M E E T K O S T A S

This is Kostas Tumosa. Kostas is the first violinist at Mettis string quartet and the performer at The Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. He is also a lecturer at Vytautas Magnus University.

The violin has been a part of Kostas’s life since early childhood.

“Both of my parents were musicians. To be honest, nobody asked if I wanted to play the violin.”

Today, Kostas plays with a violin that was made in 1751 in the city of Rome by the violin maker Jacob Horil. Kostas points at his violin which has now become a precious piece of history: “it has seen a lot…”

Kostas is happy to remember the joy of winning the 2nd place in the international quartet competition “Bordeaux 2016”. But it’s not always an easy path. “You can reach your best with hard work and persistence. But it’s really difficult to keep consistent and maintain that which you achieved. You have to always keep raising a bar for yourself. You got to keep moving.”

M E E T S I M A S

This is Simas Tankevicius. He is a professional violinist at the Mikroorkéstra string ensemble comprised of outstanding young Lithuanian musicians.

“My parents who are professional violinists handed me a violin when I was little. I wasn’t even speaking properly at the time. Today, I don’t limit myself to classical music. I’m interested in various music genres and eras from Renaissance to Coldplay.”

Simas especially cherishes the moment before he gets on stage: “One of the most touching moments happens right before coming on stage. Happiness starts rushing over the body and you can’t wait to share the music with others.”

In addition to music, he has another special hobby: “Apart from music, I am interested in planes and aviation. If I wasn’t a violinist, I would have wanted to become a pilot.”

For Simas, good taste is important not only in music but also in style: “I like clothes that are comfortable and tasteful. My color of choice is black.”

We asked him what he would want to say to his fellow creative souls: “I wish that everyone would be open to themselves. Never stop improving and being happy about what you like to do.”