Hania Rani is an award-winning pianist, composer and vocalist coming to Seattle right after playing at the Toronto Jazz Festival. The concert organized by Fremont Abbey Arts Center has been moved from Fremont to the St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral to accommodate a bigger audience; however, this a regular jazz concert also featuring Micaela Kingslight, a blues and rock songwriter and singer from Port Towsend, WA. Hania Rani, born in Gdansk, Poland as Hanna Raniszewska, shares
Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra presents a “serene cheer and warm sunshine” concert that includes Brahm’s Symphony no 2 and the Violin Concerto no. 4 by Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz. Joanna Kurkowicz is a renown violinist with a wide repertoire, who is also an active propagator of Grażyna Bacewicz oeuvre. More: concert page and tickets, artist’s website, Williams College concertmaster profile
Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Seattle Opera present a concert for the benefit of Ukrainian artists who have taken refuge in Poland. The PNB Orchestra, conducted by Emil de Cou and Alevtina Ioffe, will be joined by various artists for a one-hour performance featuring music from Der Rosenkavalier, Swan Lake, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, The Tender Land, and the Ukrainian folk tradition. (This performance does not include PNB dancers.) 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Pegaz
The Polish indie rock band Trupa Trupa is coming to Seattle to play at Barboza. The group advertises itself as an art-rock, psychedelic post punk band from Gdańsk, Poland. The group includes Grzegorz Kwiatkowski (vocals, guitar, also a published poet), Wojtek Juchniewicz (vocal, guitar), Rafał Wojczal (keyboards, guitar) and Tomek Pawluczuk (drums). Their latest album is B Flat A. According to The Guardian, “the band’s music blends off-kilter melodies, dense instrumentation and lyrical explorations of
Another local Polish tradition comes back after the pandemic! Marzena Lilian Szlaga Piano Studio, of Kirkland, WA, presents its annual piano recital celebrating both Chopin’s music and the anniversary of his birthday on March 1, 1810. The program includes mazurkas, nocturnes, preludes, waltzes and polonaises by Chopin performed by the Studio students from 9 to 19 years old. The concert will be opened and closed with Chopin’s compositions performed by Marzena Lilian Szlaga herself. Please
The UW Dept. of Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) presents its Winter Concert: Movement Actuation, featuring Marcin Pączkowski and other artists. The program includes recent work and world premieres exploring gesture made sound, spaces made of movement, and algorithms of artistic expression. Pączkowski, a research associate at DXARTS, is a composer, conductor, digital artist and performer exploring ambisonics, computer music, electro-acoustic music and live electronics. He created an ingenious interactive electronic system converting gestures to
The first time Jan Lisiecki came to play at the Benaroya Hall, in 2012, he wasn’t even 17. The young Polish-Canadian was taking international concert halls like a storm. He’s been hailed by the BBC music magazine as “perhaps most ‘complete’ pianist of his age ” and the Benaroya intro asserts that his “interpretation and technique speak to a maturity beyond his age”. Lisiecki’s solo concert is in the Seattle Symphony recital series. The program
The Ukrainian community of Seattle presents the Ukrainian Nativity Play “Vertep Travels Through Ukraine” with support of several local Ukrainian folk groups and organizations as well as the Polish Choir and a Kirkland ballet studio as guests. This performance has been directed and produced by Maryna Volovyk. The performers include the Ukrainian folk-dance ensemble “Barvinok”, the Choir from the Our Lady of Zarvanycia Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Seattle and about ninety children from the
The Polish Cultural Center presents the chamber music concert Music of Polish-Jewish Composers, that includes works of four composers: Roman Ryterband (1914-1979), Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996), Simon Laks (1901-1983) and Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948). The concert featuring Magdalena Molendowska (soprano) and Julia Samojło (piano) has the following program: Roman Ryterband: Three Hebrew Songs (1938) Mieczysław Weinberg: Gypsy Bible / Biblia Cygańska – songs to poems by Julian Tuwim op. 57 (1950s) Roman Ryterband: Variations on a folk song for piano solo (selection,
Polish Home Assn. presents an Andrzejki and Wine Tasting Party at the Polish Home. Andrzejki in Poland is the last party of the season, on the St. Andrew’s Eve, and its traditions include fortune telling with wax poured on water. Dancing to the music from CDs. The main attraction of the evening, besides the aforementioned fortune telling, will be wine tasting. Flights of wine (samplers) will be available with appetizers pared with the wine! Also
