Music of Chopin and Polish Christmas

About the Event

PROGRAM:

Fryderyk Chopin:
Rondo à la Krakowiak in F Major, Op. 14
Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 2

Stanisław Moniuszko:
Aria “Ten Zegar Stary” z opery “Straszny Dwór”
Pieśń “Dziad i Baba”

Jakub Polaczyk:
Christmas Postcard for Strings (2015)
Flemish Wind (2024), for piano and orchestra – American premiere

Polish Christmas Carols and Pastorals
with Dariusz Ocetek & the Moniuszko Choir

Featured Soloists:
Dariusz Ocetek, bass-baritone
Jakub Polaczyk, piano

Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra
Adrian Sylveen, conductor

Dariusz Ocetek, bass-baritone, has performed in operas, oratorios, operettas, opera gala concerts, song recitals, musicals, and in drama plays in Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and USA. His voice was heard with the New York Lyric Recovery Festival at the Carnegie Hall, Liederkranz Opera Foundation, North Shore Center for Performing Arts, Cami Hall, 92NY, Washington Opera Society, Catholic University of America Opera, First Coast Opera, Valdosta State Opera, The Embassy of Poland in Washington DC, Kosciuszko Foundation in NYC and DC, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, Silesian Operetta, Chorzow Musical Theater, Camerata Silesia Katowice City Singers, as well as Waldorf Institute in Germany and Lyric Opera Festiwal in Italy. Dr. Dar’s stage collaboration with artists such as Alberto Zedda, Stanford Olsen, Dean Peterson, Stella Zambalis, Libby Larsen, Brian Ganz, Lucy Arner, Simeone Tartaglione, Carlos Riazuelo, Kenneth Kirk, Joe Herter, and Anna Szostak brought great splendor and motivation to his career. Mentors such as Sławomir Książek, Joanna Toborek, Thomas Cultice, David Lee Johnson, and Izabella Kobus-Salkin ignited his passion for performing and teaching.

Jakub Polaczyk (b. 1983, Krakow) is a New York based Polish composer and pianist. A winner of the 2020 American Prize in Composition, he has received numerous awards, including the 2024 runner-up at the John Eaton New York Composers Circle Competition and a 2023 Double Silver Medal at the Global Music Awards. Polaczyk graduated from Jagiellonian University, the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, and Carnegie Mellon University, studying also at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He has taught at the New York Conservatory of Music since 2015 and directed multiple festivals and competitions. Host of “Coffees after Bach” on Polish Radio WRKL since 2021, Polaczyk has lectured at numerous prestigious institutions globally. His compositions have been performed internationally by acclaimed orchestras and ensembles at venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He has collaborated with many notable musicians and received scholarships from various esteemed organizations. His music is published by Donemus, PWM, Babel Scores, and Arcomics and has been released by Ablaze Records and Albany Records. In 2024, he received the Bronze Medal “Gloria Artis” and an honorable decoration from the city of Stary Sącz.

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