GRIEŽYNĖ - 2006

Marju Varblane and the group – Estonia

Marju has been playing the violin for 13 years and only traditional music for 8 years. At present she is studying at Traditional Music Department of Viljandi Academy of Culture. At the same time she is teaching young people to play violin, bagpipe, pipe, kanklės, to sing and dance. Marju invited her college friends and students to join her and to get new experiences in this festival.

Marju Varblane – violin, bagpipe, harmonica
Asso Int – harmonica
Karel Kadalipp - violin
Liisi Metsvahi - violin
Erki Jansen – guitar

Hogmarkarna – Sweden

This is a family quartet led by Esbjörn Hogmark, who plays the Swedish key violin called nyckelharpa. His wife Åsa Hogmark (Södergren) and twin brother Göran Hogmark play the nyckelharpa as well. Esbjörn Hogmark started playing the nyckelharpa in 1977. In 1980 he studied with master Eric Sahlström. In 1983 he was awarded Zorn silver medal and a title of Riksspelman (royal musician). He not just plays but also makes nyckelharpas.

Z naroku - Poland

Group from Suvalki, a district of lakes. They play traditional dance music of that region. It is polka and oberek. They also play foreign tunes such as foxtrot, kazak, waltz. The main instrument is the pedal accordion made at the beginning of the 20^th century. This instrument was widely used till the eighties of the last century.

Małgorzata Makowska – pedal accordion, voice
Agnieszka Sroczyńska – violin, viola, voice
Piotr Fiedorowicz – violin, voice
Paweł Luto – percussion instruments

Kristian Solvang - Norway

He was born in 1943 in western Norway. At present he works in the Centre of Scandinavistics of Vilnius University. He plays Norwegian folk song and dance tunes on instruments belonging to the flute family called tussefløyte (fairy flute) and seljefløyte ( willow obertonic flute – Lith. švilpa). He has performed in Norway, Austria, Lithuania

Yirdy Machar – Scotland/Denmark

He was born in 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland, here he started his studies. He travelled, lived and played music in many countries. In 1982 he settled in Denmark. He plays in pubs, clubs, cabarets, festivals, concerts, on the radio and TV, on his own and with other musicians from Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, England, Sweden and groups from Scandinavia. In 2002 Yirdy won a championship of playing on spoons and bones in a country music festival in Iowa, USA

He loves singing Scottish folk songs in his native dialect, also plays drum (bodhran), melodeon and pipe. He teaches others to play these instruments and calligraphy.

Salnava dance musicians - Latvia

The group started performing a couple of years ago. They are popular with older generation of their district. The group took part in the festival of Barkavos musicians, have performed in the neighbouring Balvi, Rezekne regions, Ludzi district event called Smithy of Sounds („Skaņu smēde“). They are loved by audiences and have won the Top Award.

Arta Ermīne-Galvanovska – accordion, zither
Dainis Ločmelis – harmonica
Aivars Zeiļuks – harmonica, drum
Zinaīda Poltanova-Ločmele – harmonica, drum, zither
Maija Galvanovska – bagpipe, percussion, singing
Aija Jurāne – percussion, singing

Gulyajgorod - Ukraine

Graduates of music colleges of Ukraine, who investigate the heritage of musical folklore of Central Ukraine. Material from their folklore expeditions comprises their repertoire.

Postolnikov Serhij – violin
Panchenko Denis – violin
Vovk Oleksandr – bass, dulcimer
Baramba Iryna – drum, percussion
Filatova Anastasiya – drum, percussion

Lizhoung Wang – China

While at school he learned to play a big number of Chinese musical instruments and was a member of Chinese Folk Instruments' Company.
Having graduated from North East Pharmacy Medical University in 1982, he was awarded a degree of a Master of Medicine in 1985 at the West China Medical University. In 1991 he came to Lithuania. Currently he acts as the head of several Chinese restaurants.