Linas Rupšlaukis

Linas Rupšlaukis (b. 1989) is a composer, trumpeter, conductor, lecturer at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The artistic fields of performance, conducting, teaching and composing are inevitably intertwined and complementary in Rupšlaukis’ work. When composing, he aims to know as much as possible, what is going on around the area he is interested in, and this is why the philosophical narrative, important to him, is evident in his music compositions. 

He studied at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2005-09, at the Royal Conservatory Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in Italy in 2010-11, and in 2013-14 he studied trumpet at the Academy of Music and Drama of Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2015, after completing his Master's degree at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, he went on to study philosophy at the Vilnius University.

The success of L. Rupšlaukis’ work as performer and composer is evidenced by the prizes he has won in various international trumpet and composition competitions, including first prize and a scholarship of the renowned Yamaha Music Europe Foundation in 2014/15. Rupšlaukis' achievements include the success of his composition "The Gambler" in competitions for composers organised by the Lithuanian Composers' Union and the International Trumpet Guild, a trumpeters' society based in the United States, the recognition of the work for strings and piano "Oumuamua" in the international chamber music competition "Chamber Chance" organised by the International Festival of Contemporary Music "Iš arti", and the award of the compositions for wind orchestra "The Bridges" and "Acta Curoniae" in the competition of new works for wind orchestra "MCC Palanga".

L. Rupšlaukis is an active participant in international festivals and seminars, and member of juries. Performing as a soloist and conductor, Rupšlaukis has shared the stage with a number of renowned soloists, ensembles and orchestras, including trumpeter Sergei Nakariov, euphonium virtuoso Steven Mead, and shakuhachi expert and composer Reison Kuroda.

The composer's work is dominated by instrumental music, often based on various combinations of wind instruments. The knowledge of the specifics of wind instrument performance is useful to Rupšlaukis for revealing his creative ideas. His bulk of music for winds is supplemented by vocal-instrumental works for choir, compositions for strings and percussion.

Rupšlaukis views his work as a quest, a kind of interpretation and deconstruction of areas or phenomena that interest him. The composer finds inspiration for his work not only in the everyday and artistic environment that surrounds him (e.g., the works of art, literature and music, or drama performances), but also in the contexts of the history of music, by studying the works of 20th century composers. According to the composer himself, constant reflection on the world around him and philosophical reflections help to experience the pulse of the present and, interpreting it in his own way, convey it through music.

Justina Paltanavičiūtė