Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles Announces the 2010 Concert Schedule

Press Release - August 16, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paso Robles, CA – The 2010 Paderewski Festival celebrates the legacy of Ignacy Jan Paderewski and his 150th birthday anniversary with five days of concerts and special events featuring internationally renowned performers, young pianists from Poland and the Central Coast Region, wine tasting and a special lecture by the world’s preeminent Paderewski authority. The Festival will be held in several venues in Paso Robles, California, November 10-14, 2010.

In the mid 1930s, Paderewski expressed a wish to establish free music education for talented youth in Paso Robles, a community where he once owned large ranches with vineyards and almond groves. This year’s anniversary edition of the Festival will honor Paderewski’s initiative to bring music to fellow Californians by making all concerts during the 2010 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles free of charge. To accommodate the highest possible number of concertgoers, reservations are strongly suggested by going to the shop page of the Festival’s website, by e-mailing info@paderewskifest.com or calling (805) 769-4622. Otherwise, seating will be on a first-come basis.

The 2010 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles will open on Wednesday, November 10 with a Festival Prelude concert at Vina Robles Winery, featuring two young pianists from Tarnów, Poland: Barbara Doroszuk, age 14, and Marian Michalski, age 12. Winners of several competitions in Poland, these talented musicians are participating in this year’s Student Exchange Program initiated last year between the cities of Tarnów and Paso Robles. Their program includes works by Bach, Haydn, Chopin and Paderewski. A no-host wine reception begins at 6 p.m. with music to follow. Admission is free; donations to Paderewski Festival Student Exchange Program welcome. The Opening Concert of the 2010 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles will take place on Thursday, November 11 at 7 p.m. at the historic Mission San Miguel. The performers include the Paso Robles High School Band and Choir. The program will include two of Paderewski’s best-loved piano compositions, the Menuet Op. 14 and Legende, Op. 16, arranged for the Paso Robles Band especially for this performance. Maestro Santino Galvan will lead the Band, and Choirmaster Mary Schmutz will conduct the Paso Robles High School Choir. The band and choir will join forces in a rousing finale: Paderewski’s only choral work, Hey, White Eagle!, written for the Polish troops fighting in Europe during World War I. The American premiere of this work in transcription for wind band and choir is dedicated to the student performers celebrating Paderewski’s 150th birthday. Admission is free; donations to the 2010 Paderewski Festival welcome.

British virtuoso Jonathan Plowright will give a master class for local pianists and finalists of the Paderewski Youth Piano Competition in Paso Robles. Mr. Plowright’s master class will be held on Friday, November 12, from 2-4 p.m. at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

Cass Winery in Paso Robles will host a Polish Jazz Concert, featuring Poland’s most famous composer of concert, film, and jazz music, Krzesimir Dębski. Maestro Dębski, who also is a virtuoso violinist and pianist, will be joined on stage by his wife, Anna Jurksztowicz, a renowned jazz and pop vocalist. Dębski, Jurksztowicz and their musical guests will perform in the Barrel Room of Cass Winery on Friday, November 12. A no-host reception starts at 6 p.m. with music to follow. Admission is free; donations to the 2010 Paderewski Festival welcome.

2010 Paderewski Festival activities on Saturday, November 13, begin with an exclusive vineyard tour of the former Paderewski ranch and vineyard, followed by lunch and wine tasting at Epoch Estate Wines from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Admission to this event requires purchase of a 2010 Friends of Paderewski VIP Pass.

“Paderewski Dedications,” an audio-visual lecture by Dr. Małgorzata Perkowska, begins at 2:30 p.m. in the Matador Room, Paso Robles Inn. Dr. Perkowska, author of over 20 books and world’s foremost expert on Paderewski from the Department of Musicology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland will highlight several fascinating personalities among Paderewski’s circle of admirers. Admission is free; donations to the 2010 Paderewski Festival welcome.

Winners of the 2010 Paderewski Youth Piano Competition will be featured in a recital at the historic Paso Robles Inn Ballroom on Saturday, November 13 at 4 p.m. This year, emerging talents from San Luis Obispo County will again compete with young entrants from Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties for the privilege of appearing at this year’s festival and participating in the Youth Exchange in Poland. Admission is free; donations to the 2010 Paderewski Festival welcome.

The 2010 Paderewski Festival Gala Concert will feature highly-acclaimed piano virtuoso, Jonathan Plowright. His performance at the Paso Robles Inn Ballroom on Saturday, November 13 at 8 p.m. will include works by Paderewski, Busoni, and Chopin. As in the past few years, the Festival Gala Concert caps the annual Paso Robles Elegant Evening, a popular event among the residents and merchants in the city’s Downtown. Admission is free; donations to the 2010 Paderewski Festival welcome.

The 2010 Paderewski Festival will close with the matinee Festival Finale, a recital presented by students from the Tarnów-Paso Robles Exchange Program on Sunday, November 14 at 11 a.m. at Pear Valley Winery. Brunch will follow the music. Admission to the concert is free; brunch $20.

