The Finale Concert

Part I: The Finalists of the Song Interpretation Contest

directed by Paweł Palcat, musical direction and arrangements: Dawid Majewski, set design: Mirek Kaczmarek, lighting design: Katarzyna Łuszczyk

Joker: Mateusz Bernacik, hosts: Joanna Fesler, Regina Kumala, Joanna Łabowska, Uliana Semenko, Mikołaj Jakiczyk, Piotr Lewandowski, Tomasz Malatyński, Paweł Nowak, Piotr Patalej
musicians: Mateusz Witkowski (e. piano/piano), Szymon Gmerek (guitars), Żenia Betliński (double bass, bass guitar), Mateusz Maniak (percussion)

The contest consists of three stages. In the first two stages, the performers are assessed by the PPA Artistic Council, which includes: Maja Kleszcz, Justyna Szafran, Konrad Imiela, Mariusz Kiljan, Michał Litwiniec, Krzysztof Mieszkowski, Jerzy Satanowski, and Bogusław Sobczuk.

In the third stage, i.e. in the Finale, performances will be judged by the Jury composed of: Anna Gacek – music journalist, Renata Przemyk – vocalist, Justyna Szafran – actress, Marcin Liber – director, and Jacek “Budyń” Szymkiewicz – musician.

Awards in the Contest

It’s 3 thousand zlotys for each participant in the Competition qualified for the Finals, and then for the winners:

• Grand Prix – Golden Toucan statuette and 25 thousand zlotys
• Toucan of Journalists statuette
• Toucan of Audience statuette
• The Society of Authors ZAiKS award for the best performance of a Polish song – 10 thousand zlotys
• award of the Polish-German Polonica Cultural Association – 4 thousand zlotys with an invitation to participate in the 28th edition of the Rock & Chanson Festival in Cologne
• award of the Polish Song Museum in Opole – 50 hours of a recording session in the Recording Studio (including recording, mix, and mastering)
• Radio RAM award – a RAM Session concert organized in Wrocław and broadcast on 89.8 FM and the Internet

Part II: Ralph Kaminski: Kora

warning: strong lights and smoke

script and direction: Ralph Kaminski
cast: Ralph Kaminski – voice, Bartłomiej Wąsik – piano, voice, Michał Pepol – cello, voice, Paweł Izdebski – guitar, voice, Wawrzyniec Topa – bass, violin, vocal, Wiktoria Jakubowska – percussion, flute, voice

The premiere of a musical performance based on the songs of Kora and Maanam. Ralph Kaminski with the outstanding musicians retells the stories once told in these songs.

He got a dozen talents, if not more. He is a phenomenal, emotionally and technically flawless singer, a poet, pianist, violinist, composer, arranger and producer, an actor, playwright, director, stylist, and even – as some guess – a hairdresser.

After his spectacular victory in the Song Interpretation Contest, the artist stands in the line of festival legends. First, he holds a record in terms of the number of starts (his triumph was the culmination of the No. 4 approach); second,  once he won, he ruthlessly crushed his competitors, and immediately began working on a new program album. Not as a rookie, but without a hint of allusion to Wrocław’s success.

– It has been my dream to face the songs of Maanam and thus to pay tribute to Kora, he says. – Her songs are very dear to me. The album “Rose” was the first that I listened to at the age of 4, lying on the carpet and playing the cassette over and over.

Returns to childhood are eternal, aren’t they?

photo Dawid Grzelak

producer: Agnieszka Kozak