Artists:

• Kuba Derej – piano
• Hania Derej – conductor
• The Łódź Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Program:

• Hania Derej – H. O. M. E. (Home Of My Experience) – premiere, commission by the Łódź Philharmonic

Compere: Andrzej Zieliński (The Polish Radio)

This is one of the most interesting events of this year’s festival! Hania Derej is a versatile artist whose career has been rapidly developing over the course of recent months. She is a graduate of the General Music School in Bielsko-Biała (the birthplace of fresh jazz talent – the same school gave us the band Kosmonauci with the great drummer Jan Pieniążek). Currently, Derej is studying jazz composition in Amsterdam and symphony conducting in Cracow. Two years ago, she was deemed the biggest artistic personality of the FAMA festival in Świnoujście. A year ago, she won the “Sanki” plebiscite of Gazeta Wyborcza that distinguished debuting musicians who are likely to change the Polish scene. She was also branded one of the biggest sensations of the Łódź Great September. She is the leader of several ensembles and the author of nine albums. Her music combines the spaciousness of electronic music, the illustrativeness of film soundtracks, the freedom of jazz and inspirations taken from the neoclassical composers such as Ludovico Einaudi or Max Richter. In Poddębice, she will perform an orchestral piece created especially for this year’s Colours of Poland. Kuba Derej, the younger brother of Hania, will play the piano. He is a laureate of several piano and jazz competition prizes and has already released his first album. “It’s a piece that will combine all of my previous experiences. There will be electronic sounds, maybe even vocals, the narrative will be driven by the piano and the string instruments will be all around us. The entirety of the piece will create an atmosphere reminiscent of films with a tinge of jazz and classical music” promises the composer.

Top photo: Hania Derej, phot. Wojtek Mann

You can commute to the Poddębice concert as part of the free “Koloryt Łódzkiego” trip. The trips, intended for the inhabitants of the Łódź voivodeship, are scheduled for Saturdays and combine the sightseeing of natural and historical sites with the participation in the concert. More details about the concerts can be found here. You can sign up online a couple of days before the concert.

The piece of Hania Derej will resound in the very heart of Poddębice – at the Kościuszko Square and next to the renaissance St. Catherine church that astonishes with its richly ornamented interior, where our attention is grabbed by centuries-old frescos as well as the impressive altar. Just like the church, the palace in Poddębice was also built in the 17^th century. Its construction was initiated by Zygmunt Grudziński, the voivode of Rawa at the time. The building stands out thanks to its captivating, asymmetrical facade and a five-level tower, which used to serve as a treasury. The Grudziński Palace is currently considered the most beautiful renaissance building in central Poland. While visiting the centre of the town worth seeing is also the Garden of Senses situated right next to it. It is the only spring park in the Łódzkie region, full of installations allowing us to experience nature via touch, sight, smell and a sense that is most useful to us during the festival – hearing (the park has “music nests” and an enormous piano keyboard). The layout of the park resembles those of spring health resorts. It even has a pump room with spring waters situated in a 19^th century Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession.