פורום תיאורטיקנים - הרצאה לקראת קונצרט של "דואו פסנתרים וייצקוניס"

Asta Vaičekonis, piano

Asta Vaičekonis received her Master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Washington, and Bachelor’s degree in piano performance, collaborative piano and education from the Lithuanian Academy of Music. Asta was granted a diploma for the best collaborative artist in the International Chamber Music Competition in Kaliningrad, Russia. Asta Vaičekonis performed in many festivals and venues in the United States and Europe including Benaroya’s Nordstrom Hall open house series, Summer Arts Festival at the University of Washington, Bach Fest in Lake Chelan, Baltic Music Festival at UW, Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Awards Tours, Bumbershoot Festival, with Port Angeles symphony, King FM, Seattle Art, Frye and Asian Museums.

Asta served as an accompanist and coach at the Summer Music Seminars in Berlin, Germany, had numerous performances with the Chamber Dance Company, made several recordings for the Lithuanian Radio and Television. She recorded a CD of French music for four hands with her husband Dainius Vaicekonis.  Asta was affiliated with University of Washington and Western Washington University as a collaborative pianist. Asta often performs with her husband, Dainius Vaičekonis, as a piano duet.

Dr. Dainius Vaičekonis

Dainius Vaičekonis leads his active performance career as soloist and collaborative artist in the US and Europe.  He was soloist with the Lithuanian National Symphony, the University of Washington Symphony, Butte Montana Symphony, Bremerton Symphony, Port Angeles Symphony Skagit Symphony and Seattle Pacific University Symphony.  He was the winner in the Francis Walton Award Tour Competition, the University of Washington Concerto Competition, and in the International Franz Schubert Piano Competition in Dortmund, Germany. 

Dainius Vaičekonis studied and gained degrees from the National Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Academy of Music (BMA), the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg, Bowling Green State University, Ohio (M.M.) and the University of Washington (D.M.A).  His mentors were celebrated European and American artists and teachers including Robin McCabe, Jerome Rose, Jurgis Karnavičius, Mūza Rubackytė and Gediminas Kviklys.  He performed in Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Christian Zacharias masterclasses.

Dainius was recipient of the Gerberding Fellowship at the University of Washington.  His dissertation "The Forest for the Trees:  Beethoven piano sonatas as integrated cycles” was published in Germany in 2009.  He has performed in Benaroya's Nordstrom Recital Hall, Meany Hall, on “Live by George” at KING FM and “The Beat” at KUOW public radio, Bumbershoot, and the UW Summer Arts Festival, Franciscan Nights festival in Toledo, Ohio.  He is frequent performer in SPU Faculty series.

Dr. Vaičekonis has performed with the Vilnius String Quartet and the Chamber Dance Company, with distinguished artists such as violinists Alexander Velinzon, Ilkka Talvi  and Marjorie Kransberg-Talvi, flutists Edmund Paul Davies and Magali Mosnier-Karoui, clarinetist Sean Osborn and.  Dainius also performs extensively with his wife Asta as a piano duo. 

Dainius served as judge in ENKOR, MTNA, Francis Walton and other competitions in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a coach in Puget Sound Chamber Music Workshops in the Seattle Pacific University. He gave masterclasses in the Music Academy at the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. His students are successfully participating in festivals and competitions nationwide.

In the 2014 Dainius presented a lecture and recital of legendary American pianist, composer and pedagogue Leopold Godowsky in his birthplace in Lithuania. His next project is lecture-recital and CD recording of the last three Beethoven piano sonatas. Dr. Vaičekonis is assistant professor and head of keyboard studies at the Seattle Pacific University and the faculty in the Seattle Piano Institute. Vaičekonis was Artist in Residence at the University of Washington, School of Music.