„Kurti Negalima Sustoti“ | TAMSTA

The competition „Kurti Negalima Sustoti“, organised by Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble, offers the selected composition the full path to a professional presentation: working with the ensemble and preparing the piece, a professional studio recording, a live performance at Tamsta Club and filming of that performance. The organisers want to create space for music that may so far have existed only in sheet music, on a computer or during rehearsals with friends, but has not yet had the chance to go through the entire professional preparation process — from the first rehearsal with performers to recording and the stage.

“I remember growing up and studying music, and often receiving the answer to questions about written music that it had been written by a great person who must not be questioned. Of course, I am exaggerating a little, but I have always wanted to talk about creativity without answering the question ‘why?’ with only ‘because that is how it should be’. Rules and knowledge matter, but they should not become a wall beyond which creativity begins,” says Jievaras Jasinskis, Golden Stage Cross laureate, composer and artistic director of Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble.

The desire to bring creativity closer to people just starting out is one of the central ideas behind „Kurti Negalima Sustoti“. The competition is aimed at those for whom a professional recording, working with a larger group of musicians or presenting their own composition on stage may be a new experience. “I really want to encourage people who are only thinking about a creative path to create, at least to try. The notes can be simple; you can use technology, friends and other musicians.

There is no need to fear notation or to set creative freedom against rules or musical notation. In this competition we do not restrict genres or set the length of the piece, and we do not focus only on jazz — we focus on the person creating and their idea,” says J. Jasinskis. In recent years, Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble has increasingly focused not only on performing and creating, but also on education and opening up the creative process. For the ensemble, this is a natural continuation of its work: it constantly experiments with different musical forms and looks for ways to make more room on the professional stage for experimentation, collaboration and new ideas. „Kurti Negalima Sustoti“ brings this principle into collaboration with an emerging composer.

The author of the selected piece will receive not only a professional audio recording and a video of the live performance. They will prepare the composition for performance together with Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble musicians and have the opportunity to see first-hand how written music becomes a work performed by a professional ensemble. Participants could submit original compositions created in 2026 and arranged for the Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble line-up.

The selected composer will prepare the composition for performance with the ensemble and record it professionally in a recording studio. ♥DOORS: 18:00START: 19:30TABLE RESERVATIONS: by email at club@tamsta.com. Reservations are free and held until 18:30.* Event tickets do not include seat selection — all tickets are standing. Tables can be reserved separately, free of charge. Seating is limited. More information: www.tamstaclub.lt /