12 August 2019

26 August: Baltic Sea Festival: composer Justė Janulytė in conversation with journalist Berta Tilmantaitė

The international Baltic Sea Festival starts on 24 August. Festival’s programme spans seven festival days of first-class music and seven livestreamed conversations, where some of the most interesting personalities from our region come together to talk about music and sustainability.In Lithuania, the talks are held with one of Europe’s brightest composer stars Justė Janulytė and award-winning multimedia journalist Berta Tilmantaitė. The talk is moderated by Swedish Radio journalist Fredrik Wadström.

The conversation will be held on 26 August at 7 pm at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Conference Hall (no. 501).

After the conversation, a concert “The Mermaid”, performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Klaus Mäkelä, is broadcast live from the Berwaldhallen.

Justė Janulytė first came into public view in 2004 when her graduation work White music, for 15 strings, was awarded as the best chamber piece of the year by the Lithuanian Composers’ Union. Furthermore, her five next compositions also won the same prize. In 2009 Aquarelle, for choir, won the 1st prize (in the category of composers under 30) at the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris. According to musicologist Jūratė Katinaitė Justė Janulytė’s music is recognisable by long, slow expositions, gradual enrichment of texture. Her works White music, Textile and Elongation of Nights were awarded by the Lithuanian Composers’ Union. In 2011 she was awarded the Young Artist's Prize by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and in 2017 the Lithuanian National Arts and Culture Prize, the highest artistic distinction in Lithuania.

Berta Tilmantaitė is a multimedia journalist, photographer and videographer. Her visual stories from different parts of the world often focuses on the connection between human and nature. Berta Tilmantaitė studied journalism at Vilnius university and Danish School of Media and Journalism and gained Master’s degree in multimedia from University of Bolton in Beijing. Berta‘s works and projects have been exhibited and have received numerous awards in Lithuania and abroad. In 2014, Berta Tilmantaitė established “Nanook”, a multimedia agency which produces professional multimedia documentary content and creative projects. Story angle, empathy, narrative form, work ethics, originality and exclusivity are Nanook‘s vital traits. They seek to inspire, challenge the mindset and encourage taking action. Berta’s work has been featured in various international media outlets including National Geographic, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle and others.

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Klaus Mäkelä will perform Zemlinsky's imaginative interpretation of H C Andersen’s beloved story The Little Mermaid. World-famous cellist Truls Mørk will visit Berwaldhallen several times this season, but this will be the first, where he’ll perform Ernest Bloch’s beautiful, Hebrew rhapsody, Schelomo. The ocean theme is completed by Debussy’s billowing La Mer.

About the festival

The Baltic Sea Festival is an international music festival founded in 2003 and organized by Berwaldhallen Concert Hall, one of the Swedish Radio’s most important cultural institutions. In the seven festival days it offers world class classical music as a platform which opens up cross-border dialogues in order to create a sustainable future for the Baltic Sea region. This year the festival has a consistent water theme. 

Short information about the event

Date	26 August
Time	at 7 p.m.
Place	Conference Hall, 5th floor
Participation	Number of participants is limited, please register here
Organisers	Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania, LRT KLASIKA and the Martynas Mazvydas National Library of Lithuania
More	See our Facebook page
Note	The event will be held in English