Darius Klišys is a pioneering Lithuanian birbynist (birbynė or hornpipe is an original Lithuanian woodwind), early music performer, composer, and recording artist with 30 albums to his name (early, baroque, experimental music), a voting member of the Recording Academy / GRAMMY. In 2004, Darius Klisys founded the ensemble REVERSIO. The idea behind the ensemble, to play early European music using original Lithuanian instruments became their mark of originality, while the expressive and contrasting sounds of the birbynė are surprisingly similar to early wind instruments, such as the cornetto (zink), recorder, baroque oboe, and chalumeau. In April 2009 he won the YouTube Symphony Orchestra (directed by Michael Tilson Thomas) contest and was invited to the YTSO summit to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. It was the first time in the history of music that the Birbyne was integrated into a symphony orchestra as a full-rate instrument!