The 2010 Paderewski Festival Event Calendar

Wednesday, November 10, 2010: Festival Prelude

  • Performers: Barbara Doroszuk and Marian Michalski (participants in the Tarnów-Paso Robles Exchange)
  • Venue: Vina Robles Winery, 3700 Mill Road, Paso Robles, CA
  • Time: 6 p.m. No-host wine reception with music to follow
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: Paderewski Festival Student Exchange Program

Thursday, November 11, 2010: Festival Opening Concert

  • Performers: Paso Robles High School Band and Choir
  • Venue: Mission San Miguel, 775 Mission Street, San Miguel
  • Time: 7 p.m.
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: 2010 Paderewski Festival Paso Robles

Friday, November 12, 2010: Master Class with Pianist Jonathan Plowright

  • Venue: California Polytechnic Arts Center, San Luis Obispo
  • Time: 2 p.m.
  • Admission: Free

Friday, November 12, 2010: Polish Jazz Concert

  • Performers: Krzesimir Dębski, Anna Jurksztowicz & Friends
  • Venue: Cass Winery, 7350 Linne Road, Paso Robles, CA
  • Time: 6 p.m. No-host wine reception with music to follow
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: Paderewski Festival Paso Robles

Saturday, November 13, 2010: Tour of Paderewski’s Former Property, Lunch & Wine Tasting at Epoch Estate Wines

  • Venue: Epoch Estate Wines
  • Time: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
  • Admission: with Friends of Paderewski 2010 VIP Pass only (limited to 30 guests)

Saturday, November 13, 2010: “Paderewski Dedications,” an Audio-Visual Presentation

  • Lecturer: Dr. Małgorzata Perkowska
  • Venue: Paso Robles Inn, Matador Room, 1103 Spring Street, Paso Robles
  • Time: 2:30 p.m.
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: 2010 Paderewski Festival Paso Robles

Saturday, November 13, 2010: The 2010 Youth Piano Competition Winners’ Concert

  • Performers: Winners of the 2010 Paderewski Young Pianists’ Competition
  • Venue: Paso Robles Inn, Ballroom, 1103 Spring Street, Paso Robles, CA
  • Time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: 2010 Paderewski Festival Paso Robles

Saturday, November 13, 2010: The 2010 Paderewski Festival Gala Concert

  • Performer: Jonathan Plowright
  • Venue: Paso Robles Inn, Ballroom, 1103 Spring Street, Paso Robles, CA
  • Time: 8 p.m.
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: 2010 Paderewski Festival Paso Robles

Sunday, November 14, 2010: “Festival Finale” Exchange Students’ Recital and Brunch

  • Performers: Barbara Doroszuk and Marian Michalski (participants in the Tarnów-Paso Robles Exchange)
  • Venue: Pear Valley Winery, 4900 Union Road, Paso Robles
  • Time: 11 a.m.
  • Admission: Free
  • Donations: 2010 Paderewski Festival Paso Robles
  • Brunch: $20

A 2010 Friends of Paderewski VIP Pass, which includes the Saturday Epoch Estate Wines vineyard tour and lunch, hosted wine tastings, plus preferred seating at the lecture and all performances is available for $150 per person by contacting Steve at (805) 769-4622 or emailing him at info@paderewskifest.com.

Background: Paderewski And The Paso Robles Paderewski Festival

"In a short time we are going to my home in California. When my tour is over, you (Polish composer, musicologist and close friend Henryk Opienski) and I will settle down to teach music to talented children. In a few years, we should be able to start several good artists on careers that will be worthy of the names of Opienski and Paderewski. … Everything is to be free in our school (financed from Paderewski's tours). … Good people have helped me all my life; then why should I not help others? Good people had confidence in me; when I was discouraged, they gave me faith in myself. This is what I will do for young musicians, and they in turn will enrich the hearts and spirits of people all over the world."

— Ignacy Jan Paderewski, late 1930s

 

"He was a wild-haired rock star, a world-famous pianist and composer who sold out concerts from Paris to Los Angeles. He appeared twice on the cover of TIME magazine. He served as independent Poland’s first prime minister, befriended every American president from William McKinley to Franklin D. Roosevelt and hobnobbed with the crowned heads of Europe."

 

— Sarah Linn, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, November 6, 2008

 

Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) was a virtuoso pianist, composer, statesman, humanitarian and orator. Although his bold political vision for a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural United States of Poland was never realized, his musical legacy continues to inspire generations of musicians all around the globe. Paso Robles is proud of its most famous resident, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who visited this Central California city on many occasions for 25 years between 1914 and 1939. He stayed in the El Paso Hotel (now the Paso Robles Inn) and took cures in Paso Robles’ hot springs. He eventually bought nearly 3,000 acres of farmland in Paso Robles, Rancho San Ignacio and Rancho Santa Helena, where he planted wine grapes, almonds and a variety of fruit trees. In addition to his musical and political accomplishments, he also is remembered as a pioneer of vine cultivation and credited with bringing Zinfandel wine grapes to California.

 

To commemorate Paderewski’s association with Paso Robles, the Paderewski Festival was launched in 1991. The festival was suspended temporarily from 2001 to 2006, when it was re-launched under the leadership of the Polish Music Center at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and Paso Roblans led by Steve Cass of Cass Winery and Joel Peterson, grandson of the Paderewski Festival's founder Virginia Peterson.

A sister city agreement between Tarnów, Poland and Paso Robles, California, was signed in 2008 with the goal of establishing cultural, educational, personal and commercial exchanges between the two cities that share historical ties to Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The first such exchange program was held in June 2009, when three young pianists from California’s Central Coast—finalists from the 2007 and 2008 Paderewski Youth Piano Competitions in Paso Robles—participated in a series of piano workshops and master classes alongside three Polish students. The program was held at the manor house of Paderewski’s former estate, Kąśna Dolna, in the province of Tarnów. American and Polish students performed jointly in concerts in Kąśna Dolna and at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Wines from Paso Robles were featured in tastings during receptions following each of the youth concerts.