Participants Universitas Cantat 2017
Adam Mickiewicz University Chamber Choir in Poznan, Poland
Conductor: prof. Krzysztof Szydzisz, dr Joanna Piech-Sławecka
Adam Mickiewicz University Chamber Choir in Poznan
www.choir.amu.edu.pl
The AMU Chamber Choir has been performing on stage since 1992. It is one of the best university choirs in Poland. Its members are AMU students, graduates and young AMU teachers as well as students, graduates and teachers of other Poznan universities. The choir performs music in a variety of styles. The ensemble is famous for exceptionally blended tone quality, which is the result of hard work with the conductor, a vocal projection specialist. Great solo singers are also one of the choir's strengths. Their versatility is appreciated by the audience as well as by the renowned Poznanian composers. The Chamber Choir actively participates in the life of the city and the University, and gives concerts at home and abroad. Notable international tours include Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, Australia and South Korea. Most of these foreign visits involved participation in a number of contests, in which the choir won prestigious awards, receiving praise from the jury and applause of the audience as well as recognition of the international choir community. Recently, the choir has recorded an album titled The Spirit of Tango together with Małgorzata Walewska, Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, Martin Palmeri and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of the Polish Radio under the direction of Agnieszka Duczmal,
Krzysztof Szydzisz – choirmaster, musicologist, specialist in voice production, speech therapist and cultural manager. He currently works at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz as Professor and Head of the Department of Voice Production, which was founded in 2004. Besides his academic and didactic activity, he regularly organizes workshops and courses in cooperation with recognized musicologists, conductors and specialists in speech therapy and voice production. Since 1998 he has been the Artistic Director of the International Festival of University Choirs ‘Universitas Cantat’. Together with the Adam Mickiewicz University Chamber Choir he has performed on five continents in over twenty countries, always winning the highest laurels of competitions both within Poland and abroad. Many times he has been awarded for his artistic work. Music Consultant to the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat (Term 2012-2015). He is a member of the jury of national and international choral competitions f.e. “Legnica Cantat”, „Canti Veris Praga”, „IFAS Pardubice”, „Advent and Christmas Music Festival Praga”, „Slovakia Folk” „International Youth Music Festival Bratislava”, „Tonen 2000”). In his work with the choir he introduces to his singers the arcana of vocal techniques which results in the ‘uncanny’ quality of the choir’s sound. Although the man has a broad and incredibly diverse range of musical interests, the 19th and 20th century European choral literature is his chosen forte.
Joanna Piech-Sławecka - conductor, choirmaster, oboist, speech therapist, voice production coach. During her studies at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz she was awarded a scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture. Since 2002 she is affiliated with the Adam Mickiewicz University Chamber Choir, in 2003 she was appointed as assistant conductor to Prof. Krzysztof Szydzisz and currently holds the post of the ensemble’s second conductor. She is also an assistant professor at the AMU Faculty of Pedagogy and Arts in Kalisz, where she teaches a conducting class. She performs with the AMU Chamber Choir in Poland and abroad. Dr. Joanna Piech-Sławecka organizes concerts for the International Festival of University Choirs „Universitas Cantat” hosted at Adam Mickiewicz University and is the Vice-Director of the festival since 2009. She is also President of the AMU Chamber Choir Friends’ Association.
