Debut of Linas Adomaitis and Vilhelmas Čepinskis: friendship from the school bench and historical relics on stage
The opening of the “#ŠiauliaiGroja” stage on Friday evening became not only a music celebration but also a very personal event. On stage met longtime friends – singer Linas Adomaitis and conductor, violinist, and artistic director of the Šiauliai City Symphony Orchestra “Camerata Solaris” Vilhelmas Čepinskis. Together with the orchestra, they created a memorable musical evening.
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Even before stepping on stage, L. Adomaitis emphasized that the symphonic sound gives the songs a completely different breath and new harmonic colors: “Sometimes it seems that you know the song down to the last note, but strings appear, new dynamics – and suddenly you hear it anew yourself. We are opening the stage, so we want to raise the bar high from the first notes.” The singer added that many years of experience do not take away the excitement – on the contrary, it turns into a good creative impulse.
After the performance, both creators did not hide their euphoria. V. Čepinskis emphasized L. Adomaitis’s professionalism and long-standing friendship: “Linas occupies a very big place in my life. We finished school together, Linas studied with my father for a while. He is an incredibly great professional – from clothing to music and every word. We meet rarely, but every time it feels like we just celebrated my sixteenth birthday in 1993.”
L. Adomaitis called this concert a historic moment: “I really dreamed of meeting on stage together with Vilhelmas and the wonderful orchestra. It was our debut and a historic moment both for Šiauliai and for us. It is a moment of our friendship, a musical discovery by joining forces. Honestly, I want to repeat, I want more!”
The performance also stood out with sensitive symbolism. V. Čepinskis revealed that he conducted the concert with a unique relic – the baton of his late father, the famous conductor Stanislovas Čepinskis, with which hundreds of performances were conducted at the Kaunas Musical Theatre: “I usually conduct with other batons, but I take this one only on special occasions. Today with Linas was one of those special occasions.” In turn, L. Adomaitis was pleased with the family heritage: “I also had a relic – I wore my grandfather’s cufflinks dating back to the Smetona era. Today on stage, many historical moments intertwined, and the emotions after the concert were simply fantastic.”
Merūnas Vitulskis and Šiauliai Wind Orchestra: from great anxiety to triumph
On Saturday afternoon, Resurrection Square was flooded with the performance of tenor Merūnas Vitulskis and the Šiauliai Wind Orchestra (artistic director and conductor Anatolijus Kavaliauskis, conductor Gediminas Brūzga). For the festive concert, the performers prepared a very wide and contrasting program, combining classical music, Italian melodies, pop music, and even the rock energy of the band “Queen” – featuring “O sole mio,” “Caruso,” “Feeling Good,” “O, Gražuolė,” “Švelnumas,” and other pieces. The program was further enlivened by dances by girls from the choreography studio “Aušrelė,” prepared by artistic directors Mindaugas Kosaitis and Vita Adomėnaitė-Butnorienė.
Before the concert, M. Vitulskis emphasized the importance of the orchestra’s togetherness: “For me, the orchestra behind is never just accompaniment. These are people who breathe with you, catch your thought, emotion. And in Šiauliai, this has an even more beautiful meaning – I come to play together with its people, with the orchestra that is part of this city’s cultural life. The wind orchestra has extraordinary power: it can be majestic, temperamental, and a moment later – very sensitive and fragile. When you feel such a sound behind you, wings appear.”
The artistic director and conductor of the Šiauliai Wind Orchestra, A. Kavaliauskis, described this performance as a true musical chameleon: “Here, seemingly completely different worlds merge: from noble classical music to the powerful rock rhythms of the band ‘Queen.’ Popular music or rock arrangements, supported by the powerful force of brass wind instruments, give the songs immense grandeur, dense colors, and simply make the body go goosebumps. This concert is our love letter to Šiauliai and a thank you to the audience that has supported us for almost six decades.”
Although everything sounded impeccable on stage, after the performance M. Vitulskis admitted that the debut required considerable excitement: “To be very honest – I was extremely nervous. Before the concert, we had only one rehearsal, so I was worried about how everything would turn out. But the orchestra has an excellent artistic director who sees a clear vision and immediately grabs the bull by the horns. The ensemble sounds fresh, lively, and sunny. And the Šiauliai audience is simply a dream: they smile, respond warmly, and give such energy that all that remains is to continue the friendship.”
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Dominykas Vaitiekūnas’s experiential concert erased boundaries
One of the most meaningful highlights of the weekend was the experiential concert of artist Dominykas Vaitiekūnas together with the deaf community project “We Didn’t Agree Like This.” The project, consistently developed over six years, was born from the desire to explore the relationship of the deaf with music and to get to know their culture through Lithuanian sign language. Many of the program’s pieces were created specifically in sign language, and live music helped them unfold and become better understood by hearing people.
In Šiauliai, the project was performed for the first time outdoors – on the large stage of Resurrection Square. According to D. Vaitiekūnas, this performance was an important test for the team, but the sincere involvement of the audience showed that music and sign language can reach very different people.
Even before the performance, project participant Justina Čiplytė hoped that the concert would become a bridge between two worlds: “We want to create a moment where there is no boundary between the deaf and the hearing – only people, music, and a shared experience. We hope this feeling will remain in memory for a long time.” This wish was fulfilled abundantly – after the concert, Justina admitted feeling chills running through her body from such sincere crowd support, and participant Paulius was happy to see thousands of spectators in the square learning sign language together.
After the performance, the team did not hide their gratitude for the open reception: “We are insanely grateful to the organizers for the courage to invite an unusual project,” rejoiced D. Vaitiekūnas.
The festive marathon was crowned by “Los Secretos de Monika Liu”
The weekend’s musical program at Resurrection Square was concluded by the project “Los Secretos de Monika Liu.” It was the first meeting of this large and temperamental ensemble with the Šiauliai audience, attracting thousands of Šiauliai residents and city guests who united in a common music wave from the very first chords.
A special highlight of the evening was the unexpected start – the musicians arrived on stage playing directly from the crowd. This step instantly erased any distance between performers and listeners, created a very close, direct connection, and involved the attendees in the shared event. From the first bars, the entire square merged with the rhythms created on stage and sincerely enjoyed every moment of the celebration together with the musicians.
The large composition of wind instruments, percussion, and guitars, along with Monika Liu’s enchanting interaction with the audience, became a powerful finale pulsating with dance rhythm for Šiauliai’s 790th birthday “#ŠiauliaiGroja” stage. After the performance, the artists radiated joy: “Super cool, very sunny and fun. Good mood – Šiauliai’s guarantee!” said the musicians of the band “Los Secretos de Pablo” and soloist Monika Liu.
The celebration that united the city
This year’s “#ŠiauliaiGroja” stage proved that an open musical space can become not only a concert venue but also a true center of togetherness, where boundaries between the stage and the audience dissolve. The concert institution “Saulė” sincerely thanks every Šiauliai resident and city guest who opened their heart to music, sang, danced, and gave the performers extraordinarily warm support.
