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Organ Week in the City of Science: 22–28 April 2024

21.03.2024 - 11:02 update 24.05.2024 - 15:51
Editors: wc-a
Tags: 50 tygodni w Mieście Nauki

Week #16: Organ Week

Date: 22–28 April 2024

  • Curator: Ludwika Konieczna-Nowak, PhD, DLitt, Assoc. Prof. (Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice)
  • Producer: Agnieszka Sepioło (Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice)

Description of the week

Week #16 of 50 Weeks in the City of Science is Organ Week. The event is part of the European City of Science programme, which will last throughout 2024.

What is your first thought when hearing the word ‘organs’? Do you imagine a majestic musical instrument, or rather a heart, lung, or other internal organ? Organ Week will cover all of those associations. Organ Week will feature concerts and workshops inaugurating the new organs built in the concert hall of the Academy of Music. Prof. Władysław Szymański – Rector of the Academy of Music – will be one of the performers. A renowned French organ player Olivier Latry will also be our guest.  We will listen to the sound of organs in various places and in different forms. In additions, there will be lectures and presentations on health. Perhaps, for some of you the first thing to spring to mind was administrative organs? This is also an interesting topic, which we undoubtedly will touch upon.

We will also invite you to visit the academic Organ Museum, and for children we will prepare workshops using… mouth organ and concerts with repertoire that is certain to be interesting to them.

Offered events:

a) inauguration of the new organ – concerts of the Academic Symphony Orchestra, recitals, workshops, with the participation of Prof. Władysław Szymański, Rector of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, and French virtuoso Olivier Latry;
b) tour of the Organ Museum;
c) concerts, workshops, and meetings for children, adults, and seniors;
d) lectures, discussions, and presentations on prophylaxis and health, as well as sociology.

Weekly schedule

  • 7.00 p.m. – Organ Festival – Inauguration of the new organ in the concert hall of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (Concert Hall, ul. Zacisze 3, Katowice)

A unique inauguration of the new organ in the Concert Hall of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice featuring outstanding artists. Concert programme includes Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ‘Organ’ by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Performers: Władysław Szymański – organ recital, Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Daniel Strządała – organ.

Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.

Free tickets can be collected at the Information Office, Tel. 32 77 92 100, e-mail: informacja@am.katowice.pl


  • 11.00 a.m. – 2.15 p.m. – Lecture with workshop Cognitive posturology and everyday activities in human life (Room No. 7, Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music, ul. Krasińskiego 27, Katowice)

Wysocki Clinic Katowice Zarzecze and the Podkowa Musical Health Institute are implementing a joint programme to raise awareness and draw people’s attention to everyday activities. Part of the programme is addressed to parents, students and music teachers of art schools.

The event will be held by Rafał Wysocki and Marek Podkowa.

The event is addressed to older students of music schools, students, teachers, parents.

Registration for the event is required via the form.


  • 12.00 p.m. – Musical educational meeting ‘Images locked in pipes’ (Concert hall of the Wojciech Kilar State Music School Complex in Katowice, ul. Ułańska 7, Katowice)

Organists – Roman Hyla and Kazimierz Salik, solo and in a duet, will present organ pieces and arrangements of popular children’s songs. The music will be interwoven with a discussion of issues in the field of illustrative music.

The event is addressed to students of the music school.

Closed event.


  • 6.00 p.m. – Meeting ‘Heart and Brain. About love and writing together’ (Parnassoss Room, Silesian Library, pl. Rady Europy 1, Katowice)

The event will be hosted by Jacek Dehnel and Piotr Tarczyński. The discussion will focus on the creative process, love and collaboration on texts.

Free entrance.


  • 7.00 p.m. – Organ Festival – Inauguration of the new organ in the concert hall of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (Concert Hall, ul. Zacisze 3, Katowice)

Performers: Julian Gembalski – organ recital, Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Daniel Strządała – organ. Concert programme includes Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ‘Organ’ by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.

Free tickets can be collected at the Information Office, Tel. 32 77 92 100, e-mail: informacja@am.katowice.pl


  • 10.00 a.m. – Workshop ‘Hear your organs – a discussion about internal organs, prevention and screening’ (‘Sezam’ Cooperative Club, ul. Chorzowska 57B, Bytom)

Feel invited to workshops addressed to seniors, which will allow us to consciously learn about the signals our body sends us. During the meeting, the most important information about prevention and screening tests will be presented from the perspective of medical practice and many years of experience working in a clinic. Participants will learn what signs they should be particularly sensitive to and what steps to take after observing them. The entire workshop will be conducted on a musical theme, supported by a music therapist with experience as a medical caregiver. We will talk about how to listen to your body and whether music can help us take care of your health every day.

Addressees of the event: seniors.

Closed event.


  • 10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. – Organ Festival – Master classes for organists conducted by Olivier Latry (Concert Hall, ul. Zacisze 3, Katowice)

Master classes are addressed to students of organ classes and professional organists interested in improving their competences. Oliver Latry will introduce advanced techniques for interpreting organ works from various eras.

