What happens when Lithuanian folk Christmas songs meet jazz improvisation?

The project “neYra” is born—an exceptional holiday program where Lithuanian folk and archaic Christmas songs are interpreted by jazz professionals for the very first time. Singer Veronika ChiChi and pianist Dmitrijus Golovanovas, two prominent creators on the Lithuanian jazz scene, invite you to view this heritage not as a relic of the past, but as a living cultural phenomenon that continues to unfold today.

Lithuanian Christmas folk songs are one of the oldest and most sensitive layers of our culture, encoding the memory of the community, humanity’s relationship with nature, the season of anticipation, and a deep longing for hope and light.

The foundation of the program consists of Christmas folk song arrangements created specifically for this project, where archaic melodies meet contemporary harmony, improvisation, and spontaneous musical creation. Each piece becomes a living dialogue between past and present, between tradition and creative freedom.

Certain pieces employ the live looping method, allowing for the real-time creation of multi-layered vocal spaces. A single voice blossoms into a choir, while melodies layer and intertwine, creating the illusion of different generations singing all at once. The audience becomes not only a listener of the music but a witness to its very birth.

“neYra” is an opportunity to reconnect with tradition and to show that Lithuanian folk songs can speak to modern listeners just as powerfully as they did centuries ago. During the Christmas season, when we naturally turn back toward our roots, our loved ones, and our values, these songs take on an especially profound meaning.

The project also reflects what constantly shifts yet never fades—the bonds that unite us regardless of time, generation, or an ever-changing world, and the way tradition remains vibrant and alive among us.

Dmitrijus Golovanovas and Veronika ChiChi are a duo that feels each other perfectly, breathing in the same rhythm not only on stage but also in life. This pairing is a combination of the highest caliber of professionalism, charm, elegance, and charisma.

The music they perform is full of surprises and a myriad of colors. Wrapping around the technical and expressive sound of Dmitrijus’s piano, the cozy and melodic timbre of Veronika’s voice soon transforms into a vocal apotheosis as unstoppable as a river’s current, accompanied by Golovanovas’s piano not merely with notes, but with pure energy.

Veronika ChiChi is a charismatic and ambitious jazz vocal master beloved by audiences, whose voice plucks the soul’s strings of every listener. Stepping boldly and brightly onto the Lithuanian jazz scene, she soon formed an impressive international quartet, with whom she recorded her debut album, “Singer of a 1000 Faces”. Her later quintet album, “Namai”, captured the hearts of listeners. Veronika is an active participant in the jazz scene and festivals, performing regularly with ensembles under her own name. This year, she was honored with the Golden Disc award. She has appeared at jazz festivals and clubs across many European countries (such as the “Opus Club” in Budapest, the “Novi Sad” festival in Serbia, and “Like A Jazz Machine” in Luxembourg), at the Cairo Jazz Festival, and also in the US and China with the contemporary opera “Geros Dienos!” and other projects.

Dmitrijus Golovanovas is one of the most prominent and significant jazz pianists in Lithuania, fluent in the language of jazz and possessing mature musical taste. His talent, skills, expressiveness, and unique playing style have earned him the title of one of the most noticeable pianists on the Baltic jazz scene. His list of achievements includes reaching the semifinals of the “Montreux Solo” piano competition, the finals of the “European Jazz Competition”, receiving the Musicians’ Union Golden Disc award, and winning the Grand Prix at the “Birštonas Jazz” festival for his contributions to Lithuanian jazz. Dmitrijus maintains an active concert and musical career, documented on more than 15 albums, with a broad geography of performances spanning prestigious European concert halls and jazz festivals.