Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre
Encyclopedia
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, is a state-supported conservatory that trains students in music, theatre, and multimedia arts.
History
Composer Juozas Naujalis founded a music school in 1919 in KaunasKaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
. This school was reorganised into the Kaunas Conservatory in 1933. In 1949 the Kaunas Conservatory and the Vilnius Conservatory, founded in 1945, were merged into the Lithuanian State Conservatory. The State Conservatory was renamed the Music Academy of Lithuania (LMA) in 1992, and in 2004 it became the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA).
Current operations
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
in 2007, Professor Eduardas Gabnys, has served in that capacity since 2005. The Academy's headquarters are located on Gediminas Avenue
Gediminas Avenue
Gediminas Avenue is the main street of Vilnius, where most of the governmental institutions of Lithuania are concentrated, including the government, parliament, Constitutional Court and ministries...
.
The Academy awards the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Music, BA in Theatre, BA in Multimedia Arts, Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Music, MA in Theatre, MA in Multimedia Arts, Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
. in Humanities for students of musicology, ethnomusicology, theatre theory and history, and a 2-year postgraduate Art Licentiate degree for music performers, composers and directors.
The Academy strives to "develop international cooperation and integration into the European and global academic community, to support and facilitate student and teacher exchange, and to ensure high-quality standards in higher education in the arts."
Its students and professors perform in over 400 concerts per year, participatiing in national and international orchestras, international concerts, performances, competitions, and festivals. Competitions and international events sponsored by the Academy include the International Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
Violin Competition, and an international competition for singers and pianists-accompanists, among others. It co-sponsors the International M. K. Čiurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis , also known as M. K. Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian painter and composer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. During his short life he composed about 250 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings...
Piano and Organ Competition and hosts national auditions for participation in the European Union Youth Orchestra
European Union Youth Orchestra
The European Union Youth Orchestra is a training orchestra for young people in the European Union. It is funded centrally by the European Union and by a number of EU member states...
, the International Choir and Orchestra Academy in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, the International Holland Music Sessions, and numerous other scholarship auditions.
International partnerships
The LMTA has bilateral agreements with 72 partner institutions across Europe in the SOCRATES program. In 2003 it established a credit system comparable to the ECTSECTS
ECTS may refer to:* Elementary cognitive tasks, from psychometrics* Engine coolant temperature sensor* European Calcified Tissue Society* European Computer Trade Show* European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System...
, the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.
Other bilateral or multilateral agreements have been signed with the Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian State Academy of Music, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's Tchaikovsky Conservatory and its Slavic Traditional Music School, the
Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
State Conservatory, and the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
.
The true face of the Academy is the artistic activity by both students and professors including over 400 concerts per year; students’ participation in national and international orchestras, international concerts, performances, competitions, and festivals; competitions and international events organised by the Academy – The International Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
Violin Competition, The International Competition for Singers and Pianists-Accompanists, The International Competition of Piano Duos, International Accordion and Folk Music Festivals, International Conferences for Ethnomusicologists, and a number of master-classes; events organised in cooperation with the Academy - The International M. K. Čiurlionis Piano and Organ Competition, national auditions for participation in the European Union Youth Orchestra, International Choir and Orchestra Academy (International Bachakademie Stuttgart), Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, International Holland Music Sessions, YAMAHA scholarship, Stasys Baras scholarship for singers, Linda Maxey
Linda Maxey
thumb|right|Linda Maxey, concert marimbistLinda Maxey is a celebrated concert marimbist virtuoso and was the first marimbist on the prestigious roster of Columbia Artists Management in New York.- Artistry :...
scholarship for percussion students, participation in the Villecroze Academy, and many other important international artistic activities.