Saulius Sondeckis, Lithuanian violinist and conductor, Died at 87

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Saulius Sondeckis was born on October 11, 1928, in Šiauliai and died on February 3, 2016.

He was a Lithuanian violinist, conductor, orchestra leader and professor.

Saulius founded the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in 1960 and was its artistic director and principal conductor until 2004.

Saulius Sondeckis received his music education from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Vilnius Conservatory) as a violinist with Alexander Livontas in 1952 and studied conducting with Igor Markevich.

He was a member of the Department of String Instruments at the Lithuanian SSR State Conservatoire.

He started conducting in 1955 and started at the Student Orchestra of the M.K.Ciurlionis School of Arts.

Mr.Sondeckis became a teacher at the Lithuanian Academy in 1959 and became a professor there in 1976.

During 1960, he founded the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in 1960 and it gave its first performance on April 30, 1960.

As an Orchestra, he led the St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg (Camerata) from 1989 and from 2005, he has led the Lithuanian Baltic Chamber Orchestra.

Saulius Sondeckis has conducted orchestras in many countries and is an honorary member of the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union.

Saulius Sondeckis, one of the most decorated figures in contemporary classical music in Lithuania, including People’s Artist of the USSR (1980), a Laureate of the USSR State Award (1987) and winner of the Lithuania National Award (1999).

At one point he served as a jury member of major international competitions, including Mozart in Salzburg, Tchaikovsky in Moscow and the Toscanini Competitions in Parma

Mr.Sondeckis was also a member of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation in Berlin.

Saulius Sondeckis passed away at 87 yrs old in Vilnius Lithuania.