Three young flautists, active on the contemporary and improvised music scene, debuted as Flute Trio a few years ago. All of them are students of the Contemporary and Improvised Music program at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LAMT), members of the Improdimensija Orchestra and the Improdimensija movement that inspired the rise of improvised music in Lithuania.

Improdimensija is a creative platform for experimentation and education, where the brightest Lithuanian and foreign jazz stars and the young generation of improvisers meet. In 2016, when the master’s program in Contemporary and Improvised Music was established at the LAMT, one of its founders, the renowned saxophonist and composer Liudas Mockūnas, started inviting foreign greats to share their experience with LAMT students and to perform in the Improdimensija free jazz and improvised music concert series.

This is a stage open to both coryphées and the most talented young people. It hosted Flute Trio’s own programme and its appearance with the Improdimensija Orchestra, made up of former and current students of the LAMT Contemporary and Improvised Music program.

In its concerts, Flute Trio explores the limits of the possibilities of the instrument, using not only the conventional flute, but also the bass and viola flutes, and an extremely wide arsenal of extended techniques.

While many listeners’ ears are accustomed to the flute’s gentle, soft tone and the dreamy melodies it can play, Flute Trio boldly subverts the classical image of the instrument. In their performances, the ensemble plunges the audience into a relaxing ambient sound, then wakes them up unexpectedly with the flute’s shrill overtones, dissonances and squealing sounds.

The group has performed at Studium P, on the Rasų Radio broadcast, in the Improdimensija concert series. Last year it appeared at the Vilnius Jazz concert dedicated to the Improdimensija Orchestra.

A few months ago, Flute Trio released their debut album, which captures their concert in the Improdimensija series. With this album, Mėta, Solomėja and Kristupas are turning a new page in the history of improvised music in Lithuania, making a strong statement: flutes can sound different!

At the beginning of her career Mėta Gabrielė Pelegrimaitė was active in more traditional ensembles, but nowadays she is unleashing her creative powers through free improvisation and experimentation, while at the same time incorporating elements of mainstream music into her work.

She is a flautist in various improvised music ensembles, mainly duos and trios, and a member of the electroacoustic duo Ambulance on Fire, which oscillates between dance and experimental music. She is also a member of the Improdimensija Orchestra and Naujo Airlines Orchestra, appears as a soloist and takes part in composers’ performances.

Mėta has also performed at the Jauna muzika and Druskomanija contemporary music festivals, the Malmö experimental music festival Intonal and the Braille Satellite underground festival. She was selected for the finals of the Vilnius Jazz Young Power in 2019 with the trio I’m Out, and in 2022 with the group SNUS.

Salomėja Kalvelytė is pursuing master’s degree in the Contemporary and Improvised Music at the LAMT, and is actively involved in improvised music projects with various artists and ensembles.

Her musical language reflects influences of classical, jazz and free improvised music. In her improvisations Salomėja combines different aesthetics and flute techniques, playing with timbres, contrasts and acoustics.

Kristupas Gikas turned to improvised music after studying classical music at the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts and the LAMT. He also studied sonology at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Today, the artist expresses himself in contemporary, improvised and experimental music. He is interested in different musical traditions and styles, blurring their boundaries, combining acoustic and electronic sound in his work. Kristupas is also exploring the possibilities of electroacoustic music in his doctoral studies at the LAMT.

In music Gikas seeks a balance between intuition and logic; often applies elements of game. His arsenal includes not only various flutes, but also a saxophone, a computer, dambrelis (Jew’s harp) and even a turntable – he often spins records as DJ Extended.

This is the pseudonym under which the improviser has been performing for six years with fellow saxophonist Kazimieras Jušinskis. Their duo has appeared not only in Lithuania, but also in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria. Kristupas is also a member of the improvised music group Laivo troupe.