Participants Universitas Cantat 2022

The Gdansk “Jeunesses Musicales” Percussion Ensemble, Poland
Artistic direction: Prof. Piotr Sutt

The Gdansk “Jeunesses Musicales” Percussion Ensemble, Poland

http://piotrsutt.com.pl/portfolio-item/gdanska-grupa-perkusyjna-jeunesses-musicales/

The Gdansk “Jeunesses Musicales” Percussion Ensemble was founded in 1985. The ensemble consists of current students and pupils of prof. Piotr Sutt, who leads the percussion class in the Feliks Nowowiejski High School of Music of the I and II degree in Gdansk. Since its beginnings, the ensemble has given numerous concerts in Poland and abroad. The most important concerts include participation in festivals such as Poznań Musical Spring and Gaudeamus in Wrocław, performances at concerts organised by the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Białystok Philharmonic, Baltic Philharmonic, Kalisz Philharmonic, Łódź Philharmonic, Szczecin Philharmonic, Baltic Opera, concerts with the Schola Cantorum Gedanensis, as well as tours in Italy (concerts in the RAI hall), Switzerland, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany and France.
The ensemble has done many recordings for the Polish Radio and Television. In April 2000, the Gdansk Percussion Ensemble performed at the 1st International Percussion Music Festival in Kalisz, playing, among others, the Suite from "Carmen"; arranged by Szczedrin, and in March 2001, at the 2nd International Percussion Music Festival in Kalisz, they performed the world premiere of Puccini's
Suite "Turandot" for five percussionists and a symphony orchestra. Within the framework of the 3rd
International Percussion Music Festival Kalisz 2002, GGP played the world premiere of the Suite
"ABBA - Voulez Vous for a percussion quintet and a symphony orchestra".
The Gdansk “Jeunesses Musicales” Percussion Ensemble has in its repertoire works belonging to
the leading percussion literature. It also performs its own transcriptions of the greatest classical and
jazz hits. During each concert, the artists present an extremely colourful instrumentarium, consisting
of classical and traditional instruments from various parts of the world.

Prof. dr hab. PIOTR SUTT

Percussionist - soloist and chamber musician, scholarship holder of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra in Berlin and Vienna. He perfected his skills in the USA, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the former Yugoslavia, working under the direction of professors such as: Werner Thärichen, Ney
Rosauro, Steven Schick, Leigh Howard Stevens, Bent Lylloff, Ziegfried Fink, Bill Molenhof, Nebojša Jovan Živković and John Beck.
A regular contributor to PAS (Percussive Arts Society), author and translator of specialist articles in the PAS online magazine and application - "Rhythm! Scene". Since October 2019, he has been on the International Committee of the Percussive Arts Society in the USA, leading international panel discussions on didactics, level of education as well as curricula and artistic exchange between world percussion centres. Founder and leader of the Gdansk “Jeunesses Musicales” Percussion Ensemble, which has been touring continuously since 1985, and The Bacewicz Percussion Ensemble since 2013. The artist has performed in symphonic and chamber concerts almost all over Europe, the USA and Mexico. He has repeatedly given concerts as part of prestigious artistic events. He has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, composers and instrumentalists, including Pierre Boulez, George Crumb, Steve Reich, Jeffrey Tate, Zubin Mehta, Herbert von Karajan, Chuck Mangione, Emmanuel Séjourné, Ney Rosauro, John Beck, Witold Rowicki, Wojciech Michniewski and Leszek Możdżer. He has also collaborated with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonics of Łódź, Poznań, Szczecin, the Baltic Philharmonic and Kalisz, the Polish Chamber Choir Schola Cantorum Gedanensis, the Bach Ensemble - Mainz and the MozART Group. He was the first percussionist to take part in the recording of 18 albums by the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, including those nominated for Fryderyk awards. Since 2015 he has been the artistic director of the National Percussion Workshops in Gdansk, hosting the greatest names in the world of percussion. Juror of many international percussion competitions and lecturer of master classes (USA, Mexico, Italy, France, Sweden, Germany, Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia). He is among the artists of the Bergerault Company, Innovative Percussion and Angelini Mallets. In the years 2004-2016 he headed the Department of Instrumental and Vocal Studies at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz. Since 2013, he has been teaching percussion at the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź as a full professor, directing the Percussion Department.
In 2007, along with the ISKIERKA Foundation for children with cancer, he initiated the establishment of the Children's Oncology Orchestra, which he has been leading ever since. He is the originator and organiser of workshops on communication, leadership and interpersonal relations - based on his artistic experience in solo playing, chamber music and artistic didactics. Prof. Piotr Sutt was also
awarded the Gloria Artis medal for special merits for culture and the Medal of the National Education Commission for special contributions to education.