Jurgis Juozapaitis (b.1942) graduated from the Lithuanian State Conservatoire (now Lithuanian Academy of Music) in 1968, where he studied composition with Prof. Julius Juzeliūnas. In 1969-77 worked as a sound director at the Lithuanian Radio and Television. Since 1991 has been teaching at the Lithuanian Academy of Music. In 1978 Jurgis Juozapaitis was awarded the Lithuanian State Prize for the symphony 'Rex'. The composer has won 15 Stasys Šimkus awards for his vocal works. In 2002 Jurgis Juozapaitis was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize. In 2004 he was awarded 1st Prize for the symphonic composition "Tower Counterpoints" at the "Sinfonia Baltica" International Composers' Competition in Riga, in 2005 - 2nd Prize for the Little Concerto for piano and string orchestra at the Juozas Karosas Composition Competition in Vilnius.
Jurgis Juozapaitis' works have been performed by the prominent performers: Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra (Russia), Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic), Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (Finland), chamber orchestra Musica Vitae (Sweden), Het Trio (The Netherlands), Nieuw Ensemble (The Netherlands), Traiect ensemble (Romania) and others.
In his music Jurgis Juozapaitis attempts to avoid the stereotypes of the 20th-century music and gives the preference to the spontaneity and natural flow of sounds. In his works the composer exploits various compositional techniques - serialism, aleatory composition, minimalism. One of his most characteristic features however is a polyphonic development of the themes and the ability to make the orchestral colours, timbres to serve for a dramatic purpose. Romantic tradition is most often apparent in the scores of Jurgis Juozapaitis. The composer escapes however any direct emotional outbursts, obvious subjectivity and dramatic collisions. Jurgis Juozapaitis' romanticism lies in his perception of the nature, eternity and harmony of existence. Frequently these aspirations determine integrity of his works, where in certain dramatic parts emerge some illustrative, decorative elements.
