Vytautas Miškinis – choir conductor, composer, educator. He was born on 5 June, 1954, in Vilnius. When he was a pupil at the 21st Secondary School he sang in the Teachers House boys choir Ąžuoliukas. In 1971–1976 he studied choir conducting at the Lithuanian State Conservatoire (with Hermanas Perelšteinas). In 1971–1979 he was a chorus master and concertmaster of the boys and youth choir Ąžuoliukas. In 1975 – 1979 he was the chorus master of the Kaunas State Mixed Choir. In 1979–1985 Miškinis was the director of the 6th Music School for Children in Vilnius, and he has been the artistic director and chief conductor of the boys choir Ąžuoliukas since 1979. Parallelly, he has been in charge of Vilnius Teachers House men’s choir (since 1979) and Vilnius vocal ensemble Museum musicum (since 1991). Since 1985, he has been teaching at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Department of Choir Conducting, associated professor since 1994, professor since 2002.

The Teachers House men’s choir led by Vytautas Miškinis has won awards at international choir competitions: in Tallinn (Estonia, 1st Prize, 1978), Varna (Bulgaria, 1st and 2nd Prizes, 1981), Nantes (Grand Prix, 1989), Goricia (Italy, 3rd Prize, 1990), Marktoberdorf (Germany, 1st Prize and International Name of Honour, 1992), Mainhausen (Germany, 1st Prize, 1993), Tolosa (Spain, 3rd Prize, 1995) and Maribor (Slovenia, 2nd Prize, 2000). Together with the vocal ensemble Museum musicum he won the 2nd Prize in Goricia (Italy, 1990), 1st Prize in Tampere (Finland, 1992) and 1st Prize in Mainhausen (Germany, 1993).

In 1980, 1985 and 1988 Miškinis was the chief conductor and artistic director of the Republican Song Festival; in 1990, of the Lithuanian National Song Festival, in 1993, of the Lithuania Minor Schoolchildren Song Festival; in 1994 and 1998 he was chief conductor of the 1st and the 2nd World Lithuanian Song Festivals in Lithuania; in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1991 he was chief conductor of Baltic Jamborees and Schoolchildren Festivals. In 1996 he was the conductor of the Youth Art Festival of the City of Vilnius, and in 1997, art director and chief conductor of the Lithuanian Schoolchildren Song Festival.

Since 1995, the conductor has been the President of the Lithuanian Choir Union, since 2000, a consultant to the music commission Europa Cantat (European Federation of Young Choirs); since 2002, a honorary member of ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), since 2002, a member of Children’s and Youth commission of IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music); since 2004, a member of the board of Choir Olympics. 

Vytautas Miškinis is a member of juries at both national and international competitions for children’s choirs in Lithuania, Latvia and Germany. Prof. Vytautas Miškinis promotes choral music: he has written around 50 articles and publications on various subjects in music, reviews of choir concerts, and has compiled collections of scores for choirs. He has given presentations on musical education of Lithuanian children at international seminars in Byelorussia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Spain, USA, Poland, France, Denmark, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, The Ukraine and Germany. He has held master classes in Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Japan, The Netherlands, France, Slovenia and Germany; as an honorary guest he participated in international symposia of choir associations in Slovenia (1996) and Austria (1997).

Awards
1983 the Badge of the Leading Figure in Culture.

1985 the title Honoured Artist of Lithuania.

2005 the Cross of Officer, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.

2007 the Gold Medal of Sigismund Augustus.

2010 the National Culture and Art Award.

2014 awarded the plague of honour "Carry Your Light and Believe" of the Ministry of Culture.

Nominations

2002 Author of the Year (LATGA), nomination The Author of Works Most Frequently Performed Abroad.

2004 The Golden Bird for the Boys and Youth Choir Ąžuoliukas, nomination The Brightest Star of Lithuania (LLKC).

2005 Radiocentras Awards, nomination For Merits to Lithuanian Music.

2005 The Golden Bird for men’s choir Ąžuoliukas, nomination The Star of International Brilliance (LLKC).

2006 The Enlightened Person of Lithuania (nominated by the Lithuanian Radio and Television)

Under the leadership of Vytautas Miškinis the boys choir Ąžuoliukas has performed large opuses of cantata-oratory genre and other complex vocal opuses, presented Lithuanian choral music in the country and abroad. Ąžuoliukas has toured Europe and USA, participated in international choir festivals and competitions in Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Finland, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark and Sweden as well as won awards and diplomas.

Vytautas Miškinis is also known as a composer having created over 250 opuses for children’s choirs and soloists, 100 opuses for adult choirs and around 150 large religious opuses: masses, motets and litanies. His opuses are performed in Lithuania and abroad by Lithuanian and foreign choirs. Miškinis has conducted performances of his music by foreign choirs in Slovenia, Spain and Germany. His religious music has been recorded in CDs, audiotapes and radio archives in Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, USA, France, Slovenia, Germany and elsewhere. His compositions have been awarded many times in Lithuania and abroad.