dissemination of new Lithuanian music", - Vaidas Andriuškevičius, the organiser of this concert and the head of the Kaunas Santaka CI, reveals the value vectors of the programme. In cooperation with the Lithuanian Composers' Union, Kaunas Wind Orchestra "Ąžuolynas" commissioned a work by composer, pianist and jazz pedagogue Arūnas Navakas. According to the composer himself, he is most interested in the intersection of styles and genres, tonality and atonality, the modern and the traditional. He is also a well-known arranger, and together with Kęstutis Antanelis, he created the rock opera Peras Giuntas, and contributed to the most popular rock opera of all time, Love and Death in Verona.

The composer has named his new work A Simple Sandwich. It will combine the flavours and ingredients of the old rock opera Peras Giunt and the string quartet, which, according to Arūnas Navákas, are unlikely to go bad. It is good to know that the friendship of Kaunas Wind Orchestra "Ąžuolynas" with Lithuanian composers is growing, and with this new work we will also congratulate the composer on his 70th anniversary.

Invitation to the concert for all those who love the colourful music of the wind orchestra and for those who are on the path of their own discoveries.