The visit of a great musician, composer and pianist, Mr. Marcin Dominik Głuch, that has been expected for a long time, took place on 31.01 and lasted until 04.02.2013.
Thanks to a mutual agreement and an invitation from authorities of Polish School in Dundalk, both the students and the teachers had a chance to participate in a very interesting musical workshops led by Mr. Głuch.
Students have been waiting for that weekend for a long time. All of them showed great interest and active participation in the event.
Some of the students brought musical instruments with them, including harmonica, flute, clarinet, saxophone, guitar and electronic piano. They were willing to present their artistic skills. Moreover, every group focused on different classes, depending on students’ age and abilities, which made the whole work very interesting and allowed to discover the true and often hidden talents.
The youngest children were playing a game based on seeking and discovering the rhythm in environment. All the “music-movement” games were very interesting and allowed children for an excellent fun together. Older children listened carefully to the music, trying to interpret and present it graphically. Thanks to that activity, colourful and magnificent works were created, in which the young creator’s sensitivity is very visible. The oldest students asked lots of interesting questions, which allowed to dispel many musical doubts.
We are pleased to hear that we have in our School many talented and ambitious students, who are sensitive to the beauty of music and are willing to broaden their musical and artistic skills.
Thanks to that event, the parents of our students will get to know about their children’s talents indirectly from the prominent artist.
On Sunday evening Polish and Irish community from Dundalk and the neighbourhood regions, and also from Newry in Northern Ireland, had a possibility of participating the Piano Concert, which was organised at Polish School in Dundalk with Ethnic Minority Support Centre in Newry. The concert was a thank-you from the Artist for the possibility of coming to Ireland and Northern Ireland and it was a gift for both Polish and Irish communities.
At 7.30 PM at Arts Centre the concert hall was crowded with culture-lovers, especially of Polish music.
A special element of the event was the presence of the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Northern Ireland, Mr. Jerome Mullen and of a representative of Louth County Council, Mr. Michael Curran.
Multicultural audience did not hide emotions when the music started playing. The first pianist was a young man, a Pole living in Northern Ireland, who received scholarship, Bartosz Thiede. For him it was a practical lesson, and not only a meeting with master, but also an older and experienced friend.
Music of Polish composers, such as F. Chopin, Mirecki, Fotka, Paderewski, Kisielewski or also the artist Marcin Dominik Głuch, showed us all, who were present on the concert a very important thing. No matter how long and where we are and in what extent we feel a part of the local community, it is difficult to hide emotions when Polish music plays. Something breaks inside, reminding us of who we are and how much we feel our Polish origin.
That evening a great part of Polish community gathered at the concert hall felt closer to home and Poland through the lightness and charm of the melody of beautiful music.
Our national sensitivity and some kind of romanticism could be sensed among the audience. The youngest listeners showed great knowledge, both cultural and musical. Despite the relatively late hour, they listened to the concert with full interest until the end. Some of them, when hearing the sounds of Chopin’s music, commented quietly that they know it.
Our Irish guests were charmed by the beauty of the music and the ease of both Artist while leading the concert. A valuable piece of information has been provided during the workshops and the concert itself.
Mr. Marcin Dominik Głuch, apart from his huge musical knowledge, has also shared his experience of distant travelling and current information from Poland and Europe, which enriched the whole visit in Ireland.
As co-organisers of the event we wish to thank everyone, who have participated the concert. We hope that each of our guests could experience this special evening in harmony, calmed by the soothing tones of Polish compositions.
We would also like to thank Mr. Jerome Mullen, Mr. Michael Curran and his wife, and Mr. Artur Kmiecik, who showed great openness and made it possible to bring the neighbour cities together and to present Polish culture to a broader audience.
Our brilliant musicians, Mr. Marcin Głuch and Bartosz Thiede, deserve a huge applause and congratulations. We are hopefully looking forward for another meeting, as the last weekend proved that it is worth, and above all, the audience’s needs are greater than we thought.
Everyone who is interested in Mr. Marcin Dominik Głuch’s works and further meetings, we encourage to use the information available in the Internet. Polish School in Dundalk will provide up-to-date information about all performances, including shows in Ireland. To those, who are interested in musical workshops, we recommend this experience, as it forms the musical and cultural sensitivity of Polish young generation.
Thanks to the Artist’s kindness and courtesy, the musical workshops also took place in one of the local Irish schools, the Rampark National School, where Polish art of music enjoyed great interest, for what we are also thankful to the Headmaster, Mr. Joe McDonald.