TOMAS LEIBURAS

The following article is an overview of the career of Lithuanian pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor Tomas Leiburas. The main source of information is an email exchange with Mr Leiburas, translated by his son Marius, in July & August 2025. The article below is subdivided into two main parts; a general career overview (part 3) and a part dedicated to Tomas Leiburas’ Eurovision involvement (part 4).

All material below: © Bas Tukker / 2025

Contents

1. Passport
2. Short Eurovision record
3. Biography
4. Eurovision Song Contest
5. Other artists about Tomas Leiburas
6. Eurovision involvement year by year
7. Sources & links

PASSPORT

Born: February 22nd, 1954, Vilnius, Lithuania (under Soviet occupation at the time)

Nationality: Lithuanian

SHORT EUROVISION RECORD

Tomas Leiburas was the orchestrator and conductor of Lithuania’s debut entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, ‘Lopšinė mylimai’, composed and performed by Ovidijus Vyšniauskas. Given that Lithuania’s next participation followed only five years later, in 1999 in Jerusalem, which was the first edition of the contest without orchestral accompaniment, Leiburas is the only-ever Lithuanian musician to have graced the conductor’s platform in the history of the festival.

BIOGRAPHY

Tomas Leiburas was born in Lithuania in the mid-1950s, when the country was an involuntary part of the Soviet Union as the Lithuanian Socialist Soviet Republic. “I was born and raised in Vilnius,” Leiburas adds, “in a family of ordinary civil servants. My mother played the violin as an amateur, but overall, there wasn’t much musical talent in the family. In spite of this, I became interested in music quite early on – from the age of five, I attended so-called pedagogical practice lessons at the Lithuanian Academy of Music. I was part of a group of children who had been selected to allow the students at the academy to refine their music teaching skills. My parents got me into this group, where I started taking piano lessons. The piano has remained my instrument ever since.”

At the insistence of his piano teacher, Veronika Vitaitė, who noticed that young Tomas had talent, his parents allowed their son to go forward to the Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Arts School, a secondary school for aspiring musicians and other artists. There, he followed piano lessons as well as receiving a thorough grounding in music theory under the aegis of renowned Lithuanian composers, such as Vytautas Barkauskas, Valentinas Bagdonas, and Rimtautas Kašponis.

“At the very beginning of my years as a pupil at music school, I was definitely convinced I would be a classical concert pianist, but I gradually started leaning towards the pop genre as time wore on,” Leiburas recalls. “In those days, jazz and pop music weren’t included in the curriculum. The academic path only consisted of classical elements. Still, most students were very interested in pop music from abroad. In the 1960s, foreign music was banned by Soviet authorities. They especially disliked rock ‘n’ roll and jazz, but they couldn’t prevent everyone from secretly listening to pop and jazz programmes on Radio Luxembourg and The Voice of America. Besides, a lot of records from abroad were smuggled in. This was happening not just in Lithuania, but in the two other Baltic countries as well. As the saying goes, ‘forbidden fruits are the sweetest,’ so the banned music genres from Western Europe and America only became more popular with young people in Lithuania.”

The group Bočiai, from left to right: Saulius Šiaučiulis, Raimondas Katinas, Balys Žiūraitis, and Tomas Leiburas. All four of them would go on to become respected musicians in Lithuania’s jazz and light entertainment sector

“In the second half of the 1960s, authorities gradually allowed restrictions to be eased. That was the time when pop ensembles inspired by music from the West started emerging. I was invited to join a group, which had been formed by friends of mine. That was in 1968. Our band was called Bočiai. We were inspired by records by The Beatles and other popular groups from abroad. The Beatles were very popular in Lithuania, influencing many other musicians of my generation as well. We listened to their records and tried to copy their style. By the way, despite being a pianist, I didn’t play the piano in Bočiai, but the guitar! I learned to play the guitar for my own enjoyment, purely as a hobby. We mainly performed at dance parties at our own secondary school. There were quite a lot of bands like ours at the time. Our group didn’t last very long, only for about three years.”

“Meanwhile, I was still assiduously studying classical piano. As said, the curriculum was strictly classical. I loved pop and jazz, but this never diminished my enthusiasm for serious music. Essentially, in my mind, both sides of the music world always went hand in hand. By the time I graduated from secondary school, I was interested in pursuing a career in jazz, pop, and estrada (estradinė muzika, i.e. popular light music – BT) alike. 

