VILNIUS ANTAKALNIS GYMNASIUM – YWCA-YMCA of Lithuania - YMCA Finland

VILNIUS ANTAKALNIS GYMNASIUM provides us with lots of opportunities to grow up. We are proud of our school and we would like to introduce it to you. What are we? we are a new modern gymnasium focusing on the growth of a personality. We put emphasis on academic studies, spiritual and ethical development and the notion of healthy life style. What are we like? We develop and improve skills and enrich knowledge. We encourage our pupils to participate in the events, create and organise.

What are we interested in? We preserve the traditions of our gymnasium: we celebrate the days of the Earth, the Constitution, the European languages, the Tolerance; we celebrate our National holidays; we have a poetical event ‘‘Under the willow‘‘, brain buster games with teachers and students, meetings with interesting and famous people, the party 100 days till the end of school, the last bell celebration, the award of school leaving certificates. What are our strengths? We organise and participate in sports events: an international racing competition in Poland; basketball and football games among gymnasiums; basketball penalty game among girls; a traditional school–leavers basketball tournament 3 against 3.

“YWCA Europe is a working fellowship to strengthen movements where people grow in body, mind and spirit.“ YWCA-YMCA of Lithuania – Member movement since May Cooperating movement since May National General Secretary: Benediktas-Algirdas Čiukšys. Main Types of Programmes: Leadership training, TEN SING, scouting, Gospel choir music program, women's work, summer camps, sports tournaments and cultural-exchange projects. Vilnius Antakalnis Gymnasium has its singing group of teachers and pupils. The supervisor of this group is Benediktas-Algirdas Čiukšys. In 2009 our singing group had concerts in Denmark. Last spring in 2012 the group went to Finland.

The concert in Araiši (Latvia) April 19, Singing in Tampere Music School (Finland) April 20, 2012.

The concert in Helsinki (Finland) April 22, 2012.

The concert in Helsinki (Finland) April 22, 2012.

Singing in Turku (Finland) April 21, 2012.

Singing in Turku (Finland) together with the choir of Turku Musical School April 21, 2012.

YMCA Finland Suomen NMKY - Member movement since National General Secretary: Jakko Koikkalainen. Main Types of Programmes: Christian youth work, Bible study groups, Local events with local congregations, Confirmation schools and education, "Spiritual events for special groups" (for instance for sportsmen), Spiritual musical events. Music: Two big music institutions (Helsinki and Tampere) with 2,000 pupils, 12 choirs, several small groups and a variety of different orchestras ranging from a symphony orchestra to young boys' orchestras. Music groups are an essential part of Christian work. Big events and international exchange.

Kaarina Music-classes Youth Choir was founded by master of music, Ari Hynynen, in January 2002.

Ari Hynynen has been conducting it since. It normally consists of pupils from the 7th to 9th grade. Now in Vilnius there are only the 9th class, altogether 20 pupils by the age of They have been studying together for seven years, so they know each other well. In the music-classes in Kaarina the pupils study using the KODAY method. They all also play some instruments, some only for a hobby, some of them quite seriously. In this choir pupils sing for a period of three years. Normally during this time they have a possibility to visit some other countries. The choir has a very keen co-operation with Hungary, Kaarina´s friendship-city, Szentes, where it has been four times and in Estonia once and also in the friendship-city, Jõgeva and Palamuse. The choir has made two records during the years: Toisin sanoen ("In other words") and Missa III. Both of them are sacral music. Also the choir has made two recordings together with all the music-classes in Kaarina: Kukkia ("Flowers") and Uudet laulut ("New songs") which is a collection of contemporary music of the composers who live in Kaarina. Many of the pieces have been composed for the three choirs of Kaarina music-classes. Normally the choir gives concerts of sacral, non-sacral music, evergreen/pop-arrangements or traditional choral music and Christmas-time music. The choir belongs to Turku YMCA organization and performs when needed in the church or other places.

Let’s welcome our honourable guests from Turku. They are going to sing some songs for us.