Conductor: Donatas Ziegoraitis

Donatas Ziegoraitis began playing the flute at the age of 8 in the Kybartai town orchestra, conducted by his father, Antanas Ziegoraitis. At the age of 20, he became the concertmaster of the woodwind section in the orchestra. Since 2011, at the age of 36, he has served as the conductor of the Kybartai orchestra.

Achievements under his leadership:
2011: At the 11th Lithuanian Wind Orchestra Championship, the younger generation of the orchestra (students) won the Grand Prix in the A category and the award for the best concert orchestra in that category.
2012 and 2018: The Kybartai student orchestra won the Grand Prix in the B category at the 12th and 18th Championships.
2013 and 2021: The orchestra won the Grand Prix in the C category and the award for the best performance of a required piece at the 13th and 21st Championships.
2022: At the 22nd Championship, the orchestra placed 3rd in the D category.

International Competitions:
2015: With the Kybartai Small Orchestra, he won 2nd place at the "VEJVODOVA ZBRASLAV 2015" festival-competition for small orchestras in the Czech Republic.
2017: The orchestra, under his leadership, won 1st place at the Mitteuropa Blasmusikfest 2017 international festival.
In these championships and festivals, he was recognized as the best conductor in the respective category or festival.

Notable Performances:
2012: On July 6, the Kybartai student orchestra led the Song Festival parade to S. Daukantas Square near the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, where it participated in the state flag-raising ceremony alongside the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė.
2014: He was a member of the creative team for the Song Festival “This Is My Home” and conducted the Wind Orchestra Day “Brass Storm,” where the orchestra performed a solo program.
2015: The orchestra performed a sacred music program under his direction at St. Catherine’s Church in Vilnius.
2016: To mark the orchestra’s 55th anniversary, he led a two-part solo concert at the Vilnius Congress Hall, which was broadcast on Lithuania’s national cultural TV channel. Both concerts received high praise from prominent Lithuanian musicologists.
That same year, the orchestra performed as a showcase ensemble at the Lithuanian Wind Orchestra Championship awards ceremony and collaborated with world-renowned tuba virtuoso Roland Szentpali in a solo concert during the “I Love Palanga” festival at the new Palanga Concert Hall, earning acclaim from the European Brass Band Association jury.
2017: The orchestra, under his direction, received the “Golden Bird” nomination.

Media and Recognition:
2016: The orchestra was featured in a documentary by a German film company, From Berlin to St. Petersburg, and appeared on Lithuanian national TV programs Ryto suktinis su Z. Kelmickaite and Kultmisijos in 2018.
2015: He was honored with the Santaka newspaper award “Loyalty to the Baton” and the World Kybartai Community award “Person of the Year in Kybartai.”
Song Festivals:

2018 and 2024: He conducted the Wind Orchestra Day “Brass Storm” at the Song Festivals In the Name of... and Let the Forest Thrive