Open to the World. Bel Canto Choir Vilnius & Svanholm Singers. Together.

A cozy night of choral music at St Catherine Church in Vilnius

Bel Canto Choir Vilnius and one of Sweden’s best choirs, Svanholm Singers, presented the first concert of the Open to the World series. On Saturday, April 14, 2018, more than 70 singers from Bel Canto Choir Vilnius and Svanholm Singers met for the first time for an intimate night of choral music at St Catherine’s Church in Vilnius.

Svanholm Singers is an extraordinary male voice chamber choir from Sweden, renowned for its light, youthful, elegant sound and virtuoso musicianship. Established in 1998, the ensemble is composed of twenty talented singers led by conductor Sofia Söderberg Eberhard. Svanholm Singers, who have completed several tours of Europe and Japan, have a core repertoire that focuses on Baltic and Scandinavian choral compositions.

In Vilnius, Svanholm Singers presented the most impressive pieces from their latest repertoire — compositions by Swedish, Estonian, and American contemporary composers as well as traditional Swedish male voice choir pieces arranged by conductor Sofia Söderberg Eberhard. In addition, the Svanholm Singers program featured two original pieces by singers of the choir studying choral composition — Emil Fredberg and Henrik Dahlgren.

In the first Open to the World concert, Bel Canto Choir Vilnius performed pieces by contemporary Latvian composers Raimonds Tiguls and Reinis Sējāns as well compositions by the Bel Canto all-time favorite Eric Whitacre, the world’s most famous American contemporary choral composer. Eric Whitacre himself will be visiting Vilnius for the final concerts of the Open to the World series in December.

Svanholm Singers and Bel Canto Choir Vilnius completed the concert with two joint pieces. Over 70 singers performed the traditional Swedish song Limu Limu Lima, arranged by the conductor of the Swedish choir, as well as Tėvyne, Mūsų (Pater Noster) by Lithuanian composer Vaclovas Augustinas.

Svanholm Singers — conductor and artistic director: Sofia Söderberg Eberhard.

Bel Canto Choir Vilnius — conductor and artistic director: Egidijus Kaveckas, second conductor and choirmaster, Milda Zapolskaitė, choirmaster and concertmaster: Raminta Gocentienė, vocal coach: Liudas Norvaišas.

Tomas Byčkovas, a Hang player, joined both choirs for the concert too.

Producers: Audrius Valatkevičius (Bel Canto Choir Vilnius) and Emil Fredberg (Svanholm Singers).

Open to the World

Open to the World is a 5-concert series by Bel Canto Choir Vilnius, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania’s Independence. During the Open to the World series, Bel Canto will perform together with two of the world’s most popular contemporary composers, Eric Whitacre (USA) and Ola Gjeilo (USA/Norway), two of Sweden’s best choirs, Svanholm Singers and Sofia Vokalensemble, elite vocal ensemble VOCES8 (UK), and fantastic Swiss choir Männerstimmen Basel.

The aim of the project is to present the world’s best to Lithuanian audiences, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania’s Independence, to be, create, innovate, learn and improve. Together.