The competition takes place every two years and is organized by the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art under the direction of the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science (prior to 1998, it was organized by the Ministry of Education and the Lithuanian National Radio and Television).
[3] The idea of the competition was raised by Aldona Šimaitytė, an employee of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, in 1972.
[4] The competition's name comes from a Lithuanian folk song that was popularized by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.
[6] In 1974, the final concert was held at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society and featured 15 soloists and 14 ensembles.
The competition grew to a festival – concerts of the national stage were organized and televised from various cities across Lithuania.
[16] The finalists (referred to as the laureates) perform at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
[1] At first, singers were selected only from regular schools and the repertoire was limited to simple songs.
[21] Prior to 1988, the final concert concluded with all singers coming together to sing "May There Always Be Sunshine" by Arkady Ostrovsky.
[22] For the next ten years, the organizers asked composers to write a song specifically for the competition.