Making the leap from high school to the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 1972, Tomas Leiburas studied classical piano for six years with Professor Stasys Vainiūnas. Following his graduation, he stayed at the music academy to pursue a second Master’s, in composition, studying with Professor Eduardas Balsys and, upon his passing, graduating in 1985 under the tutelage of Professor Vytautas Laurušas. By that time, however, Leiburas had long since started his professional career. In 1975, he had joined the Light Music Orchestra of Lithuanian National Radio and Television.

“I was invited to become part of the radio orchestra by Aloyzas Končius. In those days, he was its artistic director and chief conductor. I was in my second or third year of piano studies at the academy. You could say it was a dream job. It was an interesting period because I played estrada music in the orchestra, while simultaneously studying a completely different genre – classical piano – at the academy. Since I was so interested in entertainment music, I was very happy to be able to continue my career along this route.”

Tomas Leiburas’ 1984 mini-album Estradinės dainos, with four of his compositions interpreted by vocalists Janina Miščiukaitė, Edmundas Kučinskas, and Birutė Petrikytė

“The Light Music Orchestra was a big band with strings, but it also included some symphonic instruments – French horns, oboes, flutes, and so on. It was quite a large orchestra. Material of Lithuanian as well as foreign composers was included in our repertoire. Practically all of the most famous Lithuanian artists performed with us, while some international projects came our way too. Of course, there were many television programmes and concerts which required accompaniment, so the range was really very wide. My job as a pianist also included writing part of the scores for the orchestra. I started doing that practically from the beginning. By that time, I had done thorough studies of harmony and other theoretical subjects, so I knew how to approach writing arrangements.”

Between 1983 and 1986, Leiburas’ long spell with the orchestra was shortly interrupted, as he took on the role of Music Art Director of the Association of Orchestras and Ensembles of the City of Vilnius – a tenure coinciding with the last years of his composition studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Meanwhile, he continued performing as a pianist with various ensembles. In the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he went on various concert tours to countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, East Germany, Finland, and even Congo-Brazzaville. 

“Congo definitely was an exotic destination,” Leiburas comments, “but bear in mind that we weren’t free to choose where we would perform due to the communist system back in the Soviet days. It was common practice that you were only allowed to join ensembles and combos which were sent overseas, if given permission by state authorities. The countries of Eastern Europe were obvious destinations, given that they were friendly with the Soviet Union. The same was true for Congo-Brazzaville, which also had a left-leaning government at the time. The only time I went abroad with the Light Music Orchestra was in East Germany, at a city festival. All the other times was with ad-hoc combos of musicians from various backgrounds, most of whom had no relation to the radio orchestra.”

Meanwhile, Leiburas had also started to make his mark as a composer of pop songs, which were recorded by various bands and artists. Moreover, he also worked as a composer for theatrical pieces, as a session pianist, and as a record arranger. In 1984, the USSR’s state record company Melodija released a mini-album with his compositions, called Estradinės dainos. However, by far the best-known contribution of Leiburas to Lithuanian light-entertainment music is his composition ‘Prie pasakų miesto’ (Near The Fairytale City), first recorded as a duet by Laimis Vilkončius and Rimantas Jasenka, but performed by countless other Lithuanian artists in subsequent years.

The Light Music Orchestra of Lithuanian National Radio and Television, with pianist Tomas Leiburas standing in the middle row, second from right

When asked how he was inspired to write the song, Leiburas explains, “A friend gave me a book of poems by Paulius Širvys, a well-known Lithuanian poet and journalist who had recently passed away. In that book, I found a poem about my hometown of Vilnius – and I simply liked it instantly, so the inspiration came from the poem itself. The poem is very rhythmic and suitable to be put to music; you could say the melody came about quite naturally. I didn’t write it with the expectation that it would be popular or famous, but it’s really nice that the song caught on in such a way. Since the song is about Vilnius, it is often performed at special occasions in the city.”

In 1987, one year after completing his composition studies, Tomas Leiburas became a member of the Lithuanian Composers’ Union. As part of his application, he submitted an original composition, a three-movement concerto for symphonic jazz orchestra. 

