Stanisław Moniuszko Primary & Secondary State Music School Complex in Bielsko Biała

Chanelle Bednarczyk - skrzypceChanelle Bednarczyk violin

Chanelle Bednarczyk was born in Hahn (Germany). She commenced her study of the violin in 2004 in the Karol and Antoni Szafranek Primary and Secondary State Music School in Rybnik. She is currently a student in the Stanisław Moniuszko General Primary and Secondary State Music School in Bielsko-Biała in the violin class of Józef Iwanowicz.

Her notable achievements include an honourable mention and award for the greatest personality in the 6th G. Ph. Telemann International Violin Competition in Poznań (2009), 1st place and honourable mention for the best performance of works by J. Kocian at the 51st J. Kocian International Violin Competition in Usti (Czech Republic, 2009), 1st place at the National CEA Auditions for grade 4 and 5 students of secondary music schools in Warsaw (2009), 1st pIace at the P. Hindemith International Violin Competition in Berlin (2009), youngest finalist at the “Young Musician of the Year 2009” competition, 1st place and special prizes at the Andrea Postacchini Concorso Violinistico Internazionale in Fermo (Italy, 2011), 1st place in the Stanisław Serwaczyński National Violin Competition in Lublin (2011) and the Grand Prix at the Prof. Dichler International Competition in Vienna (2012).

She had the opportunity to perform many times as soloist with the Rybnik Philharmonic. She has also played with the Zielona Góra Philharmonic, the Rzeszów Philharmonic, the Silesian Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Polish Radio in Warsaw. She has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Schloss Britz in Berlin, in the Moyland Castle in Bedburg and in the Berlin Konzerthaus.

She has also participated in workshops and courses by, among others, W. Wiłkomirska, E. Zienkowski, Z. Bron, M. Grabarczyk, R. Wilkie and K. Jakowicz.

She has been a scholar of the National Children’s Fund in Warsaw since 2008. In June 2009 she has successfully passed her entrance examination and was accepted to attend the Universität für Musik und Darstellender Kunst in Vienna to attend a special course for exceptionally talented youth. She is currently a student at the university in the violin class of Professor E. Zienkowski and a grade 4 student in the General Music School in Bielsko-Biała in the class of J. Iwanowicz.

Konrad Cichoszewski - skrzypce Konrad Cichoszewski violin

Konrad Cichoszewski began to play the violin in the Primary State Music School in Tychy. In 2009 he went on to study in the Music School in Bielsko-Biała in the violin class of J. Iwanowicz.

He is an exceptionally talented young violinist, whose interests in music and solo performance have made it possible for him to engage in simultaneous study of the violin and viola.

He is currently the concertmaster in the school symphony orchestra and first violinist in a string quartet. He is also involved in numerous artistic projects, including a string septet with harp, a piano quintet, an accordion ensemble (violin) and the school baroque ensemble (viola).

 

Zespół Państwowych Szkół Muzycznych I i II st. im. Stanisława Moniuszki w Bielsku-BiałejSymphony Orchestra of the Stanisław Moniuszko State General Primary and Secondary Music School in Bielsko-Biała

The orchestra was established in the 1950’s. Its formation and artistic achievements have been and continue to be connected with both the educational objectives of the school and with the communty’s great demand for symphonic music concerts.

The orchestra’s conductors include Antoni Poćwierz – composer and teacher of harmony, Kazimierz Duda – a long-time principal of the school and the late Tadeusz Kocyba – composer of music for film and for plays, connected mainly with the Cartoon Production Studio in Bielsko-Biała.

The orchestra has been led by the school’s principal, Andrzej Kucybała, since March of 1982. Under his direction the ensemble has attained a very high level of artistry. It prepares 2-3 concert programmes each year, encompassing music from the baroque to the 20th century.

The concerts played by the orchestra arouse enormous interest of the public. Invitations and tickets for each concert are sold out immediately and in each venue the orchestra has always performed to a capacity audience. Under the direction of A. Kucybała, the orchestra has performed in many European countries, in some countries playing more than once. It has visited Sweden, England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic and France. It has been involved in a number of projects completed jointly with students of music schools in Uppsala (Sweden), Weston-Super Mare (England) and Ettlingen (Germany). It cooperates with guest conductors from Germany (N. Indlekofer), England (H. Clark) and P. Peterson (Sweden). In May 2004, jointly with invited colleagues from Ettlingen, Wolfsburg, (Germany), Weston-Super Mare (England), Silesian music schools and the choir and soloists of the Music Academy in Katowice, the orchestra has prepared Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which it then performed under the direction of the excellent German conductor Christoph Wyneken in Bielsko-Biała in the concert hall of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, also committing the recording of the performance to CD.

The orchestra prepares concert programmes, taking also into account the concerts of graduating students preparing their graduation recitals, as well as performances with professional soloists.

