
Due to the pandemic, a concert in Paris for the Lithuania Independence Restoration Day on 11 March 2020 was rescheduled to Lithuania’s National Day. On a beautiful summery day in June, vocalist Viktorija Gečytė, vibraphonist Nicholas Thomas vibraphone, and upright bass player Peter Giron moved their musical feast event to the Lithuanian Embassy courtyard
The trio transformed the embassy grounds into an intimate setting with a repertoire of familiar jazz standards and pop classics. But, it was different, and the public was unusually quiet, very much in tune with the post-Covid-19 times and courtesy of Rūta Jusionytė’s intriguing centaur sculptures.

The works of Rūta Jusionytė, a Paris based Lithuanian artist, provided the ideal background to this unique musical event. In a world still in the ban of a pandemic, art critique, Mikael Fajour, probably described Jusionytė’s work aptly by saying, ” through her eerie atmospheres of dreams and tales, she explores our fundamental sociality, and her paintings allow her to probe deeper into the enigma of alterity, staging the founding experience.” The concert with the unique audience and its creators will be available all to see here on YouTube from 6 July 2020 at
On 6 July the Lithuanian Ambassador to France, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas also awarded the “Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy” to Honorary Consuls Anne-Marie Goussard and Pierre Minonzio, of the Republic of Lithuania in the French Republic during a short ceremony in the Embassy.
After this ceremony, a small group, lead by Ambassador Aleksiejūnas went to the Arc de Triomphe to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The remains of a French soldier were buried in 1919 underneath the nearly 200-year-old iconic building. Ambassador Aleksiejūnas said, “This is the first time when Lithuania was honoured with such ceremony in Paris. It is very symbolic because this year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our restored independence. The fight for freedom is universal.”
After the ceremony, some 50 enthusiastic and Patriotic Lithuanians living in France joined the embassy staff to sign the Lithuanian National anthem in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Lithuanian National Day.
Viktoriaja Gečytė trio at the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Viktoriaja Gečytė in concert at the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris France Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Viktoriaja Gečytė and bass player Peter Giron at the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Unusual audience at the concert of Viktoriaja Gečytė in the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris France Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune The amazing centaurs of Paris based, Lithuanian artist, Ruta Jusionyte Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune The Italian vibraphonist Nicholas Thomas vibraphone Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune The trio of Viktoriaja Gečytė in concert at the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Tomb of the unkown soldier beneat the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Tomb of the unkown soldier beneat the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Paris based, Lithuanian artist, Ruta Jusionyte Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune One of the many centaur creations of Paris based, Lithuanian artist, Ruta Jusionyte Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Nicholas Thomas vibraphone in the Lithuanian Embassy Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lovingly sculture by the Lithuanian artist Jusionyte Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanians after singing the National Hym at Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanian Ambassador to France, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas rekindling the flame at the Paris Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanian artist, Ruta Jusionyte Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanian Embassy team after the Ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanians singing the National Hym at Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanians singing the National Hym at Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanian Ambassador to France, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Lithuanian National Hym at Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Honorary Consul Pierre Minonzio receives Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Honorary Consul Anne-Marie Goussard receives Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Enthousiastic Litvak leaving after singing the Lithuanian National Hym at Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers Arc de Triomphe Ceremony in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Arc de Triomphe Ceremony in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Arc de Triomphe, Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Attentive centaur sculpures listen to the concert by Viktoriaja Gečytė at the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Ceremony awarding the Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune American bass player Peter Giron at the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Ambassador Nerijus Aleksiejūnas signing the book at the Paris Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune After the ceremony awarding the Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Viktoriaja Gečytė Concert in the Lithuanian Embassy Paris France Photo © Ludo Segers @ The Lithuania Tribune Viktoriaja Gečytė Concert in the Lithuanian Embassy Paris France Photo © Ludo Segers
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