The State Chamber Choir of Šiauliai "Polifonija"

Artistic Director and Conductor - Linas Balandis

In the programme of the concert, Music by Lithuanian composers

A choir, like a human being, has its own life stages. As a choir approaches its 50th birthday, the main stages of its age can be identified.

1974 was its early childhood, when the Early Music Ensemble, formed by choirmasters Danutė and Sigitas Vaičiulionis, performed its first concert in Šiauliai on 31 December, featuring music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

Later on, the ensemble's activities expanded, the number of concerts increased, and after 5 years the growing ensemble was given the name of the choir Polifonija and the status of People's Collective.

The choir's performance culture, repertoire and the abundance of its concerts have led Polifonija towards new creative achievements. In 1986, the choir outgrew its teenage amateur t-shirts and became a professional ensemble - the Šiauliai Chamber Mixed Choir of the Lithuanian State Philharmonic.

In 1998, the choir separated from the National Philharmonic of Lithuania and became the mature Šiauliai State Chamber Choir "Polifonija". Since then, the status of the choir has remained unchanged, only the repertoire has changed, with the repertoire based on Renaissance and Baroque works, which have become a tradition of Polifonija, being supplemented by works by composers of different epochs and countries, and with a strong focus on the dissemination of Lithuanian choral music both in Lithuania and in the world.

Polifonija Choir performs regularly in various countries around the world. The biography of its concert tours includes Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, France, under the baton of great national and foreign conductors such as Saulius Sondeckis, Juozas Domarkas, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Vytautas Miškinis, Vaclovas Augustinas, Modestas Pitrėnas, Robertas Šervenikas, Ravil Martynov (Russia), Vladimir Begletsov (Russia), Karmina Šilec (Slovenia), Georg Mais (Germany), Mats Nilsson Sindenius (Sweden), Magnus Wassenius (Sweden), Ingo Ernst Reihl (Germany), Anthony Trecek-King (USA), Richard Bjella (USA), Ferdinando Sulla (Italy) and others.

The choir actively performs with Lithuanian and foreign professionals: orchestras, ensembles, instrumentalists and soloists.

Every year the choir participates in various music festivals in Lithuania and abroad, thus spreading the charm of Lithuanian choral music.

Most recent recognition is the 1st prize in the International Orthodox Sacred Music Competition "Hajnowka" in 2021 in the category of professional choirs.