JOANNA SŁOWIŃSKA – WE REMEMBER
⏰️ On November 8th, our Choir in Kontakt, along with Krakow artists, will sing for Asia.
SONGS OF PASSING | JOANNA SŁOWIŃSKA MEMORY CONCERT
Come too! Show your presence that you remember!
Strefa Nowa | Krakow | Kopernika Street 19
[November 8th / Sunday] 8:00 PM
→ admission: PLN 60 in advance | PLN 80 on the day of the concert
→ Workshop Group Mondays
→ Choir in Kontakt, conducted by Wassim Ibrahim
Wassim Ibrahim – vocals, oud
Paweł Michalik – keyboards
Janek Kubek – percussion
EVENT DETAILS:
→ Online pre-sale [November 8]: https://biletyna.pl/koncert/Strefa-Nowa/Piesni-przemijania-nkoncert-pamieci-Joanny-Slowinskiej-grupa-Poniedzialki-x-Wassim-Ibrahim-x-Chor-w-Kontakcie
→ Season ticket [November 7 & 8 | 100 PLN]: https://biletyna.pl/koncert/Strefa-Nowa/Piesni-przemijania-pamieci-Joanny-Slowinskiej-KARNET-7-i-8-listopada | 7.11 [Zosia Słowińska & Franciszek Raczkowski | Agata | Brygida Sordyl | Harz & Remek Hanaj] & 8.11 [workshop group ‘Mondays | Choir in Contact x Wassim Ibrahim x Paweł Michalik x Janek Kubek]
– – –
“Joankowa” group Poniedziałki – a workshop collective co-founded by participants of Joanna Słowińska’s vocal workshops. After Joanna’s death, the group continues its workshop practices as part of open Monday singing meetings at Strefa Nowa in Krakow at Kopernika Street 19. The meetings are led by Agnieszka Łozińska; participants learn songs from Joanna Słowińska’s repertoire, which includes Polish traditional songs, songs from the eastern borderland, and songs from the Subcarpathian region.
– – –
Choir in Kontakt, conducted by Wassim Ibrahim
Wassim Ibrahim – vocals, oud
Paweł Michalik – keyboards
Janek Kubek – percussion
As part of the concert “Songs of Transience – in Memory of Joanna Słowińska,” the Choir in Kontakt, conducted by Wassim Ibrahim, will perform, among others: Songs from Joanna Słowińska’s repertoire, as well as secular and religious songs from around the world: funerals, mourning songs, songs about the ultimate, and songs of hope.
The Choir in Kontakt operates under the baton and musical direction of its founder, Syrian musician and composer Wassim Ibrahim. The choir appeared on the musical map of Krakow in the spring of 2015. From the outset, it has been guided by the idea of diversity and multiculturalism – both in its repertoire and its members. The choir has become a meeting place for professional musicians and aspiring amateurs, older and younger, pursuing various professions and pursuing various non-musical passions, coming from near and far corners of Europe and the world. The Choir in Kontakt has performed numerous times in Krakow’s cultural and art institutions. The group has performed at venues including the Goethe Institute, the International Cultural Centre, and the Groteska Theatre (as part of the Cracow Orient Festival). Their concerts have enhanced academic events (including the Jagiellonian University’s Arab Days), and the choir could be heard at this year’s Dietl Street Opening. The artists also perform charity concerts – their most notable performance was for Nura of Aleppo, organized by the Polish Medical Mission, where they performed alongside Aga Zaryan and Grzegorz Turnau. In October 2018, they sang for patients of the University Children’s Hospital and their caregivers. They also performed at Montresor in France in the summer of 2017. In addition to guest concerts, they can regularly be seen and heard at their regular venue, the Kontakt – Space of Movement and Dance on Szpitalna Street in Krakow.
The Kontakt Choir’s repertoire includes works by great composers such as Bach and Mozart, Renaissance music, traditional songs from around the world, and film music. The choir draws heavily on the richness of oriental music, but its performances also include compositions from Africa, America, and the Far East.
Wassim Ibrahim (composer, conductor, singer, founder and artistic director of the Choir in Kontakt) began his musical journey at the age of six, playing the flute and lute. From 1990 to 1996, he continued his musical studies on the Arabic lute, taught by Fayez Zahe Aldin. In 2010, he graduated with a degree in Harmony and Counterpoint from the High Institute of Music (Faculty of Theory and Composition) in Damascus. He came to Poland in 2013 and two years later earned a master’s degree in composition studies from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow. In 2019, he earned a doctorate in music composition from the Academy in Krakow (composition program). From 2010 to 2013, Wassim Ibrahim began his professional academic career as a teacher at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, Syria, where he lectured on music history and taught harmony and ear training. During this time, he was a visiting lecturer at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, and the University of Wisconsin. Since September 2023, he has been a lecturer in ethnic music at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow. Since 2015, he has led the amateur Choir in Contact, which he founded and which in 2020 was honored with the title of Krakow Ambassador of Multiculturalism A.D. 2019.
– – – –
:: organizer: Rozstaje: u Zbiegu Kultur i Tradycji. Association
:: event implemented as part of the project: Rozstaje. Miejsce Spotkań | Social Cultural Institution
:: financial support: Municipality of Krakow