Saturday, October 26, International Polish Song Contest “The Voice of Polonia” Came to North America for the First Time, to the Beautiful Concert Hall at PSC

Beautiful voices of Polish girls in New York

The international Polish song contest The Voice of Polonia www.thevoiceofpolonia.eu came to North America for the first time to New York, to the beautiful concert hall at the Polish and Slavic Center in Greenpoint, on Saturday, October 26. It was opened by Agnieszka Granatowska – Executive Director of PSC and Anna Ciborowska – Director of the contest.

The competition celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. During this period, five editions of the competition took place with concert tours in many European countries. In the finals, the participants of the competition were judged by such personalities as Anna Maria Jopek, Stanisław Wenglorz, Marek Piekarczyk, Anna Jurksztowicz, Maria Sadowska and Janusz Radek. Each edition proves that the competition provides participants with a lot of inspiration, and listeners and fans with beautiful moments and nostalgic discoveries. Song accompanies us in everyday life. It unites people who feel similarly, think similarly. The Voice of Polonia promotes this wealth among different generations of Polonia. TVP Polonia has been with the competition from the beginning as a media partner. Thanks to this cooperation, the competition reaches Polonia all over the world. Since the third edition, a special SAWP award of the Association of Polish Performing Artists has been awarded. The competition is organized by the TAK – Temat Aktualny Kultura Foundation, founded by Cezariusz Gadzina – Artistic Director of the competition, a famous, versatile saxophonist, playing pop, jazz and classical music, and Anna Ciborowska – Director, pianist, living in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. They believe that the competition will enter the calendar of Polish cultural life on the American continent, similarly to what happened in Europe. The Voice of Polonia America competition was held for the first time, the main prize of USD 1,000 was funded by the Polish Embassy in Washington. The jury of the competition included the famous jazz vocalist, Grażyna Auguścik, Cezariusz Gadzina – Director of the Jury, Anna Ciborowska and Marcin Steczkowski, a famous New York multi-instrumentalist.

The semi-finals took place on October 25. 18 singers were invited, selected from almost 100 applications, based on submitted links and recordings. 8 people advanced to the final concert.

These were:

Patrycja Posłuszna – Polish-American opera singer (soprano). She began her musical career in the church choir. In 2023, she graduated from the Department of Vocal Performance at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. In 2022 and 2023, she took part in the Festival in Italy, where she participated in various trainings, as well as operas and concerts. This year, she took part in the Institute of Young Dramatic Voices under the direction of Dolora Zajick. She is also a member and secretary of the Polish American Folk Dance Company in New York. She had the honor of performing for the President of the Republic of Poland, Carnegie Hall, the Polish Embassy in Washington, the Polish Consulate in New York, The Plaza Hotel, City Hall, and PSC in Brooklyn.

She sang – “List do Matki” from the repertoire of Wioletta Villas and “Kocham Cię Życie” from the repertoire of Edyta Geppert

Ania Dudek – lives in Connecticut. She is a nurse by profession, but music has always been her true passion and life therapy. She comes from the charming town of Gron-Leśnica near Zakopane, where she sang in a highlander band from an early age. Her love for the dialect and highlander folk music is like her breath, her element, her roots, her heart. Taking part in The Voice of Polonia is a huge experience for her and going beyond her own boundaries. The emotions are great, but even greater is the gratitude that she can share the stage with such incredibly talented people. This experience will stay with her forever.

She sang – a song from Anna Karwan’s repertoire and “Niebo to my” from Edyta Górniak’s repertoire.

Wioletta Greczek, is 19 years old. She was born in Chicago. When she was seven, she started learning highland dancing and singing, because her parents come from Podhale. She not only sings, but also plays the accordion and piano. She is currently studying music and singing, and after graduation she would like to become a teacher and a music therapist. Music and singing are everything to her.

She sang – “Porady na niechy” from the repertoire of Ania Dąbrowska and “Słucham Cię w radia co tygodni” from the repertoire of Ania Karwan.

Margo Staniszewska – born in Poland. She received a master’s degree from the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. With her jazz band, she gives concerts in America and around the world. Małgorzata has performed with The New York Lyric Opera, including at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, National Opera Center. She is a member of the Polish Theater Institute in the USA, where she played numerous roles in performances in New York and Poland. She has played with: David Kikoski, Dezron Douglas, James Robbins, Leandro Pellegrino, Eduardo Belo, Stacy Dillard, Alex Apolo Ayala, Curtis McPhatterJr. In 2022, she received a New York City Cultural Affairs scholarship for creating her own music. She is currently a candidate for a doctorate in jazz composition at Five Towns College on Long Island. She is also studying with Theo Bleckmann, and has recorded an album with David Kikoski. She recently recorded with the multiple Grammy Award winner, Residente.

She sang – “Jaskółka poboczona” and “Coraz to z Ciebie jako sprzazgi smolnej”, both songs from Stan Borys’s repertoire.

