Associated with the Réseau Varèse since 2005

Founded in 1991, Gaida is held for ten days each year in October in Vilnius. It is now one of the most important contemporary music festivals in Central and Eastern Europe, jointly organised by the Lithuanian Composers’ Union and Vilnius Festivals. The festival’s aim is to present major works from the 20th and 21st century repertoire to the public, but also to contribute to the renewal of this repertoire, in particular through works commissioned from Lithuanian composers.

REMIGIJUS MERKELYS

Director

As a graduate of the Lithuanian Music Academy (in composition and choir conducting), Remigijus Merkelys founded the Jauna Muzika chamber choir in 1989, serving as its leader and artistic director until 1992. In 1993, he was appointed as the head of the music department of the national radio station, where he started the Classical Music Channel in 1998, of which he was the director until 2001. In 1998, he became the director of the Gaida festival and in 2003 of Vilnius Festivals.

Remigijus Merkelys is a member of the Réseau Varèse since 2005, and its vice-president since 2008.