The event is addressed to students of organ classes, organists.


  • 11.45 a.m. – Meeting with prof. Andrzej Bochenek (Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Zacisze 3, Katowice)

Meeting with prof. Andrzej Bochenek. Moderator – Ewa Niewiadomska.

Closed event.

The event is organised in cooperation with PKO Bank Polski.


  • 4.00 p.m. – Concert on the choir organ manual with a lecture: Stanisław Pielczyk – choir organ manual, Tadeusz Trzaskalik – introduction (Patio in the Rector’s Office of the University of Economics in Katowice, ul. 1 Maja 50)

During the concert, Stanisław Pielczyk will present a diverse repertoire, which he will perform on a choir organ manual he built himself. The music will be commented by prof. Tadeusz Trzaskalik.

Addressees of the event: participants of the University of Economics of the Third Age.

Closed event.


  • 5.30 p.m. – Workshop meeting: Competences of government and local government administration bodies in the field of financing cultural institutions in Poland – Małgorzata Grząba-Włoszek (SpinPLACE, ul. Bankowa 5, Katowice)

The presentation, carried out in the form of a workshop, will have the following objectives: presenting the legal basis for financing cultural institutions from public funds, analysing public expenditure on cultural institutions based on data from the Eurostat database and the Central Statistical Office database.

Addressees of the event: adults.

Registration for the event is required via the form.


  • 7.00 p.m. – Organ recital: Olivier Latry (Concert Hall, ul. Zacisze 3, Katowice)

Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.

Free tickets can be collected at the Information Office, Tel. 32 77 92 100, e-mail: informacja@am.katowice.pl


  • 10.00 a.m. – Mini-conference of the Scientific Club of Organists: Organs as one ORGANism (Chamber Hall I, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, ul. Zacisze 3)

The conference was prepared by students under the supervision of Michał Duźniak, PhD, DLitt. Planned speeches:

About tradition. Where does organ music come from? – Michał Staniek
Development. How has the instrument transformed over the 20th century? – Marta Febe Ręka
Giganteria. The greatest instruments of all time – Paweł Lelek
Artism. The beauty of the organ prospectus – Mariusz Wycisk
Nomenclature and numbers. What does the organ say? – Paweł Blaszczyk

Management. How to use the counter? – Łukasz Lepak
Music. The shortest and the longest organ piece – Wojciech Olszyczka              

Organ – one ORGANISM – Szymon Jarzyna

Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.

Free entrance.


  • 11.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. / 4.30–6.00 p.m. Visit to the Organ Museum with prof. Julian Gembalski (Organ Museum, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, ul. Zacisze 3, Katowice)

The project of establishing an organ museum was born over thirty years ago.  Then, the initiator of the project, currently the Head of the Department of Organ and Church Music, prof. Julian Gembalski began collecting organ parts found during research conducted in Upper Silesia. In addition to antique pipes, wind machines, and fragments of playing tables, he acquired unused, often deteriorated, whole instruments and their parts. These objects were inventoried and security works and conservation processes were carried out.

The aim of the Silesian Organ Museum is to collect, secure and protect objects related to the organ and its history, as well as to develop them scientifically and make them available to the public in the form of a permanent museum exhibition. In addition to exhibition functions, many objects have primarily scientific value, serving research on construction problems, old technology, conservation problems and the broadly understood history of Silesian organs.

Addressees of the event: youth and adults.

Registration is required for the event at 4.30 p.m. (registration form).


  • 4.30–6.00 p.m. – Lecture Consumer protection authorities – what are they and how can they help us in everyday life? Krzysztof Kaczorowski, Paweł Śnieg (Kato Science Corner, ul. Młyńska 2, Katowice)

Consumer protection authorities – what are they and how can they help us in everyday life? The lecture includes a presentation of the main tasks of consumer protection authorities, as well as a number of practical examples in which knowledge of consumer rights may be useful (warranty, guarantee, prohibited contractual provisions).

Addressees of the event: adults.

Registration for the event is required via the form.


  • 7.00 p.m. – Organ concert of improvised music: ImproWizje. Performer: Filip Presseisen – organ (Church of St. Joseph the Worker in Katowice-Józefowiec, ul. Mikusińskiego 8, Katowice)

PROGRAM KONCERTU

CONCERT PROGRAMME

  1. PROLOGUE

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come (Rev 1, 4)

  1. PREAMBULUM

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Rev 1, 7)

  1. BASSE DE TROMPETTE

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches (…) (Rev 1, 10-11)

  1. TOCCATA

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (Rev 3, 15)

  1. ARIA

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Rev 3, 20)

  1. SIGILLUM

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. (Rev 6, 12-13)

  1. SIGILLUM

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. (Rev 8, 1)

  1. SCHERZO

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. (Rev 9, 1-3)

  1. SALVE REGINA

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. (Rev 12, 1)

  1. ARIA

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. (Rev 18, 9)

  1. ALLELUJA

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God. (Rev 19, 1)

Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.

Free entrance.


