DRUSKOMANIJA Festival
The Contemporary Music Festival DRUSKOMANIJA is one of Lithuania’s oldest festivals of contemporary music, aimed at promoting the work of young Lithuanian and foreign composers. Organized annually by members of the Youth Section of the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, the festival has been a cultural highlight for many years.
During her role as festival director (2007 – 2010) Rūta Vitkauskaitė transformed the festival from its traditional status as a chamber music event in Druskininkai to an international contemporary music festival that took place in four Lithuanian cities, including Vilnius, Trakai, and Palanga.
Under her guidance, the festival expanded its scope beyond various music genres to include other artistic disciplines such as dance, theatre, and fine arts. This diversification was a direct reflection of the cultural life of Lithuanian youth and therefore attracted a wider audience. The festival also provided young professional artists with an opportunity to experiment and push boundaries, synthesizing contemporary ideas and producing new, original, and meaningful concepts as well as taking responsibility to uphold the already established artistic traditions.
Rūta Vitkauskaitė’s approach to organizing the festival was to create an open space for both young composers and young performers to explore and showcase their work. During her time as director, the festival included established performers such as the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, as well as newly-formed groups inspired by Druskomanija. The festival featured a mix of conventional music concerts in halls and churches, as well as cutting-edge collaborations such as Rūta’s own piece for five musicians and a hot air balloon.
The brochure of the Druskomanija 2010 edition, the last festival managed by Rūta Vitkauskaitė, is availabe here.
Druskomanija Festival continues to evolve under different directors and it is hosted yearly by Lithuanian Composers Union: https://www.druskomanija.lt/