“I think that’s the part of my oeuvre which I’m most proud of,” Leiburas comments. “I’ve always tried to weave light symphonic jazz elements into my music, be it classically or light-entertainment oriented. Meanwhile, I’ve composed several concertos, pieces for piano and for various ensembles and orchestras – and I take pride in all of them. I think all artists walking the difficult path of creating a piece, whatever it may be, would tell you the same; they cherish all of their work, even the pieces which were less successful. As far as I’m concerned, all of my music was inspired by God. You never sit down and think, ‘Now I’m going to create something special.’ If that were your mindset, you can be absolutely certain that nothing comes of it. I’ve always thought of myself primarily as a composer, with arranging being a secondary field of activity. Of course, arranging also gives me great pleasure, because it is a form of creativity as well. However, to my mind, the greatest joy comes from being able to create my own compositions and then arrange them myself.”

In 1993, two years after the famous Singing Revolution, Lithuania’s breakaway from the crumbling USSR, which he watched from the sidelines, Leiburas took on the role of assistant conductor of the Light Music Orchestra. “That was when Jaroslavas Cechanovičius, a guitarist and trombone player, took over the position of chief conductor,” Leiburas explains. “Until that time, he had been the assistant; and when he took over as musical director, he offered me the position of second conductor. I had never studied conducting, but it was an ability which I learned by doing, independently, by working with session musicians and later with the Light Music Orchestra. While playing the piano, I watched different conductors at work, studying how they approached working with an orchestra. I also consulted other conductors, who helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the profession. Having said that, though, given that I had been used to playing music in ensembles which had a conductor up front, my development from pianist to conductor could be described as a natural process.”

Leiburas flanked by Saulius Vosylius, the director of TV series Giminės (to his right), and one of the actresses performing in it, Ilona Balsytė (mid-1990s)

“Looking back on those three decades I had with the orchestra, first as a pianist and later as a conductor, it’s hard to single out a highlight. All those years were dynamic and interesting. We performed with many artists and in the most impressive concert venues of our country. I was proud to be part of the main orchestra of this kind in Lithuania.”

During his time as an employee at the Lithuanian state broadcaster, Tomas Leiburas also made his mark as a composer of soundtracks to several television films and series, notably the long-running series Giminės, as well as music to radio plays. Generally speaking, though, the times were changing, as orchestral music became less and less in demand in broadcasting in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“The times definitely became more challenging,” Leiburas confirms, “although it was mainly an issue which had to be dealt with by the management of the Light Music Orchestra. As musicians and staff, we focused on the artistic side. The problem presented itself in various ways; apart from fewer TV projects featuring a live orchestra than was the case previously, the number of compositions written specifically for orchestras significantly decreased in those years. Additionally, hiring such a large group of musicians became very expensive, which was the main reason why the leadership of the broadcasting company decided to disband its orchestra in 2008. However, by that time, I was no longer part of it, as I had taken my leave to focus on other projects, the main one being my own orchestra.”

In the Tomas Leiburas Orchestra, founded in 2007, Leiburas himself returned to playing the piano and keyboards, surrounding himself with graduate and undergraduate students of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre as well as the Vilnius College of Higher Education. The ensemble included Tomas’ son Marius on drums.

Conducting a session for the recording of the album Tarp skubančių traukinių / Watching The Trains Going By by the Tomas Leiburas Orchestra (2007)

“We may have adopted the grandiloquent denomination ‘orchestra’”, Leiburas comments, “but in reality the ensemble was quite modest; a string quartet, three wind players, and a rhythm section, nine elements in all. The main reason behind the foundation of the orchestra was my own ambition to focus on symphonic jazz, the genre which inspires me most profoundly. Forming an ensemble of my own gave me an outlet for my own compositions in this style. In 2007, our first album came out, Tarp skubančių traukinių, which was given a re-release in English the following year as Watching The Trains Going By. I am very proud that Marius decided to become a musician, completing his college studies as a percussionist. As well as being my son, he is an excellent friend to me as well. It was truly wonderful to be able to work together as music professionals.”

“In 2009, there was a highlight, when we were commissioned to be the accompanying orchestra at the Dainų Šventė, Lithuania’s quadrennial open-air Festival of Song and Dance, held at the Vingis Park Amphitheatre in Vilnius. It is a huge, long-standing choral event in this country. In the 2009 edition, some 40,000 performers and choristers were involved. I didn’t conduct, as it is tradition that different choral conductors step up to lead the orchestra as well as the choirs for the song renditions. Being in charge of the music part of the festival, I myself played the keyboards, while taking care of quite a few of the arrangements as well. Preparation took considerable time and energy, as it not only involved preparing the scores, but rehearsing separately with the orchestra first, then rehearsing with the different conductors, and eventually several days of rehearsals at Vingis Park. The experience was very enjoyable. I had been part of Dainų Šventė with the Light Music Orchestra for many years, but being able to participate with my own-named orchestra was a proud moment.”

