Lithuanian composer and conductor Anatolijus Šenderovas passed away in the US on March 25. His funeral will be held in Vilnius on Friday, March 29.

The funeral begins at 10:00 A.M. in the Jewish section of the Sudervės road cemetery in Vilnius, with speeches and burials starting at 11:30 A.M. (procession with seven stops according to Jewish tradition). A bus will be made available to ferry mourners to the cemetery leaving from Pylimo street no. 4 at 9:30 A.M.

Lithuanian prime minister Saulius Skvernelis has formed a commission headed by culture minister Mindaugas Kvietkauskas for organizing the funeral of the maestro and winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for culture and art.

Šenderovas said it was important for him that his music touch its listeners, that it reached their hearts and minds. “Music, as with art, is the universal language of emotions, thought and intellect. I have always tried to speak positively, to appeal to the very best feelings in man. We can only ward off aggression and hate with culture. Through culture we can speak to the whole world, to become noticed and better understood. The topic of our people occupies a very important place in my work. I see the world through it, and it’s encouraging to feel that it only increases the audience’s interest. Even if the audience doesn’t understand everything, they always feel something,” Anatolijus Šenderovas said at a special Destinies program evening dedicated to him held at the Lithuanian Jewish Community three years ago.

Šenderovas was the only Jewish conductor and composer in modern Lithuania and became one of the most popular in Lithuania, while his music was and is enjoyed around the world.