APPLETON, WIS. — If music truly is the world’s universal language, Rick Bjella is hoping his baton proves to be an effective translator.
Bjella, director of choral studies at Lawrence University, is taking his baton on an extended road trip — to Lithuania. He departs Sept. 27 for a 12-day stay during which time he will serve as guest conductor of the professional chorus Polifonija during a four-city tour of the Baltic nation.
In a whirlwind schedule, Bjella will have just three rehearsals with the chorus before leading them in four concert performances in four days throughout the country: Oct. 3 in Kelme, Oct. 4 in Kaunas, Oct. 5 in the national capital of Vilnius and Oct. 6 in Siauliai.
While always confident of his musical abilities, Bjella admits he’s not entirely sure what he’s getting himself into this time.
“I know not a word of Lithuanian, so I hope we have a good translator to make this all happen,” he said. “It’s going to be a leap of faith, that’s for sure. Who knows? It should be an interesting adventure.”
Gediminas Ramanauskas, Polifonija’s music director, extended an invitation to Bjella to visit his country and conduct his chorus earlier this year immediately after hearing the Lawrence Concert Choir perform in Omaha, Neb. The Concert Choir and Lawrence’s Women’s Choir were two of five college choirs invited to sing at the North Central — American Choral Directors Association Division convention.
Based in Vilnius, Polifonija is a 35-member, mixed chorus of singers mostly 25-40 years of age. Performing with the chorus is the singers’ full-time jobs and they’re paid by the government to do so.
According to Bjella, the reputation of the government-sponsored choirs in the Baltic countries is “quite substantial.”
“Based on what some of my colleagues who have guest conducted there have told me, Polifonija is probably the top choir in Lithuania,” said Bjella.
The unfamiliar language barriers aside, Bjella said the music itself will pose a daunting task for the members of Polifonija.
“They will be learning a repertoire that will be very unfamiliar to them,” said Bjella. “I’ll be asking them to change timbre and diction from what they’re used to. It’s almost like asking a plumber to suddenly become a carpenter in terms of asking them to sing all these new styles that they generally don’t touch.
“Plus, they’re going to be exploring six languages with this program,” Bjella added. “That’s going to represent a major challenge for them. And they’ll be asked to do it all in four days, which will be really quite remarkable.”
At Ramanauskas’ request, Bjella put together an “Americas program” for the tour that features 14 pieces from the U.S., Canada, Central and South America. Among the selections Polifonija will perform are “The Lamentations of Jeremiah” by famed 20th-century Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera, “Epitaph for Moonlight” by R. Murray Schafer, considered by many to be Canada’s greatest living composer, Samuel Barber’s popular American classic “Agnus Dei” (Lamb of God), as well as several representative folk music pieces from these countries and regions. Collectively, the program will be performed in English, French, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish and Inuit.
