October 21, 2021 at 7:30pm 

Town Hall 
123 West 43rd Street
(between 6th Ave and Broadway)
New York, NY 10036

Tickets are available at  www.TicketMaster.com, www.thetownhall.org, and at the Town Hall Box Office. 
Town Hall safety

On Thursday, October 21, the Arts and Culture Foundation in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York will present a concert commemorating the 80^th anniversary of the death of Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Paderewski was a citizen of the world, statesman, diplomat, virtuoso, composer, and an advocate of an independent Poland. The concert program, which presents the artistry of Polish composers, will include works by Ignacy Paderewski, Fryderyk Chopin, and Henryk Wieniawski performed by distinguished artists: Alexander Kobrin, Richard Lin,  Magdalena Stern – Baczewska, Kenneth Merrill, Takeshi Nagayasu, and Kyoung Im Kim. Special guest MaryAnn McCormick, Metropolitan Opera mezzo soprano, will present pieces from the world repertoire. 

The guest of honor will be Coleen Jan Paderewski, founder of the Paderewski Music Festival and author of the book “Paderewski: His Journey”.

Program:
I. Paderewski Legende Op. 16 no. 1 
I. Paderewski Cracovienne Fantastique Op. 14 no. 6  
F. Chopin Grande Valse Brillante Op. 34 no. 1
F. Chopin Grande Polonaise Brillante Op. 22 
H. Wieniawski Polonaise de Concert in D major Op. 4 
F. Chopin Mazurkas Op. 24 
F. Chopin Fantaisie Op. 49 
F. Chopin Berceuse in D-flat major Op. 57 
F. Chopin Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60 

Intermission 

Camille Saint-Saëns Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix’ from “Samson et Dalilah”
Jules Massenet – “Meditation” from “Thaïs” for Violin and Piano
Gaetano Donizetti – La Favorita “O mio Fernando”
F. Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu Op. 66
F. Chopin Nocturne 20 op. posth. Lento con gran espressione 
F. Chopin Waltz Op. 64 no. 2 
I. Paderewski Nocturne Op. 16 no. 4 
I. Paderewski. Minuet Op. 14 no. 1 

Artists:

MaryAnn McCormick – internationally acclaimed American mezzo-soprano. With the Metropolitan Opera of New York she has performed for twenty five seasons with over 140 performances on the stage, including Le Nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Die Walküre, La Fanciulla Del West, Don Carlo, Ernani, Francesca Da Rimini, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Carmen, La Traviata, Rigoletto and many others. She has performed at the top theaters all over the world including La Scala, Rome Opera, Turin Opera, Opera National de Paris, Theater St. Gallen Switzerland, Teatro la Fenice, Staatsoper Stuttgart among others. She is the recipient of a Grammy award for her participation in Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Metropolitan Opera.

Alexander Kobrin – Russian pianist, called by BBC the “Van Cliburn of today”, a laureate of many International piano competitions: Chopin’s International Competition in Warsaw, Poland, Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Busoni International Piano Competition, Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. His performances have been praised for their brilliant technique, musicality, and emotional engagement with the audience. Mr. Kobrin has performed with many world’s great orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Verdi, Orchestra de la Suisse, Moscow Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Berliner Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, Birmingham Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Magdalena Stern-Baczewska – Polish-American pianist, has performed internationally with the world’s leading orchestras: Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, China National Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, among others. Baczewska is a Professor of Music and Director of the Music Performance Program at Columbia University. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Polish Minister of Culture for promoting Polish culture abroad.

Richard Lin – Taiwanese-American violinist, laureate of Sendai International Music Competition, Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover, Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition Poznań, Gold Medalist of the 10th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Richard has performed at celebrated concert venues throughout the world and collaborated with numerous great orchestras including the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Orchestra, Shanghai and Singapore symphonies; Nagoya, Taiwan, and Oklahoma City Philharmonics; Hong Kong Sinfonietta, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Munich Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Chamber Orchestra among others.

Takeshi Nagayasu – brilliant young Japanese pianist, winner of the Jacob Flier Piano Competition and Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition. Nagayashi graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and attended the Cleveland Institute of Music. He currently studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and made his Carnegie Hall debut in the spring of 2019. 

Kenneth Merrill American pianist and conductor. He has collaborated in concert with such artists as Gérard Souzay, Anna Moffo, John Aler, Anthony Dean Griffey, Charlotte Hellekant, Jennifer Aylmer, Randall Scarlata, Faith Esham, Ruth Golden, Jeanette Thompson, and William Ferguson. As a conductor of opera, he recently led Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Nevada Opera and conducted Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the Maryland Opera Studio.

Kyoung Im Kim South Korean pianist, won several solo competitions in Korea, was First Prize Winner at the  Artur Balsam Competition. She performs concerts in Europe, the US, and Asia.

The Gala will be held under the patronage of the Roman Dmowski and Ignacy Paderewski Institute for the Heritage of National Thought, Polish American Congress in Washington DC, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in NY, the Polish Cultural Institute New York, in cooperation with Polish American Congress Charitable Foundation, Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union, Polish Army Veterans Association of America, Taube Philanthropies, Chopin Foundation of the United States, Pilsudski Institute of America, Polish Cultural Foundation Clark NJ, Polish Cultural Foundation Boston, Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia, Paderewski Festival in Raleigh, Polish Supplementary Schools Headquarters in America, Society of Polish American Travel Agents, Nowodworski Foundation, Polish & Slavic Center. Media Partners: TVP Polonia, Nowy Dziennik, Dziennik Związkowy, Dziennik Polonijny, White Eagle, Kurier Plus, Super Express USA.

The Gala is organized by Culture & Art Foundation www.fkis.org