“In the following years, we took part in multiple festivals as a backing band, while also doing quite a lot of solo concerts. We included my three-movement concerto in the repertoire, performing it regularly at our concerts. In 2014, when I turned sixty, there was an anniversary concert, where we also performed the first movement of this same concerto. At that event, my ensemble formed the core of a larger orchestra, conducted by Ugnius Vaiginis. While playing keyboards for most of the concert, I took over as conductor from him for a select number of pieces. After that sixtieth birthday, I gradually allowed my work pace to slow down a bit. The orchestra never officially disbanded, but there hasn’t been notable activity since 2016.”

“Reflecting on my life as it has been so far, the decades have flown by and I’ve never taken the time to have a proper look back on them. I don’t attach that much importance to age – and I think that’s a feeling which is typical for artists, because creativity, the pursuit of something new, kindles the fire within you and is unrelated to age. Vilnius is still my home; not just the city where I was born and educated, but also the place where I was fortunate enough to form a harmonious family with two children, a son and a daughter. Professionally, I am truly satisfied as well. I could hardly name you any regret. There isn’t a certain thing that happened which I would want to move back the hands of time for. From a young age, it was clear to me that I wanted an existence connected to music; and I am very lucky that this is exactly the life that I have been able to lead.”

On stage performing with the Tomas Leiburas Orchestra in 2008 (photo by Vaidotas Grigas)

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

In 1994, Lithuania was one of no fewer than seven countries making their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest. At the festival in Dublin, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and the Russian Federation also submitted their first-ever song to the event. Five of these states had already taken the opportunity to compete in a haphazardly organised qualification round for new members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for the 1993 edition of the festival, but they had all failed to make it to the final. However, Lithuania was not among the participants in these qualifiers. In fact, the young republic’s broadcasting service LTV (modern-day LRT) only joined the EBU later on in 1993. Before coming to Tomas Leiburas’ recollections of the contest, we take one step back to trace how Lithuania prepared its Eurovision debut.

In the end, LTV decided to send 37-year-old singer-songwriter Ovidijus Vyšniauskas, a man with a thorough music academy background, to Dublin – but, as it turns out, the broadcaster had more or less outsourced this choice. Given that the decision to take part in the contest had been made at a very late stage, there was not much time to consider the options. For that reason, LTV’s management contacted Elijus Romanovas, then the director of the Vilnius Sports Palace. At the time, Romanovas organised international music festivals at the venue as well as being the main impresario for Lithuanian performers touring abroad. 

“Back then, I had the necessary experience when it came to international festivals,” Romanovas explains. “Other than that, I also had a regular partnership with Lithuanian television. All that was required to be allowed into Eurovision was to pay a fee, but since Lithuania was taking part for the first time, we were given a certain discount.”

Ovidijus Vyšniauskas was one of the artists who had won notoriety in Lithuania in the years of the Singing Revolution, which eventually led to the country winning its independence in 1991. He had been one of the original performers of the popular anthem ‘Dieve, laimink Lietuvą’ (God Bless Lithuania) in 1989. According to Romanovas, the decision to pick Vyšniauskas was taken only a single week after the go-ahead signal for Lithuania’s Eurovision participation had been given. “Ovidijus’ career was on the rise at that time and he had already taken part in different international competitions previously. After a meeting with LTV’s management, I suggested his name. The decision was taken there and then that Ovidijus was indeed the most experienced musician for this festival. In addition, he was one of those singers who could create a song overnight… and that’s what he did!”

Ovidijus Vyšniauskas (second from right) at the session of ‘Dieve, laimink Lietuvą’ in 1989, an anthem recorded with a group of singers, from left: Alvydas Lukoševičius, Vytautas Kernagis, Gintautas Abarius, Žilvinas Žvagulis, Marina Granovskaja; to Vyšniauskas’ left is lyricist Gintaras Zdebskis, who later also wrote the words to his Eurovision entry

Elijus Romanovas got in touch with Ovidijus Vyšniauskas to bring him the news. “It was interesting, of course,” Vyšniauskas himself recalls, then going on in tongue in cheek fashion, “Someone in the ministry must have consulted someone else, then pointed with his eyes closed to a list of names, finding that it was my name where he had put his finger on the paper. There was no pre-selection. ‘Well’, I thought, ‘I will go if I have to’.” In other interviews, Vyšniauskas explains that there was not “a sufficient understanding of what Eurovision was,” but that “I was always a pioneer. I was thrown into all sorts of trouble, so I went there too – I didn’t see any tragedy lurking around the corner.”

