This is Bel Canto Choir Vilnius. The No. 1 choir in Lithuania
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius is Lithuania’s best mixed independent choir, uniting more than 50 singers who are deeply passionate about music and choral singing. We perform music in various styles, regularly collaborate with world-class musicians, and participate in competitions and festivals in Lithuania and abroad.
Our mission is bold: We aim to revolutionize choral music and make its beauty and charm accessible to all. We are committed to continuous development and aspire to be Lithuania’s most innovative, transparent, and renowned choir and to secure our place among Europe’s elite choirs.
Yet, we are more than just a choir. We are a vibrant community of talented and ambitious individuals bound by their shared love for music. This bond extends beyond the stage, fostering a unique sense of belonging and camaraderie. We take pride in being the most admired choir by our team members and audience.
In 2023, we achieved a remarkable feat, clinching first place at the Lithuanian National Choral Competition finals and retaining the title of the country’s best volunteer choir. An international panel of judges awarded us an impressive 96.3 points – the highest among all choirs in Lithuania. This marked our third consecutive triumph, following their previous victories in 2013 and 2017.
We also won the Stasys Šimkus International Choral Competition in Klaipėda, Lithuania (2013), Grand Prix at the InCanto Mediterraneo Choral Competition in Italy (2019), were awarded a gold medal at the World Choir Games (2014), participated in prestigious choral competitions in Busan (South Korea), Tolosa, Torrevieja (Spain) and elsewhere.
In 2018, we launched our flagship choral-vocal music project, Open To The World. The project aims to showcase modern choral music, promote Western culture, and foster exchanges with the world’s best choirs, vocal ensembles, and composers.
The project has already hosted 14 sold-out concerts featuring the world’s most renowned contemporary composers, such as Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjeilo, top Swedish choirs like Zero8, Svanholm Singers, and Sofia Vokalensemble, and globally popular vocal ensembles like Voces8 and Ringmasters, among others.
Over the past eight years, we have drawn almost 21,000 people to concert halls in Vilnius, averaging 2,500 each year. In 2024, we plan to attract 3,500 more. Our YouTube channel has garnered over 19 million views, and our recordings are played more than 2 million times yearly on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon. These figures represent the best results in the Lithuanian choral market.
What we are proud of.
Our major achievements
2022
Open to the World with Zero8
An exclusive sold-out evening in Vilnius – the seventh concert of our Open to the World project together with Zero8, one of Sweden’s most popular male choirs. On November 27, we performed a stylistically diverse and unique musical program with our Swedish friends at Vilnius Philharmonic. Over 770 people attended the concert.
2021
Open to the World with Voces8
We continued our Open to the World project with the world-renowned British vocal ensemble VOCES8. Together, we presented two sold-out Christmas shows on December 4-5, 2021, at St. Catherine’s Church in Vilnius, with over 660 spectators in attendance.
2021
Studio album OTTW
Open to the World, our first studio album, was recorded at the Paliesius Manor in November 2021. We have chosen some wonderful contemporary choral pieces and are happy to have our long-time friends joining us: the Mettis String Quartet, cellist Augustas Gocentas, pianist Motiejus Bazaras, and Norwegian singer-songwriter Marius Beck.
The album was sponsored by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Lithuanian Neighboring Rights Association AGATA and recorded by Grammy-nominated recording producer Vilius Keras and his team at Baltic Mobile Recordings. The album is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
2020
Pause and Refresh
2020 was a year like no other for our choir, too. Due to the worldwide pandemic, we had to postpone our concerts and joint projects with wonderful singers and performers. However, this temporary break gave us the chance to refresh, do our homework, and make plans and preparations for the future.
This year we published quite a few live recordings of our previous concerts. Live album “Together in Vilnius” and a single “Fly to Paradise” are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
2019
Our 10-year journey together
At the end of 2019, Bel Canto Choir Vilnius celebrated its 10-year birthday by holding two sold-out Christmas concerts at St Catherine’s Church in Vilnius. The concerts, called 10 Christmases Together, were attended by more than 830 people, with tickets selling out a month before the event.
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius was founded by a group of passionate choristers in 2009 and has a host of impressive achievements in just ten years since then. Among these are two consecutive victories at the Lithuanian National Choral Competition, entries in Lithuania’s record books, and concerts with world-renowned stars of choral music. The choir has appeared onstage with Grammy-winner and the world’s most popular contemporary composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, one of the world’s most famous composers Ola Gjeilo, superstar UK vocal ensemble VOCES8, world-renowned choir The Sixteen, as well as other great choirs.
2019
At prestigious Tolosa Choral Contest
Between October 29 and November 5, 2019, Bel Canto Choir Vilnius took part in the prestigious Tolosa International Choral Competition in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, northern Spain. The contest is part of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, the best known and most prestigious network of choral contests in Europe.
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius competed in the polyphonic and folk/pop music categories and received a combined rating of 8.1 points (81 percent) out of 10 (100 percent). The Choir was invited to participate at this prestigious European contest for the second time.
2018
Open to the World
Open to the World was a 7-concert series by Bel Canto Choir Vilnius, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence. Bel Canto performed together with two of the world’s most popular contemporary composers, Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjeilo, Sweden’s best choirs Svanholm Singers and Sofia Vokalensemble, the elite vocal ensemble VOCES8 (UK), and Swiss choir Männerstimmen Basel.
