Santa Barbara Music Club Free Concert

“PIANO ACROSS POLAND, FRANCE AND AMERICA”

On Saturday, October 28,  3 PM, the Santa Barbara Music Club will feature pianists Mariusz Adamczak and Pascal Salomon in a joint recital entitled “PIANO ACROSS POLAND, FRANCE, AND AMERICA.’  The concert will be held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 4575 Auhay Dr, Santa Barbara.  Admission is free.

Adamczak and Salomon have curated a concert featuring solo piano works by composers including Chopin, Poulenc, Gershwin, and Szymanowski, culminating in a performance of Debussy’s Petite Suite for piano four hands.  Their goal is to celebrate their friendship by highlighting works that are important to them separately and together.

The complete program is Chopin’s  Ballade in G minor, Op. 23 and Mazurkas Op. 24, No. 1 & 2; I. J. Paderewski’s  Menuet, Op. 14, and Karol Szymanowski’s Prelude, Op. 1, No. 1, performed by Mariusz Adamczak.  Pascal Solomon will perform Poulenc’s  Three Novelettes, George Gershwin’s  Three Preludes, and Samuel Barber’s  “Waltz,” from Souvenirs, Op. 28.  The program concludes with Claude Debussy’s Petite Suite for piano four hands.

For more information, visit www.sbmusicclub.org

MARIUSZ ADAMCZAK, pianist, has concertized in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Republic of Moldava, Morocco, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Uzbekistan and the United States, and has been prize winner in piano competitions in Greece, Italy, Poland, and Romania.   As concerto soloist, he has been featured with major European orchestras, and as chamber music pianist he has appeared with the Camerata, Consonante, and Gaudeamus Quartets, the Cracow Royal Quartet,  and the Camerata Vistula and Varsovia Ensembles.  He has been invited to present concerts at national and international festivals, including the “Fryderyk Chopin Music Festivals” in Ghent (Belgium) and in Gaming (Austria) the “Forum of Young Pianists” in Darmstadt (Germany), the “Young Pianists Interpretations” in the Chopin Festival in Valldemossa (Mallorca), and the “Floralia Music Festival in Warsaw (Poland), and has recorded live studio concerts for the BBC and Polish Radio.

Born in Poland, Mr. Adamczak graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin State School of Music in Warsaw, receiving the Artistic Scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and Arts, graduated with distinction from the Cracow Academy of Music, and also studied at the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania.  In 2014 he instituted his  private piano class, from which his students have been awarded prizes in national and international piano competitions.

Pianist PASCAL SALOMON has shared his musical artistry with appreciative audiences across Europe, Asia, and North America. From the historic Ernest Ansermet Studio and the iconic Stravinsky Auditorium in Switzerland, to China’s Forbidden City Concert Hall and numerous stages in various European countries, Israel, and the United States, Mr. Salomon’s performances stand as a testament to the profound emotional connection he establishes with his audiences.

Mr. Salomon taught at the Geneva Conservatory of Music (Switzerland) for a decade and at Westmont College for two years. He currently serves as the Vice-President of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) Santa Barbara Branch and as the Music Director at the First Congregational Church in Santa Barbara. There, he fosters a dynamic piano studio that is a breeding ground for budding musicians, and also helps coordinate the MTAC quarterly festival programs. He is on the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Society faculty.

Prior to his move to the United States, Pascal Salomon garnered numerous accolades that include being the recipient of a scholarship from the Société de Musique d’Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, winning the prize for the best French pianist at the Senigallia International Competition in Italy, and earning an Honor Diploma in the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona. “With an impressive list of past performances that have spanned multiple continents, Mr. Salomon’s repertoire is as diverse as the stages he has appeared on—from Switzerland’s Ernest Ansermet Studio and Stravinski Auditorium to China’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, as well as venues in various European countries, Israel, and the United States. Concurrently, his academic contributions have significantly enriched institutions like the Geneva Conservatory of Music and Westmont College in Santa Barbara, where he has held faculty positions.

Pascal Salomon’s educational background includes studies at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris under the tutelage of Gabriel Tacchino, further instruction at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève with Edson Elias and Nelson Goerner, and advanced coursework at UC Santa Barbara where he obtained a doctoral degree under the guidance of Paul Berkowitz. He has also refined his artistry by attending master classes with world-class pianists and pedagogues such as Yo-Yo Ma, András Schiff, Murray Perahia, Jeremy Denk, Vera Gornostaeva, György Sebök and Paul Badura-Skoda.

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Santa Barbara Music Club concerts display a wonderful diversity of historical musical periods and compositional styles, including beloved masterworks and exciting new and seldom-heard repertoire.

Of the series, the Santa Barbara Independent exclaimed:  “A beautiful day, a beautiful room, beautiful music … who could ask for more?” and Gerald Carpenter in Noozhawk.com declared, “Every Santa Barbara Music Club concert that I have ever attended has been a sensory joy as well as a consciousness expansion.”

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A valued cultural resource in the community since 1969, the Music Club’s mission is threefold:

(1) Presentation of an annual series of concerts, free to the public.

(2) Aiding and encouraging musical education by the disbursement of scholarships to talented local music students.

(3) Presentation of community outreach activities, including bringing great music to residents of area retirement homes.

For information on this or other Santa Barbara Music Club programs and performing artists, visit SBMusicClub.org.