MODESTAS PITRĖNAS is the music director and chief conductor of the Latvian National Opera in Riga. He is also the Artistic director and chief conductor of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra (Lithuania) and the conductor of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra as well as the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Modestas Pitrėnas is one of the most accomplished and well-known young Lithuanian conductors.
In 1995 he studied at the MOZARTEUM (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg), a famous Salzburg school of music and visual arts, where he graduated studies in choir and opera conducting under prof.W.Hagen-Groll and K.Kamper, receiving a Bachelor's Degree with honours in 1996. He graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music twice: in choir conducting in 1997, and in 2003 in symphony and opera conducting with Prof.J.Domarkas. In 2002-2004 he continued his postgraduate studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music for a licentiate in music. Later on he participated in seminars and master courses held by various famous conductors, among them E.P.Salonen (Sweden), J.Panula (Finland), H.Rilling (Germany), and others.
In 2003 Modestas Pitrėnas won First Prize, Gold medal and received Special Prize of Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra in 7th International Grzegorz Fitelberg Competition for symphony conducting in Katowice, Poland, which provided him with the possibility to appear as a guest conductor with the leading Polish orchestras.
Since 2003 he has been teaching at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre at the Conducting Department.
In the recent years Modestas Pitrėnas has conducted many programs and symphonic performances of Mahler, Tchaikovsky, R.Strauss, Lutoslawski, Prokofiev, and Schnittke a.o. with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Krasnoyarsk State Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and Lithuanian State Orchestra. The conductor has been invited to make many projects in Germany with the Youth Symphony and Chamber Orchestras of the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen. In a framework of various concert tours with the above groups he visited many European countries, USA and China.
During the past years Modestas Pitrėnas has actively worked in the operatic arts field. He conducts Bizet's Carmen, Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, R.Portman's The Little Prince, P.Eötvös' Love and other demons, Verdi's Requiem, R.Strauss' Salome, Wagner's Die Walküre, Der fliegende Holländer, Massenet's Werther, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Verdi's Aida and also ballets - Red Giselle and Theodorakis' Zorba the Greek a.o.
Modestas Pitrėnas is collaborating with many famous soloists including vocalists Matti Salminen, Jaakko Ryhänen, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Virgilijus Noreika, Egils Silins, Ain Anger, Violeta Urmana, Inga Kalna, Asmik Grigorian, Kristine Opolais, Pretty Yende; violinists Tatiana Grindenko, Baiba Skride and Pavel Berman, violoncellist David Geringas and Alexander Kniazev, pianists Mūza Rubackytė, Anton Lyakhovsky, Peter Donohoe and Petras Geniušas, oboist Francesco di Rosa and others.
He has recorded over 10 CD's with choral and orchestral music.
In May of 2009, Modestas Pitrėnas was invited to conduct the solo concert of the world famous soprano Violeta Urmana at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall.
In spring and summer of 2010, Modestas Pitrėnas is the musical director of the new production of Puccini's Il Trittico at the Latvian National Opera (Riga), and Polish premiere of ballet evening in four movements (chor.Krzysztof Pastor, Ed Wubbe, Emil Wesolowski, George Balanchine) Let's dance Bach at the Polish National Opera (Teatr Wielki, Warsaw).
In the season of 2010/2011, Modestas Pitrėnas made his debut as the musical director of the new production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at Oper Köln and on the revival of Puccini's Il Trittico at Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf) as well as the production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Latvian National Opera (Riga).