The Young Polanie / Młodzi Polanie folk dance group is starting its activities again and is looking for children aged 6 to 10 who would like to join. Mlodzi Polanie perform traditional Polish folk dances and have a collection of Polish folk costumes that go with it. All children are welcome – children don’t need to know or to speak Polish to join the group. There are no fees and the membership and rehearsals are
The Kosciuszko Foundation Online Programs presents a concert from the Quarantine Jazz series with violinist Matusz Smoczynski and cellist Stephan Braun. Mateusz Smoczyński is an internationally-acclaimed Polish jazz violinist and winner of numerous prizes at major competitions, including the Grand Prix of the Zbigniew Seifert Jazz Competition. A sought-after soloist and ensemble-leader, he has performed at the most important jazz venues and festivals around the world. An active educator, since 2017 he has been an
The Kosciuszko Foundation Online Programs presents a concert from the Quarantine Jazz series with cellist Krzysztof Lenczowski. Lenczowski, as a member of his own bands, as well as a session musician, recorded over 50 albums, including two original albums – “Internal Melody” (the first Polish jazz record signed with the cellist’s name, which in 2016 was awarded Fryderyk in the “Jazz Phonographic Debut of the Year” category), and “Rzeczy osobiste” (released in July 2018, the
The Young Polanie Dance Group is coming out from the pandemic hibernation and looks for new talent in all age groups: kids, teenagers and young adults. The Young Polanie / Młodzi Polanie group has been a proud part of the Polish community of Seattle for almost fifty years and had passed the test of time. The group cultivates authentic Polish culture through dance and music. Under Barbara Strutynski’s leadership, it has been a dance ensemble
The Center for World Music in San Diego presents the online event The Roots of Revival: A Story of Poland’s Village Music featuring the Janusz Prusinowski Kompania band. This hour-long virtual live presentation of music and dance will bring you on a storied journey from the roots of Poland’s ancient village music to its present-day revival. Janusz Prusinowski Kompania will share this nearly extinct musical tradition’s heritage and how intergenerational collaboration brought about its revitalization.
This concert by Radek Nowicki Quartet is a part of The Great Improvisations series presented online by the Jazztopad Festival in partnership with Polish Cultural Institute New York. The quartet includes Radek Nowicki (sax), Michal Tokaj (piano), Michał Jaros (bass) and Michal Miśkiewicz (drums). Radek Nowicki is a tenor and baritone saxophone player with his own, characteristic tone. He performed with Tomasz Stańko and Zbigniew Namysłowski and is the winner of many jazz awards. The
The outstanding Polish jazz pianist and composer Łukasz Ojdana will present his solo album Kurpian Songs & Meditations, an exploration and blending of jazz with traditional music of the ethnic region of Kurpie in Poland. This concert is a part of Great Improvisations series online presented by the Jazztopad Festival in partnership with Polish Cultural Institute New York. Łukasz Ojdana’s jazz resume includes three years with the Tomasz Stańko quartet and an earlier stint with the Zbigniew
Polish Festival Seattle, after being forced to sit out its annual showcase at the Seattle Center in July this year, invites you to virtual Polish Christmas featuring Wigilia, Polish Christmas Eve traditions. Streaming from Facebook, YouTube and the Festival website from 2-5 PM PST. A series of short videos will tell the story of wigilia, show how to make traditional dishes, feature crafts, music and more. All brought to you during this time of social
Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles is an annual piano festival honoring the famous virtuoso pianist, composer and politician Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941). The 2020 edition of the festival is a two days event with all the events available online due to the pandemic with tickets available for token price of $5 or a possibly more generous donation. This year festival opens on November 6, which is the 160th anniversary of Paderewski’s birthday. The Gala Concert featuring
Well, it’s not live anymore, because I didn’t notice this in time for the last week news. However, you can still listen to the Chopin Recital performed at the opening of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition (KFCC) on October 9, 2020, because the Kosciuszko Foundation made it available on YouTube. Krzysztof Jabłoński is one of the best Polish pianists, and the program of his recital was as follows: Nocturne in F-Sharp Major op.15 no.2 Fantasie-Impromptu op.66