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Norwegian-Lithuanian Accordion Concert, Vilnius – Lithuaniaby Rob Howard |
A joint Norwegian-Lithuanian accordion concert, with folk dance performances by a Lithuanian dance team, took place on Wednesday, October 7th in the multifunctional hall of the Embassy of Finland in Vilnius. There were performances by the Sandnes Accordion Orchestra, from Norway, and the Lithuanian accordion orchestra Consona. The musicians and dancers presented an eclectic mix of music and dance from the two countries. Consona had participated at the Norwegian Accordion Championships in Sandnes last year, and this was an opportunity for the Norwegian orchestra to return the visit. After a welcome speech by Ambassador Steinar Gil, the Sandnes Accordion Orchestra (MD Tore Koppang) gave the first performance, playing traditional Norwegian and Nordic music. Their conductor, Tore Koppang, also played a trumpet solo of an arrangement of a traditional tune. Their performance was accompanied with folk dancing by the Lithuanian dancers. The accordion orchestra Consona is made up of music teachers from the Vilnius region, and consists of seventeen accordionists, a drummer, and conductor Rita Auksoriute. They played classical as well as popular music, and during some numbers accompanied the opera singer Natalja Krauter. The last performance of the evening involved both accordion orchestras playing the winner of this year’s Eurovision song, Aleksander Rybak's ‘I’m in love with a fairytale’. Ambassador Steinar Gil finally thanked the musicians for their contributions, and was presented with a gift from the Mayor of Sandnes. The Ambassador of Denmark to Lithuania, Laurids Mikaelsen, also thanked the musicians, and on his first visit congratulated the Embassies of Finland and Norway on their new premises. |