As it turns out, not even those working at the entertainment branch of LTV knew much about the event at all – including Tomas Leiburas, who had been appointed assistant conductor at the Light Music Orchestra of the Lithuanian broadcasting service one year prior to the contest in Dublin. “I knew that such a contest existed, but nothing more than that. Since it was to be our country’s first participation, our television service hadn’t broadcast any of the previous editions. At that time, there really weren’t many other ways to learn more about the contest.”

After being formally invited as Lithuania’s representative, Ovidijus Vyšniauskas was given one week to create a song. “I was told in advance that only songs that had never been listened to before could be performed at Eurovision; and that this rule had to be followed very strictly.” He took the commission literally, not opening his drawer of unreleased songs, but creating something new from scratch. Sitting together with lyricist and radio journalist Gintaras Zdebskis, who had been his regular songwriting partner for several years, Vyšniauskas came up with ‘Lopšinė mylimai’ (Sweetheart’s Lullaby), a melodically interesting, heartfelt ballad. 

“It was a beautiful ballad,” Tomas Leiburas opines. “I had known Ovidijus for a long time. We were mates and it was always a pleasure teaming up. We had worked together quite a bit at concerts and other music events. He is a talented songwriter and performer with a distinctive voice and his own circle of listeners. When the decision was taken to send Ovidijus to Dublin, I was invited by LTV to conduct the orchestra in Dublin. Ovidijus gave me a demo of the song with rhythm instruments, which he had prepared, and I then went on to work on the orchestral score which was to be performed at the Eurovision Song Contest. I remember that Ovidijus had a clear vision of how the song should sound, but he didn’t give me any instructions as such. I had complete freedom to approach the orchestration as I saw fit.”

Ovidijus Vyšniauskas backstage at the Point Theatre in Dublin

Perhaps even closer was the working relationship Leiburas enjoyed with lyricist Gintaras Zdebskis. “Yes, in fact, Gintaras and I worked together on quite a lot songs, with him adding the lyrics to my compositions. Unfortunately, Gintaras passed away last year (in 2024, at the age of 63 – BT). We had known each other for many years. Unlike regular poets, Gintaras always created lyrics based on music. Somehow, he had a very accurate sense for music, because his lyrics always fitted the melodies perfectly. Overall, apart from being a wonderful colleague, Gintaras made a contribution to Lithuanian pop music which can hardly be overestimated.”

After the Eurovision song had been composed and arranged, it was submitted to the European Broadcasting Union – just in time to meet the deadline. There was little time for preparation of any sort. “What preparation?”, Ovidijus Vyšniauskas asks sarcastically, with more than a pinch of humour, “I don’t even remember having time to sew my stage outfit!” The singer and his conductor were part of a small Lithuanian delegation, which travelled to the contest in Ireland on a shoestring budget. “There were just five of us going to Dublin,” recounts delegation member Vilija Grigonytė, “there was the head of our Eurovision delegation, Mrs Irena Didžiulienė, then myself, Ovidijus Vyšniauskas, a television journalist, and a conductor.” Grigonytė herself performed several roles, including helping out as a translator for her fellow Lithuanians in Dublin.

Having arrived in the Irish capital, Tomas Leiburas had the opportunity to work with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. “The Irish orchestra was truly excellent,” he comments. “The rehearsals went smoothly – I had no complaints at all. I do not speak any English, but given that there was an interpreter in our delegation, I communicated through her.”

In one of the interviews in which he was asked to look back on the experience in Dublin, Ovidijus Vyšniauskas recounted how he had a fallout with one of the Irish musicians. “I remember that in the orchestra that backed me up for my Eurovision performance, there was a woman playing the piano. When I wanted to show her how to play the introduction to my song correctly, she got quite angry – and I realised that I was only a temporary guest here.” When asked about the matter, Leiburas comments, “The piano part plays an important role in the song, and I remember that Ovidijus had a specific vision for the playing style. Essentially, it wasn’t anything particularly special or technically difficult — just a clear preference of his which matched the overall sound he wanted for the song. As far as I’m concerned, the pianist did a good job on her performance of the part.”

