New Compositions Inspired by Lithuanian Folk Music
Our 2021 program is enhanced by the inclusion of performances by accomplished musicians and composers. These performances are included during interludes between sessions, and are also available to view at any time in our PUBLIC LIBRARY.
We are pleased to be able to present new works performed by the Kalnas Ensemble. The Ensemble, which began performing right before the pandemic shutdowns, has happily recovered from that hiatus to be able to record recent concerts. The Ensemble is a string quartet focusing on Lithuanian musical roots, exploring compositions of Stanley Chepaitis with improvisatory overtones, as well as performing standard quartet repertoire. The ensemble is a diverse group of multi-talented individuals with a commitment to engaging audiences with a dynamic approach to live performance. In addition their wide spectrum of knowledge and interests allows them offer workshops and other interactive presentations that enhance the meaning and experience of the music they perform.
Dr. Chepaitis has provided these original folksongs that inspired his compositions:
The Kalnas Ensemble is:
Dr. Stanley Chepaitis, founder, composer, and Violinist, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree and a Master of Music, as well as a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He is a versatile performing and recording artist who is at home in a classical string quartet, a jazz band, and anything in between. His career spans fifty years in which time he has performed nationally and internationally, composed and premiered his own works, and recorded seven CD’s mostly of original music. Dr. Chepaitis has been at the forefront of the Alternative Styles Movement having had a leading role in ASTA Alternative Styles Conferences.
Swana Chepaitis, Violinist, received a diploma in Violin Performance and Pedagogy from the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen Germany. She studied with Maria Grevesmühl and Baroque violin specialist Christoph Heidemann. She has been a member of L’arco (a professional Baroque orchestra based in Hanover, Germany), the Litton String Quartet. Mrs. Chepaitis currently performs with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, does freelance performance as a baroque violinist in the Pittsburgh area, and maintains a studio of 20+ violin students in Indiana, PA.
Simon Maurer, Violin, Baroque Violin, Viola ,studied violin at the Conservatory in Biel, and continued his studies in the U.S. with Geoffrey Michaels, Joyce Robbins and Claire Hodkins. He is the founder and artistic director of Sunday Sinfonia, a String Orchestra of enthusiastic amateur string players, based in Lancaster, Pa. Mr. Maurer is the artistic director of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, a group that takes pride in bringing classical music to underserved areas. In 2010 the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble took over the leadership of the Schuyllkill Youth Orchestra, newly renamed Gabriel Youth Orchestra. Mr. Maurer also ventures in the practice of jazz and freestyle improvisation. He has been a featured soloist in Philadelphia area jazz clubs, has performed at “Jazzfest” in Schuylkill County and Reading Pa.
Nancy Baun, Cellist, has performed over 1,000 events throughout the United States, including three appearances at Carnegie’s Weil Hall, as well as in Switzerland, France, Italy, Iceland, and Canada. She appears on nine piano trio recordings, including a series on the Naxos International label “Home for the Holidays”, a favorite of Public Radio audiences. Her favorite highlights also include judging the semifinals of the renowned Koussevitzky Competition in New York City, and performing in a World Music Institute event at Merkin Concert Hall. She has been an elementary music teacher for over 10 years in urban Buffalo, where she designed curriculum for her passion, “collaborative connections with music”. She has received a national Young Audiences grant for her education workshops integrating music with drawing. She currently presents S. T. E. A. M. training to elementary teachers, as well as using music to teach life skills to formerly incarcerated.
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