Lithuanian conductor Martynas Stakionis has emerged as one of the most dynamic and promising conductors of his generation. Since his debut with the Kaunas State Philharmonic in April 2014, he has appeared with the Frankfurt Alte Oper, Mozarteum Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony, Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Lithuanian National Symphony, Lithuanian National Opera Symphony, Kremerata Baltica, and Lithuanian Chamber orchestras.
In 2018, Stakionis received the Norwegian Critics Association award for Best Music Performance of the Season, performing Gubaidulina’s Fachwerk with Kremerata Baltica at the Bergen Music Festival. He has developed a strong relationship with Gidon Kremer through his partnership with Kremerata Baltica at the Kronberg Academy Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Dvorakova Praha, and the Auditorium de la Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, where he conducted the French premiere of Greater Antiphons by Arvo Pärt, which was recorded by Medici.tv. In 2022, Stakionis assisted conductor Laurence Equilbey in various projects with the Insula Orchestra in La Seine Musicale à Paris. Assistant Conductor at the Hamburg Chamber Opera Theater from 2016-2018, he has also assisted Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla at the Salzburg State Theatre’s productions of Haydn’s Il mondo della luna and Max Brand’s Stormy Interlude. In November 2021, Stakionis made his debut at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet, conducting performances of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Schönberg’s Transfigured Night. He is currently artistic director position of an ambitious international opera program in Lithuania, Opera Accelerator, in cooperation with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra. Stakionis also collaborates with other leading Lithuanian orchestras, appearing annually. Steeped in a rich choral background from an early age, Stakionis has conducted the Latvian and Lithuanian State Choirs, Paris National Opera‘s Children's Choir, and Hannover Mädchenchor, winning and placing high in several competitions, most notably as the winner of the Fifth Jazeps Vitols Choral Conductors Competition in 2014, among others.
