The International Cultural Exchange Program jointly administered by the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles and its partners in Poland and Ukraine, organized a weekend of piano workshops at the Pułtusk Castle from June 24-26, 2016. Held in the splendid headquarters of Dom Polonii, the daily sessions with the 2016 Exchange participants, including Yulia Medynska and Sasha Dzvinkovskiy from Ukraine and Magdalena Kuropatwa from the Province of Tarnów, took place in one of the Castle’s ornate staterooms. The subject of the intense workshops included preparing arrangements of Polish and Ukrainian folksongs for piano and orchestra, which will be performed by the young pianists when they visit Paso Robles and participate in this year’s Paderewski Festival, held November 3-6.
The young pianists worked with Paderewski Festival’s Artistic Director, Marek Zebrowski, and were accompanied by chaperones, Galia Terentieva from Khmilnyk, Ukraine and Stanisław Kuropatwa from Ciężkowice, Poland. All local arrangements and logistics—including transportation from Warsaw to Pułtusk, accommodations and gourmet meals served in the Castle’s elegant dining room—were organized by Adam Bala, President of the Paderewski Polish-Ukrainian Foundation, in cooperation with Wspólnota Polska, who runs this magical, one-of-a-kind place. Following the workshops, the Ukrainian visitors had a chance to do some sightseeing in Warsaw on June 27 before boarding a bus for an 18-hr long return trip to their homeland. We look forward to welcoming them in California this Fall!