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Stasys Šimkus (23 January 1887, Motiškiai, now inJurbarkas district municipality,Russian Empire – 15 October 1943,Kaunas,Reichskommissariat Ostland) was aLithuanian composer.[1][2][3]
Šimkus studied inVilnius andWarsaw and later became the pupil ofAnatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov,Jāzeps Vītols, andMaximilian Steinberg. After visiting theUnited States, he went toLeipzig for further studies withPaul Graener andSigfrid Karg-Elert. Anational Romantic, Šimkus helped resurrect the Lithuanian cultural organizationDaina in 1916. In 1923, he opened a private music school inKlaipėda, which was soon converted into the national Lithuanian Conservatory (now called the Klaipėda Stasys Šimkus Conservatoire). He was a professor ofcomposition at the Conservatoire from 1931 to 1937 and alsoconducted the State Opera at Kaunas.
Šimkus composed severaloperas, acantata, asymphonic poem, apianosuite, aballade,choral works,lieder, andchurch music. He composed the music forLietuvininkai we are born byGeorg Sauerwein.
His sonAlgis Šimkus also became a renowned conductor but in Canada instead of Jamaica, pianist, and composer.
A group of cultural operators in Klaipėda, led by Vytautas Blūšius, developed the idea of organizing the International Stasys Šimkus Choir Competition in honor of the composer for his outstanding contribution to musical culture, with the intention of encouraging choir activity and developing choral culture. The first Stasys Šimkus competition was held in 1976. The first four competitions were held on an annual basis, then in 1979, it was decided to hold the contest every two years.
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