Janulyte, Juste (1982)
Biography Works
Justė Janulytė (born 1982 in Vilnius) studied composition at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (with Bronius Kutavičius and Osvaldas Balakauskas), Milan “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatoire (Alessandro Solbiati) and in various masterclasses (Luca Francesconi, Helena Tulve etc.).
Janulytė's music has been played in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia, by many Lithuanian performers as well as Teatro La Fenice Symphony (cond. Eliahu Inbal) and Gothenburg Opera Symphony (cond. David Björkman) Orchestras, BBC National Orchestra of Wales (cond. Garry Walker), Polish National Philharmonic Orchestra (cond. Jacek Kaspszyk), Brno Philharmonic (cond. Maciej Tworek) and French Flute Orchestra, Riga Sinfonietta (cond. Normunds Sne), Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Ensemble Bit20 (Bergen), Orchestrutopica (Lisbon), Estonian Philharmonic (cond. Paul Hillier), Danish Radio chamber (cond. Fredrik Malmberg), Latvian ''Kamer'', French Sequenza 9.3 and Polish „Camerata Silesia“ choirs, Quasar (Montreal), Xasax (Paris) and Flotilla (UK) saxophone quartets, cellists Francesco Dillon (IT), Henri Demarquette (FR), Anton Lukoszevieze (UK), flutist Manuel Zurria (IT) and others. Her works were included in the programmes of the Sydney festival, Schleswig-Holstein festival, Venice Biennale, Holland festival (Amsterdam), Warsaw Autumn (PL, 2011, 2012, 2015), Music Gardens (Warsaw), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK, 2008, 2010), SonicA (Glasgow), Maerzmusik (Berlin), Musica festival (Strasbourg), RomaEuropa, Musikprotokoll im steirischem Herbst (Graz), World New Music Days (2009, 2014), Musicadhoy (Madrid), Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Cardiff (UK), Expositions of New Music, Moravian Autumn (Brno, CZ), Cesis Art Festival (LV, composer in residence 2012), Gaida (Vilnius, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015) among others.
Justė Janulytė first came into public view in 2004 when her graduation work White music for 15 strings was awarded as the best chamber piece at the competition organized by the Lithuanian Composers' Union. Furthermore, she has been awarded for the best orchestral work (Textile, 2008), the best chamber work (Elongation of Nights, 2010) and the first prize among 2010 Lithuanian pieces for Sandglasses at the same competition. In 2009 Aquarelle for choir won the 1st prize (in the category of composers under 30) at the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris. Witihin the span of several years her experimental and highly visionary works have earned her international renown and official recognition at home in the form of the Young Artist's Prize awarded by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture of 2011. On the 18th of December 2013 her concert installation "Sandglasses" was performed at the Flagey Center, Brussels at the closing event of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Majority of the works by the author, written for 'monochromatic' ensembles (e.g. 24 flutes, 21 string, 16 voices etc.), represent slow and gradual ''thermodynamic'' metamorphoses of texture, timbre, register, articulation and dynamics. While balancing between the aesthetics of minimalism, spectralism and drone music, Justė Janulytė composes acoustic metaphors of optic ideas (Silence of the Falling Snow, 2006; Pendulums, 2011, Observation of Clouds, 2012 etc.) and researches the visual nature of musical phenomena in the works where sound and image are fused together (Breathing Music for string quartet, electronics and kinetic sculptures, 2007; Eclipses for violin, viola, cello, double bass, live electronics and soundproof glass installation, 2007/Integra, Sandglasses for 4 cellos, electronics and installation of video, lights and tulle, 2010/Réseau Varèse).
Since 2006 Janulytė has been teaching a course on contemporary music language at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In 2011 she was a jury member at the Czech composition competion called NUBERG, organized by the Berg Orchestra in Prague and the guest lecturer at the Nordplus Music Labaratory "Process 2013" in Nida (LT). In 2014 May Janulyte held 3 days composition masterclasses at the Sassari Conservatoire (IT). In 2014 her first portrait double album "Sandglasses" was released by the Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing center, consisting of a DVD with Sandglasses and CD with the most important acoustic works. The composer has also written critics and articles on music. Lives and works in Vilnius and Milan.