  • 4.00 p.m.What’s going on in your stomach? Workshops for children (Garden of Care and Education Facilities, ul. Leopolda 1, Katowice)

Have you ever wondered where the sounds in your stomach come from? Or maybe you want to find out what plant a kidney is similar to and what these two things have in common?

We invite you to workshops for children, during which we will go on a journey to the land of obvious and surprising sounds. We will learn how our body functions, what interesting phenomena take place in it and what connects it with music. During the workshops, we will have the opportunity to examine the instruments, just like a doctor, and together determine what is wrong with them. We will learn how to use medical and musical instruments! We will look for interesting sounds coming from our bodies. We will tell you what playing an instrument has to do with how our lungs function… And much, much more! And all this in an atmosphere of games, fun and free exploration of one’s voice, instruments and the space around us. The hosts are not afraid of any questions, so we will satisfy even the greatest curiosity about the secrets of the work of a doctor or musician. And who knows… Maybe all this will lead us to create a common song…?


  • 7.00 p.m.Polish Music Concert on the 100th anniversary of the passing of Mieczysław Surzyński (Church of the Holy Family and Saint Maksymilian Kolbe in Katowice-Brynów, ul. Kossak-Szczucka 24, Katowice)

Programme: 

  • Mieczysław Surzyński (1866-1924) – Improvisations on ‘Holy God’
  • Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986) – Deux pièces Hebraiques
    • – Invention
    • – Berceuse Juive
  • Paweł Łukaszewski (1968 – ) – ‘The Chord of Light’ (2024)
  • Felix Borowski (1872-1956) – Organ Sonata No. 1
    • – Allegro Maestoso
    • – Adagio
    • – Allegro con fuoco
  • Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), ed. Alistair Wightman – Etude in B flat minor
  • Marian Sawa (1937-2005) – Sequence

Free entrance.


  • 1.30–2.15 p.m.What’s going on in your stomach? Workshops for children (Municipal Cultural Center Bogucice-Zawodzie in Katowice, ul. Marcinkowskiego 13a, Katowice)

Have you ever wondered where the sounds in your stomach come from? Or maybe you want to find out what plant a kidney is similar to and what these two things have in common?

We invite you to workshops for children, during which we will go on a journey to the land of obvious and surprising sounds. We will learn how our body functions, what interesting phenomena take place in it and what connects it with music. During the workshops, we will have the opportunity to examine the instruments, just like a doctor, and together determine what is wrong with them. We will learn how to use medical and musical instruments! We will look for interesting sounds coming from our bodies. We will tell you what playing an instrument has to do with how our lungs function… And much, much more! And all this in an atmosphere of games, fun and free exploration of one’s voice, instruments and the space around us. The hosts are not afraid of any questions, so we will satisfy even the greatest curiosity about the secrets of the work of a doctor or musician. And who knows… Maybe all this will lead us to create a common song…?

The workshops are adressed to children aged 7 to 10.

Registration at the Municipal Cultural Center.


  • 3.00-4.00 p.m. – Workshop ‘Hear your organs – a discussion about internal organs, prevention and screening’ (Municipal Center Bogucice-Zawodzie in Katowice, ul. Marcinkowskiego 13a, Katowice)

Feel invited to workshops addressed to seniors, which will allow us to consciously learn about the signals our body sends us. During the meeting, the most important information about prevention and screening tests will be presented from the perspective of medical practice and many years of experience working in a clinic. Participants will learn what signs they should be particularly sensitive to and what steps to take after observing them. The entire workshop will be conducted on a musical theme, supported by a music therapist with experience as a medical caregiver. We will talk about how to listen to your body and whether music can help us take care of your health every day.

Addressees of the event: seniors.

Registration at the Municipal Cultural Center.


  • 6.00-7.00 p.m. – Organ concert ‘The Faces of Variations’ (Evangelical Cathedral of the Resurrection of the Lord in Katowice, ul. Warszawska 18, Katowice)

CONCERT PROGRAMME:

  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
    • – Partita diverse sopra: Sei gegrüsset BWV 768
  • Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
    • – Passacaglia in E minor No. 11 from ‘12 Charakterstücke’ op. 156
  • Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
    • – Choral varié sur „Veni Creator”
  • Krzysztof Grzeszczak (*1965)
    • – Choral partita „O filii et filiae” [2014]
    • versus I – Gioioso, versus II – In tempo precedente, Versus III – Festivo
  • Piotr Drożdżewski (*1948)
    • – Passacaglia über ein Thema von „Deutsches Requiem” von J. Brahms [2021]

Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.

Free entrance.


Profile of the curator

Ludwika Konieczna-Nowak, PhD, DLitt, Assoc. Prof. – she finished her Master’s degree studies in Music Theory at the Katowice’s Academy of Music. She continued her education at the Academy of Music in Wrocław and the School of Music, University of Louisville, gaining competencies in music therapy. Currently, she is the head of the Music Therapy Department at her alma mater. Her main research interest is music therapy for people with trauma, particularly children and young people. She is also fascinated by the links between aesthetic thought and various aspects of music therapy

Funded by European Union

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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