| Литва
Professor Petras Kunca (Lithuania) is a violinist, string quartet and chamber music teacher, cofounder of European Chamber Music Teachers Association (ECMTA), ECMTA Board member, representative of Lithuanian Musicians’ Union at ECMTA, president of the Alumni Society of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, president of the Lithuanian-Austrian Society, member of International Foundation Mozarteum in Salzburg. Petras Kunca studied violin and graduated with honors from the Lithuanian State Conservatory. He continued his studies for a three-year internship program at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and in Bela Bartok Seminar in Budapest. The centre of his artistic activities lies in the area of chamber music. As a cofounder of the Vilnius String Quartet he is a first prize winner at the International String Quartet Competition in Liege, in Belgium. Over 31 years with the Quartet he established an international reputation as a performer in over 2500 concerts as well as TV productions, broadcasts and recordings in Europe, USA, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Africa. For the interpretation of chamber music, edition and recordings he won general acclaim. From 1973 Petras Kunca continued his teaching activities at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LAMT), from 1994 as a professor for string quartet and chamber music. From 1996 to 2008 he headed the Department of the Chamber Ensembles. In 2006 together with Professors Birutė Vainiūnaitė and Audronė Vainiūnaitė he initiated a Chamber Music section at the International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Pianists, and in 2011 this extended Competition became a member of the Alink-Argerich Foundation. Petras Kunca is recognized as a jury member for national and international competitions of chamber music as well as a teacher of masterclasses and lecturer at seminars for teaching methods in the Music Schools of the Baltic States and all over Europe. Prof. Petras Kunca’s career is marked by the Lithuanian State Award, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Knight’s Cross Order and the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art.