Karina Pietras – Kolano (aka. Karina Kari) – She is a vocalist who has been passionate about music since her youngest years. Her musical path began with private singing lessons under the watchful eye of outstanding coaches such as Elżbieta Zapendowska and Katarzyna Winiarska. In 2005, she began a unique adventure, singing for two years on a singing contract in the United Arab Emirates. In 2007, I emigrated to the United States, where I continued my musical activity, performing for Polonia as a vocalist and DJ at various events. A special moment in her career was winning the Grand Prix at the National Festival of French Song in Poland in 2001. This distinction was awarded to her by Wojciech Młynarski himself. She recently completed work on her solo album, which will soon see the light of day. Its sound was supervised by the outstanding producer Larry Phillabaum, who has worked with such stars as Michael Jackson and Beyoncé. You can already feel a foretaste of this musical journey by listening to the single “Only You and I” on the Karina Kari channel on YouTube. Apart from her passion for music, she devotes every free moment to her 2-year-old son Arianek.

She sang – “Cicha wojna” and “Tanczysz tam” both original songs.

Dagmara Czechura – Dagga, born in the picturesque Podkarpacie region, has been living in New York for three years, where she has been developing her musical passion. She graduated in linguistics from the University of Warsaw and the Academy of Music in Łódź, which means that her talent combines the depth of language and the beauty of music. On a daily basis, she collaborates with artists from all over the world, recording songs full of unique style and energy. Dagga loves culinary adventures and is constantly looking for new flavors – she believes that in order to write a good song, you first have to try something inspiring… preferably on a plate!

She sang – “Jesteś lekem na cała złe” from Krystyna Prońko’s repertoire and “To trudno – Dagga – an original song.

Paulina Raczkowska – is 27 years old and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated in musicology from Aaron Copland School of Music in New York. For many years she was an organist in churches both in the States and Poland. In addition to singing, Paulina also plays the ukulele and violin. She recently won first place at the Irena Jarocka Festival in Poland.

She sang – “Przetańczyć z Cię chcę cała noc” from the repertoire of Anna Jantar and “Jaka Róża taki tierń” from the repertoire of Edyta Geppert.

Marzena Buczek – She is 62 years old. She has been living in New York for several years. She has two children and three grandchildren, who are her greatest love. She loves cats and actively fights against their homelessness. After several decades of singing at scout campfires, household chores and karaoke, she dared to take part in the music show The Voice Senior in Poland, where she made it to the wide final. She is happy that she can take part in The Voice of Polonia. She believes that giving joy to people, seeing their reactions is a wonderful feeling. Her singing is like her hair. The bright side is the gentle notes. The dark side is the feisty ones. Her personality is also like that.

She sang – “Gwiazda Miłości” from the repertoire of Halina Kunicka and “O.N.A.” from the repertoire of Agnieszka Chylinska.

The singers were accompanied by a great music band consisting of: Cezariusz Gadzina – saxophone, artistic director, Kuba Cichocki – keyboards, Ricardo Gilli – guitar, Peter Brendler- bass guitar, Sebastian Kuchcinski- drums. Krzysztof Bućko was responsible for the acoustics.

The jury had a very difficult task because the singers represented a high level, they were great.

Grand Prix: Paulina Raczkowka $1,000 funded by the Polish Embassy in Washington

2nd place: Dagmara Czechura $500 funded by the Sounds and Notes Foundation founded by Grażyna Auguścik

3rd place: Karina Pietras- Kolano

4th place: Marzena Buczek

The winners also received statuettes symbolically representing the human voice, designed by the famous sculptor Halina Jakubowska.

The second part of the evening featured a performance by a well-known jazz vocalist, composer and arranger from Chicago, Grażyna Auguścik. She often uses Polish folk music, Latin American music and klezmer music. Grażyna studied guitar in her hometown of Słupsk. She later studied singing, graduating in 1992 from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Her vocal debut took place in 1977 at a festival in Toruń. She won in the debut category at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole in 1979. In 1981, she won awards at the Student Song Festival in Kraków and at the Traditional Jazz Festival “Złota Tarka” in Warsaw. In 1988 Grażyna moved to the United States, where she performed with Michał Urbaniak and Urszula Dudziak, Jim Hall, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, John Medeski, Patricia Barber, Paul Wertico, Bobby Enriquez, Terry Callier, John McLean, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Robert Irving. In 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 she was named Best Female Jazz Vocalist by the European magazine Jazz Forum. Auguścik has performed all over the world. Grażyna has recorded 15 albums, including two with Urszula Dudziak, her colleague from the top Polish jazz vocalists.

At the concert, Grażyna Auguścik sang Polish songs, some inspired by folk music, such as “Matulu moja”, “W murowana piwnicy” and “Wierzba” from a joint album with Urszula Dudziak recorded many years ago. The program also included the song “Apelo” known in Poland as “Samba przed rozstaniem” written by the Brazilian composer Baden Powell, with lyrics by Jonasz Kofta. The large audience rewarded her beautiful performance with thunderous applause.

The Voice of Polonia is a production of the TAK Foundation – Current Subject Culture and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the program Polonia and Poles Abroad 2024.

Text and Photos: Zosia Zeleska-Bobrowski

Photographer