Antanas Pocius

Antanas Pocius (August 19, 1913 - April 1, 1983) was Lithuanian choirmaster, organist and composer.

Early life

Antanas Pocius was born on August 19, 1913, in Pagiriai village which is close to Tauragė. His parents were poor. Antanas' father, Petras, had died just after the World War I, so he left his wife Rozalija with many children. The oldest children - Petronėlė was only about 20 years old. The early life of A. Pocius was very hard; after the householder's death, his family became very poor. When Antanas was about 4 years old, he became a shepherd.

Vocation for musician

After Antanas had finished 3 classes of the elementary school, he had been learning the trade of sewer until he had realised he had the vocation for music.

1940-1942 - A. Pocius worked as organist in Virbalis and in the year 1942 he started to study in the Kaunas conservatory. In 1962-1966 he worked in octennial school in Plungė as a teacher, in 1966-1976 - in Plungė's academy of music. He was also the leader of Pensioners' choir in 1977-1981.

Antanas Pocius died on April 1, 1983, in Plungė.

Pieces and songs

Antanas Pocius has created few pieces of music, such as "Sidabrinė jaunystė" (Silver Youth).