Lithuania in the News
16th November 2007
Vilnius to Host World Music Days 2008
The reputation of Vilnius as a city with a rich musical culture has been an important factor in the selection of Vilnius to host the International Society’s for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days 2008. The World Music Days will be
Jury deliberates - (from left) Britain’s Jonathan Harvey,
Estonia’s Helen Tulve and Lithuania’s leading female composer
Onutë Narbutaitë. Photo courtesy Omni
held from 24 October to 7 November 2008, together with Lithuania’s 18th Gaida Festival of contemporary music. These World Music Days will be the first such event in this region of Europe and will be a fitting prelude to Vilnius - European Capital of Culture in 2009.
Last September the Lithuanian Composers Union preselected 110 works from various countries and at the end of October an international jury of composers made the final selection for World Music Days of 37 works from 26 countries, including Australia. The international composers’ jury consisted of Peter Eötvös (Hungary), Jonathan Harvey (Great Britain), Luca Francesconi (Italy), Onutë Narbutaitë (Lithuania) and Helen Tulve (Estonia). Among the many works for the WMD Festival there will the European premiere of Eötvös’ opera "Of Love and Other Demons" in collaboration with the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre and Britain’s Glynbourne Opera Festival.

Further information:
www.wmd2008.org   www.omni.lt 01/11/07   www.delfi.lt 31/10/07