Vilnius Carillon Festival 2026

The International Vilnius Carillon Festival 2026 The International Vilnius Carillon Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The jubilee programme features five free concerts in which some of the world's most prominent carillonneurs from Japan, the USA, South Korea, Belgium and Ukraine will perform. The festival takes place on the Vilnius Carillon installed in the bell tower of the Church of the Holy Apostles Philip and James in Vilnius – the largest concert carillon in Central Europe, comprising 61 bells. Carillon music does not separate the stage from the city – it sounds in the churchyard, in Lukiškės Square, in the surrounding houses and in the city streets. 1 July, 7:00 p.m. Toru Takao (Japan) „Resonance Through Time“ At the festival's opening concert, Toru Takao will invite you on a musical journey through eras and cultures. The programme brings together works by Mozart and Schumann, Brazilian rhythms, contemporary compositions from Japan and love songs from different corners of the world. 8 July, 7:00 p.m. Joseph Min (USA) „Dance in the Wind“ Joseph Min, winner of the 2024 International Queen Fabiola Carillon Competition, will present a contemporary and emotional programme. There will be film music, contemporary compositions and works well known to the public – „Colors of the Wind“, „Dos Oruguitas“ and „Starry, Starry Night“. 14 July, 7:00 p.m. IN KAUNAS 15 July, 7:00 p.m. IN VILNIUS Minjin Oh and Kiru Shin (South Korea) „Opera over Lithuania“ The carillon will sound with four hands for the first time at this year's festival. The programme features the most famous opera melodies: Mozart's „The Magic Flute“, Verdi's „La Traviata“, „Aida“ and „Nabucco“, Wagner's „Tannhäuser“, Gounod's „Roméo et Juliette“ and Vytautas Klova's opera „Pilėnai“. 22 July, 7:00 p.m. Jasper Depraetere (Belgium) „Classics of the Bells“ The young-generation Belgian carillonneur and laureate of the International Queen Fabiola Competition, Jasper Depraetere, will present a programme ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to contemporary carillon music and popular hits. The concert will feature Samuel Barber's „Adagio for Strings“, Billie Eilish's „What Was I Made For?“ and the legendary „Bohemian Rhapsody“. 29 July, 7:00 p.m. Oleksandra Makarova (Ukraine) „The Carillon in the Flow of Time“ At the closing concert of the jubilee festival, Ukrainian carillonneur Oleksandra Makarova will invite you on a musical journey from the Baroque to film music. The programme features works by Handel, Mozart and Dvořák, as well as music from the films „Pirates of the Caribbean“, „The Godfather“, „The Matrix“ and „Schindler's List“. After each concert there will be a meeting with the performers – a questions-and-answers evening. All concerts are free. We invite you to listen to the concerts in the churchyard of the Church of the Holy Apostles Philip and James in Vilnius or in Lukiškės Square. In case of unfavourable weather, the concerts will be relayed with sound inside the church. Additional concert in Kaunas On 14 July at 7:00 p.m. a free concert by the South Korean performers Minjin Oh and Kiru Shin will take place in Kaunas with the same programme „Opera over Lithuania“.

Adresas: Šv. ap. Pilypo ir Jokūbo bažnyčia