Vyšniauskas rehearsing his entry on the Eurovision stage in Dublin

Perhaps the fact that, like Leiburas, Ovidijus Vyšniauskas had to express his wishes through a translator contributed to the misunderstanding. Meanwhile, Vyšniauskas was trying to find his ground at this song festival which was much bigger than the previous international contests he had taken part in. “I noticed how other participants knew little about Lithuania. They kept pointing their finger at Poland or Czechia when they were shown a map of Europe and asked to indicate where Lithuania was,” the singer once said. In a field of competitors all eager to win the Eurovision trophy, he felt ill at ease. “There were performers who were trying to seem very important. Such games are alien to me. I didn’t try to be significant or force my way somewhere. To be honest, I didn’t feel like myself there. At some occasion later on, I met Joe Cocker and spoke with him about this. He just said, ‘Spit on those backstage games. They are not worth your time or attention’.”

Unsurprisingly, given his introverted personality, Tomas Leiburas largely ignored the hustle and the bustle of cocktail parties and meetings with the press. “Being newcomers to the contest, we basically didn’t interact much with others. Due to a rather tight schedule, we didn’t really get to listen to many of the other performers in rehearsal either. As for Ovidijus’ discomfort, I personally didn’t really feel that. As far as I’m concerned, I thought the organisation was really good. I remember there were excursions to the Irish countryside we could go on, but unfortunately, we somehow couldn’t take part in them. I never really understood how this happened. On the other hand, we definitely took the opportunity to see more of the city of Dublin. Moreover, I do remember well that we were transported from the hotel to the concert hall and back with police escorts accompanying our coach. It was a really impressive feeling to be taken through Dublin that way – and it wasn’t just for the concert itself, but also when we had to go to rehearsals.”

On the night of the contest, Tomas Leiburas was the only one of the participating conductors who took his bow to the Irish audience rather than to the camera. When asked about this, he is surprised. “Oh, was that really the case? It must have happened intuitively. I don’t really remember it being a conscious decision – probably the habit of bowing to the audience rather than to the camera. Throughout my career, I have been used to performing for live audiences. As for the concert itself, I remember the very good technical organisation. We were accompanied everywhere, everything which was expected of us was clear, and everything around us was taken care of. In all, that left a very good impression on me.”

Unfortunately, Lithuania’s beautiful yet introverted entry failed to catch on with the international juries. As ‘Lopšinė mylimai’ did not receive any votes, the Baltic country finished in last place. “Perhaps one reason for the result was that it was our first participation,” Leiburas comments. “We weren’t well known and didn’t have connections with the Eurovision delegations from other countries as is the case nowadays. This may have contributed to the juries not appreciating our song. Again, as we discussed earlier on, we weren’t that aware about the contest in Lithuania. We didn’t know much about the context of the event, so it was really hard to have an idea about what kind of song could win or do well. Of course, the result came as a disappointment. It was a pity, because the piece in itself was good. We were really hoping for a higher placing, but apparently it wasn’t to be.”

Ovidijus Vyšniauskas recording the postcard video in Dublin with Vilija Grigonytė, who served, among doing other things, as a translator for the Lithuanian delegation

Ovidijus Vyšniauskas, visibly nervous all by himself on the big Eurovision stage, initially felt upset about the result, but he quickly came to terms with the disillusion. “Things like this happen. Some performers were appreciated, others weren’t. While being in Dublin, I always had the impression that we weren’t very needed or important. On the other hand, we also came to the contest ill-prepared, not having given our performance any importance or priority. We travelled to Ireland, did the performance as if it was an international wedding, and went home again.” And then, cracking another joke, “I took into account that if we had won, we would have had to organise Eurovision ourselves. I thought about the financial situation of our country, which was difficult, so God forbid we would win! Do you think we didn’t discuss this in advance with our prime minister?”

Looking back on the events in Dublin now, Tomas Leiburas adds, “There is a common view here in Lithuania that we’ve never fully matched the typical Eurovision style. Back then, sending Ovidijus to the contest was a logical idea. He was, and still is, one of those artists who are appreciated and loved by the Lithuanian public. Arguably, the style of the song didn’t fit in with the Eurovision standard at that time. We may have been too early. I recall how many years later, in 2017, a ballad performed by Portugal won the contest (Salvador Sobral with ‘Amar pelos dois’ – BT). I really loved the Portuguese song and the guy performed it in a fantastic manner.”

