CCSU to host Polish and holiday music and carols on December 16 at 4 p.m. in Torp Theatre; public invited

NEW BRITAIN -- December 7, 2007 -- Central Connecticut State University’s Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies hosts its annual concert of Polish and holiday music and carols in Polish, English and Italian on Sunday, December 16 at 4 p.m.

The concert is open to the public at no charge, and will be held in CCSU¹s Torp Theatre in the Davidson Hall administration building on Stanley Street.  Free parking is available in CCSU parking lots.

The New Britain Chorale and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, with Jurate Svedaite, soprano, will perform under the direction of Adrian Sylveen Mackiewicz, artistic director and conductor.

The program features contemporary Polish composer Henryk Mikolaj Gòrecki’s "Już Się Zmierzcha?" [Already It Is Dusk], a string symphony arranged from his string quartet, J. S. Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins, Oboe and Violin” (BWV 1060), with Brunilda Myftaraj as the violin soloist.

English, Italian, Polish Christmas Carols will be sung after the performances under the baton of Maestro Mackiewicz. 

Dr. M.B. Biskupski, holder of the Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies at CCSU, noted: “Poles call the Midnight Mass the Shepherd's Mass or ‘Pasterka,’ and they attend Mass together as the culmination of their Christmas Eve celebration. A communal singing of the beloved Polish ‘Koledy’ [carols] usually precedes the Midnight Mass.  After the Mass, many families return home for a snack and more celebrating of the birth of the Christ child ­ and, after the concert, we will offer refreshments in that spirit of Polish Christmas.”

Further information about the concert is available by calling 860-832-3010 or by e-mailing jacquesm@ccsu.edu.  Directions to CCSU are at the University¹s website: http://www.ccsu.edu/visit.htm

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