Chaimas Potašinskas

He was born on January 10, 1924 in Kaunas. In 1938 graduated from the Kaunas Conservatoire Piano course. He taught at the Vilnius and Lithuanian Conservatory. In 1945 he returned to Vilnius from Kazakhstan. From 1948 to 1983 he was the conductor in Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. He prepared about 40 premieres and conducted about three thousand performances. Since 1984 he was appointed to a professor. Chaimas Potašinskas created a Jazz compositions for vocal and instrumental pieces. As a conductor and accompanist, he accompanied to the most famous Lithuanian singers, toured in the former Soviet Union, Norway, Finland, Poland, Germany.For his contributions to Lithuanian culture Chaim Potašinskas has been awarded the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas medal in 2000.