In the 2011/2012 school year, the orchestra has performed six times for audiences in Bielsko-Biała, playing various works. Last year it prepared two concert programmes simultaneously in connection with having received an invitation to participate in the 11th Polish Composers’ Festival in Bielsko-Biała, at which it performed film music by, among others, W. Kilar and W. Kowalewski, but also classical music encompassing the works of P. Tchaikovsky, E. Grieg, H. Berlioz, W.A. Mozart and J. S. Bach.

One of the orchestra’s greatest achievements is the preparation and performance – together with soloists of the Staatsoper and the Karlsruhe University Choir – of Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Dvořák’s 9th Symphony. These works were performed before a German audience during a summer music festival in Frauen Alp, Karlsruhe, Ettlingen in Baden-Württemberg and also recorded on CD. In March 2012, the orchestra played with excellent Polish flautists Łukasz Długosz and Agata Kielar-Długosz, performing, among others, F. Doppler’s double concerto for two flutes and orchestra.

In the fall of 2012 it performed in Warsaw at the La Folle Journée Festival and in Prague in April 2013. This year, the orchestra was qualified to participate in the National Competition for Secondary Music School Orchestras. Each year, the orchestra plays five to six concerts each with a wide-range of repertoire. Now that it has its own, beautiful concert hall (financed with funds from the European Union and from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage) with excellent acoustics, the ensemble can work on perfecting its sound and its own, recognizable style of performance.

Andrzej Kucybała - dyrygentAndrzej Kucybała conductor

Principal of the State General Primary and Secondary Music School in Bielsko-Biała since 1982. Andzej Kucybała has been teaching for 46 years and principal of the State General Primary and Secondary Music School in Bielsko-Biała for 31 years.

He has received many awards for his organisational, teaching and artistic achievements. Andrzej Kucybała is an exceptionally creative manager. During his long tenure at the school he was involved in the organisation of many important artistic events. In 1974-1979 he was one of the organisers of the “Young Musicians for a Young City” festival in Stalowa Wola. From 1975 he was employed by the Voivodship Office in the city of Tarnobrzeg, where he was responsible for artistic education and music culture, while simultaneously teaching in the Primary State Music School in Stalowa Wola. He worked in the Cultural Centre in Stalowa Wola as piano coach, then as conductor and artsitic director of the “Lasowiacy” Song and Dance Ensemble.

In 1978–1981 he was involved in the organisation of the “Music Meetings” festival in Baranów Sandomierski. At the time, it was one of the most important music festivals in Poland. In 1976 he established and directed, until its dissolution in 1981, the Symphony Orchestra in Tarnobrzeg.

In 1982 he became the principal of the music school in Bielsko-Biała. Under his direction, the school achieved the highest ever levels in both academic and artistic education. The results of external exams conducted in the school by the Central Examination Commission classify the school as one of the best in Poland. Each year, students of the school win in national and international competitions, and also receive prizes for exceptionally talented youth. It is worth noting that each year, 75 to 80% of the school’s graduates get into music academies in Poland, as well as abroad. Students of the school have enrolled in the Royal Academy of Music in London and in music schools in Germany and Austria.

His artistic activity as conductor of the school symphony orchestra, with which he has performed in Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic deserves special merit. The artistic level of the orchestra under his direction is the highest in history. For these artistic achievements and promotion of music among the community of Bielsko-Biała he has received the “Icarus” award of the President of the City of Bielsko-Biała. The greatest recognition due Andrzej Kucybała, however, is for his involvement in the construction of the school building. The project, effectively in the works since 1995, has made it possible to establish optimal working conditions for teachers and students alike. Since 2006, Kucybała has undertaken efforts to build a concert hall for the school. This effort was recognised in 2008 and the design developed by Mr Kucybała was accepted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage under Priority 11 – Infrastructure and the Environment. It is the first investment from this assistance program that was completed in accordance with the original deadline, in August 2010.

Kucybała received the following medals: Culture Activist’s gold medal of merit (1977), Bronze Cross of Merit (1977), Gold Cross of Merit (1987), Medal of the Commission of National Education (1995), Cavalier Cross of the order of Polonia Restituta (2005) and the silver “Gloria Artis” medal (2010).

Andrzej Kucybała is an indefatigable organiser of concerts in the school’s new concert hall. Since September 2010 there were more than 200 recitals and concerts featuring many renowned Polish and foreign artists, attended by approximately 35 000 music lovers from Bielsko-Biała.
As the conductor of the school symphony orchestra, Kucybała prepares several concerts each year for the Bielsko-Biała audience. Concert programs vary widely, from baroque music to 20th century contemporary music. These concerts arouse enormous interest of the public.
The orchestra under his direction has participated for several years in the Polish Composers’ Festival in Bielsko-Biała. In 2012 the orchestra performed at the La Folle Journée Festival in Warsaw and this year it qualified to take part in the National Competition for Secondary Music School Symphony Orchestras.

Szalone Dni Muzyki
Copyright © 2013 La Folle Journée. All rights reserved.
design estinet.pl

up