Darius Daknys – leader of folklore and folk music ensembles, birbynė (Lithuanian traditional wind instrument) player, and expert-level teacher. He serves as a consultant-expert for song and dance ensembles at the Lithuanian National Centre for Culture, is a member of its Folk Music Genre Council, and a member of the Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture of the Samogitia Region.
He is an active participant and leader in various folklore and folk music events and musical projects. He is also a member of the creative team and conductor for the Lithuanian Song Festival Ensemble Evening, and serves as the artistic director of the international folklore competition-festival “Saulės žiedas”.
Darius has performed with the Šiauliai city kanklės trio “Aušrinė”, the University of Nebraska at Omaha Concert Choir (USA), kanklės performer Kristina Kuprytė, and the Šiauliai State Chamber Choir “Polifonija”. He has taken part in music projects with musicians from Etten-Leur (Netherlands) and participated in concert and educational exchange programs between Šiauliai University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (USA).
He has compiled and released numerous publications of folklore and folk music audio recordings, arranged and composed over 150 works for folk music ensembles, published sheet music collections for folk ensembles, and has organized more than 1,000 concerts in Lithuania and abroad with various groups.
Darius Daknys has been honored with the “Golden Rifleman” award, the Medal of Honor “For Merits to Šiauliai County”, the Šiauliai City Culture and Art Award, and is an Honorary Citizen of Omaha (USA). The ensembles under his leadership have received the “Golden Bird” award and have frequently won various national and international competitions.