The aim of the project was to present the world’s best to Lithuanian audiences, to be, create, innovate, learn and improve. Together.
The Choir’s Open to the World project reached a record audience. It attracted 3,500 concertgoers, while information about the project reached hundreds of thousands in Lithuania and abroad.
2017
The best choir in Lithuania
On October 15, 2017, Bel Canto Choir Vilnius took first place at the final of the Lithuanian National Choral Competition, retaining the title of the best volunteer choir in Lithuania for the next four years.
An international panel of judges awarded Bel Canto Choir Vilnius 98 points – the highest among all choirs in Lithuania. Bel Canto Choir Vilnius also won the competition’s Grand Prix.
2017
The first Virtual Reality 360 Video
In July 2017, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius premiered its first Virtual 360° Video, which is also the first one in the history of Lithuania’s choral music! The Choir have chosen a beautiful ‘Lux Aurumque’ by Eric Whitacre for the premiere. The performance of the piece was filmed and recorded live in December 2016 at the Choir’s ‘Revolution Together concert, featuring Eric Whitacre himself. Bel Canto Choir Vilnius premiered its first Virtual 360° Video on the Choir’s Facebook and YouTube channel.
2016
Revolution Together with Eric Whitacre
For the first time, Eric Whitacre – a rock star of the global choral scene, Grammy winner, TED speaker, and one of the most famous composers and conductors of his generation – and the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius, joined forces for a special concert, entitled ‘Revolution Together’. On December 11-12, 2016 at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic in Vilnius, Whitacre and the Lithuanian choir performed together for the first time in the history of Lithuanian choral music.
2016
At the prestigious Tolosa Choral Competition
In October 2016, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius performed at the Tolosa International Choral Competition in Tolosa, the Basque region of Spain. This contest belongs to the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, the major and the most prestigious A-level network of choral contests in Europe.
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius received 8.1 points (81.2 percent) out of 10 (100 percent) in the highly competitive and complex polyphonic music category. Choir Brevis, another Lithuanian choir that participated in the contest, received the same number of points.
2016
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius set a Lithuanian record
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius has earned a place in the national record book. This was reported on June 3, 2016 by Factum, an agency that records Lithuanian records. The Bel Canto Choir Vilnius joined the national list of achievements by holding ‘the longest choral concert tour held on a single stage’ in the history of Lithuania. Late in 2015, the choir performed for three consecutive nights at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall and its three sold-out concerts attracted audiences totaling almost 2 000 people.
2015
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius at Expo 2015
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius and Vilnius City Municipality ‘s St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra represented Lithuania at Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy. We and the Orchestra performed at the key event of Lithuania’s National Day at this International Exposition. The performance took place at Expo 2015 major concert hall, which accommodated more than 1,000 spectators.
2014
In the club of the world’s best
In July 2014, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius joined the club of the world’s best choirs. At the World Choir Games 2014, organized in the Latvian capital Riga, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius received 90.63 points and won the gold medal. Gold medals at the Choir Games are awarded to the choirs that receive between 80 and 100 points. It was the Choir’s first appearance at the World Choir Games. Bel Canto Choir Vilnius competed in the category of Contemporary Music within the Champions Competition.
2014
Our debut on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon
In spring 2014, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius became the first Lithuanian choir to publish its music on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon. Currently we receive 500-900 monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
2013
The best choir in Lithuania
In December 2013, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius rocked the country’s choral music scene and accomplished unthinkable. During the fourth year of its existence, the Choir won the Lithuania’s major National Choral Competition, thus becoming the best volunteer choir in the country. The Choir triumphed at the competition wining the first place (92.2 points) in the mixed choirs category. Lithuania’s National Choral Competition is being organized every four years by the Lithuanian Choral Union and is aimed to assess the artistic level of the choirs and to select the best ones in the country.
2013
Our triumph at the Stasys Šimkus International Competition
In November 2013, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius shone at the Stasys Šimkus International Choral Competition in Klaipėda, Lithuania. International jury of the Competition, which is considered as one of the most prestigious choral competitions in the Baltics, awarded us with the first place prize (91.2 points) in the mixed choirs category. Moreover, we received two special prizes – for the best performance of the mandatory song, and for the best performance of the song by Lithuanian composer.
2011
Our debut on YouTube
In spring 2011, the Bel Canto Choir Vilnius became the first among Lithuanian choirs to introduced its official YouTube channel. Currently we are close to 3 million views on our YouTube channel, enjoying approx.. 50 000 monthly visitors, mostly from the U.S., Germany, France, Ukraine and Lithuania.
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius was also awarded with one of the most prestigious choral awards in Lithuania – Golden Bird award in the category of New Shining Star by the Lithuanian Center for Folk Culture; triumphed at the Ohrid Choir Festival & Competition in Ohrid, Macedonia, where it won the first place in its category; as well as participated in Busan (South Korea) international choral competition and international choral competition of habaneras and polyphony in Torrevieja (Spain).
Bel Canto Choir Vilnius is driven by a love of choral music, enthusiasm and creative ambition – the choir’s ambitious name indicates its members’ vision and aspirations: they are ready for a long, hard road in their quest for beautiful singing, a road full of creative experiments, discoveries and adventures.