The international competition for young vocalists "Palanga Talent League", which symbolically closed the first decade of the "Music Talent League", ended in Palanga over the weekend. The competition attracted about 300 talented young singers from various Lithuanian cities, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Poland.
"Growth of the Music Talent League
Asta Bagdonavičienė, the organiser and chief producer of the competition, shared her experience of 10 years: ''On the one hand, you don't expect that it's already been 10 years, because every year we're always looking for new things to do, to do things better, and because of that we have the feeling that we're still at the beginning of our growth stage. On the other hand, we see that a new generation has already grown up, and the older participants who took part in our first competitions are already bringing their own pupils."
Palanga was chosen to celebrate the 10th anniversary not by chance. "Palanga has a special aura, it is a place you want to come back to again and again. Moreover, we are very happy that we have the support of the Palanga city management, volunteers are actively involved, and this naturally motivates us to do the best we can for Palanga", - says A. Bagdonavičienė.
Palanga attracted more than 300 participants from all corners of Lithuania. This year, delegations from neighbouring countries were particularly large.
The competition has no age restrictions, so it is open to both young children and mature singers. This year, the youngest participant was just 4 years old, while the oldest, from the UK, was 35 years old. Participants perform in their age groups and compete for the title of winners and the Grand Prix trophies. The young singers who performed best in their age groups were filmed by LRT TV.
Top awards go to Lithuanians and Latvians
"TheGrand Prix prizes were awarded in three competition categories: for children under 10, for teenagers aged 11-13 and for advanced performers in the 14+ age group.
Among the children , the success this year was accompanied by the newcomers to the competition - the Latvian group Lauminas (led by A. Sirante), as well as the Vilnius soloist Amelia Klimavičiūtė (led by M. Mickus) and the long-standing participants of the competition, who have not missed any of the years of the Music Talent League - the group CACA from Kaunas (led by J. Miliauskaitė). They won Grand Prix Kids trophy.
Among 11-13 year olds, the highest scores and Grand Prix Juniors cups were awarded to the soloists Amelia Juonytė (led by N. Maceikaitė) and Mila Ražanskaitė (led by I. Launikonytė) from Vilnius, as well as to the group from Latvia "Jūras Akmentini" (led by L. Boitmane).
Among the advanced performers in the 14+ age group, the Grand Prix Advanced winners were Urtė Glikaitė from Šakiai (directed by I. Jakienė) and the undefeated group "The Stones" from Latvia (directed by L. Boitmane), who for the second year in a row took home the Grand Prix trophy from Palanga.
Participants and managers thanked for the high-class stage and invaluable experience
LRT reporters interviewed the contestants, managers and jury members. Without exception, everyone praised the unprecedented competition in Lithuania, which is characterised by an extremely high level of quality - the quality of sound, lighting, stage design and organisation are all of the highest global standards. "The high level of the competition obliges the participants and their teachers to prepare for this competition very seriously. The vocal preparation of the participants, the stage images and the thoughtful presentation of each performance show how much effort and work is put in by all participants. This is gratifying because there is a mutual respect - the organisers do everything to make sure that each participant's performance shows the most beautiful colours, and the participants, in turn, try not to disappoint the audience or the jury members," shares the impressions of the event's director, Regina Stadalnikaitė Komžienė.
The vocal teachers who brought their pupils to the competition were happy that their pupils could not only perform for the jury but also for the general public, as the winners' concert was filmed and broadcast by LRT TV. "This gives us even more motivation to develop and reveal the musical talent of our pupils," the music teachers said.