“I do still watch the Eurovision Song Contest, although it has increasingly become a commercial event, in which production values play the leading part and artistry has moved to the background. The focus is on appearance and trying to make as much of an impression as possible with clothing, imagery, and lighting, rather than with the music or the song itself. Apparently, this is a time when everyone is looking for show; somehow, audiences long for things that sometimes resemble a circus. (…). It seems as if all the songs are performed according to a single template, a similar rhythm. I miss harmony and variation. It’s like going to a restaurant and being offered a menu of only fries, hamburgers, fries, and, let’s say, Coca-Cola. Indignant at being offered such a poor menu, we leave and go to the next restaurant – only to discover that the exact same food is on offer there. Popular music nowadays reminds me of fast-food. I don’t know, but maybe in this age of haste, there’s just no time to create something memorable. It feels like a form of mental laziness on the part of songwriters, which I’m hoping will make room for real creativity again.”

“In spite of this, I still watch Eurovision,” Leiburas concludes. “The contest is quite popular in Lithuania these days; and I also watch it, like so many others. The edition in Dublin was the only one in which I took part. I was a conductor – and that’s why the opportunity to take part in another contest never arose, given that the orchestra was no longer part of the programme when Lithuania participated for the second time (in 1999, with Aistė Smilgevičiūtė and the song ‘Strazdas’ – BT). From time to time, I think back to the concert in Dublin. I recall it with the best of memories. Participating in the contest was a truly memorable and significant event in my life. It was undoubtedly my biggest international performance.”

Ovidijus Vyšniauskas during his Eurovision performance of ‘Lopšinė mylimai’

OTHER ARTISTS ABOUT TOMAS LEIBURAS

So far, we have not gathered any comments of other artists about Tomas Leiburas.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1994 Dublin

Country – Lithuania

Song title – “Lopšinė mylimai”

Rendition – Ovidijus Vyšniauskas

Lyrics – Gintaras Zdebskis

Composition – Ovidijus Vyšniauskas

Studio arrangement – Ovidijus Vyšniauskas / Gediminas Zujus

Live orchestration – Tomas Leiburas

Conductor – Tomas Leiburas

Score – 25th place (0 votes)

SOURCES & LINKS

• Bas Tukker interviewed Tomas Leiburas in an email exchange, translated by Tomas’ son Marius: July & August 2025. Many thanks to Marius for his help.
• Thanks to Tomas Leiburas for providing a curriculum vitae
• A newspaper interview with Tomas Leiburas on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday: Giedrė Milkevičiūtė, “T. Leiburas: ‘Aš lauksiu prie Vilniaus, prie pasakų miesto’”, in: Respublika, February 23, 2014
• An online interview with Ovidijus Vyšniauskas on his Eurovision participation: Viktorija Navickaitė, “Prieš 20 metų Lietuva debiutavo ‘Eurovizijoje’: konkursinę dainą Ovidijus Vyšniauskas sukūrė per naktį”, in: 15min.lt, April 15, 2014
• Quotes from Ovidijus Vyšniauskas about his Eurovision participation from a television interview, as published on an online platform: (anon.), “Ovidijus Vyšniauskas: ‘Man ‘Eurovizijos’ užkulisių žaidimai buvo svetimi’”, in: Aina.lt, May 11, 2016
• Snippets from a set of interviews with several people involved behind the screens in Lithuania’s Eurovision debut in 1994: Eimantė Juršėnaitė, “Pirmojoje nacionalinėje ‘Eurovizijos’ atrankoje dalyvavo ir šiandien pažįstami veidai”, in: LRT.lt, May 18, 2019
• Another online interview with Ovidijus Vyšniauskas on his Eurovision participation: Laura Blaževičiūtė, “Ovidijus Vyšniauskas – apie dalyvavimą  ‘Eurovizijoje’ 90-aisiais: niekam nebuvome įdomūs”, in: TV3, May 14, 2021
• A short survey of Lithuania’s Eurovision history: Tomas Vaitelė, “Lietuvių ‘Eurovizijos’ vargai: skaudi diskvalifikacija ir ta pati daina dviejose atrankose”, in: LRT.lt, January 25, 2025
• A small selection of Tomas Leiburas’ music has been gathered in a YouTube playlist, which can be found via this link
• Photos courtesy of Tomas Leiburas, Marius Leiburas, Vaidotas Grigas & Ferry van der Zant
• Heartfelt thanks to Mark Coupar for proofreading the manuscript