The Paderewski Symphony Orchestra (PaSO) has now been serving the Polish Community in Chicago since October of 1997. During this time PaSO has gone from a small chamber ensemble to a huge cultural organization with permanent staff, dozens of volunteers, events involving over 260 artists, and performances in Chicago's most illustrious concert halls – including the Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, Harris Theatre, Rosemont Theatre. The audience it reaches has grown from barely 400 in 1995 to over 12,000 in its 2007-2008 season. Each year its budget and sponsor base have continued to increase and it has gained many fans and supporters. In the 12 years of its activity PaSO has performed over 140 symphony and chamber music concerts for over 140,000 listeners from both Chicago's Polish and American audiences. At these events, in addition to concert classics, Chicago's public was presented with dozens of pieces never before performed on American soil.
Our goal is to enrich the cultural landscape of our city and over the years, we are pleased to say, that our efforts and accomplishments have been noticed. Barbara Bilszta, PaSO's executive director, has been recognized by the State of Illinois with the Outstanding Public Service Award for “bringing Polish music to Illinois.”
Moreover, the orchestra was awarded with the:
Cook County Treasurer Certificate of Excellence
for outstanding dedication and lasting contributions to the Polish Community,
with the
State of Illinois Treasurer's Outstanding Public Service Award,
with
Silver Gloria Artis recognition from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Poland,
Annual Heritage Award “Charisma” from the CITIBANK.
In an effort to reach a community,, we carefully select our repertoire to meet our public's needs and expectations. However, our aim is also to awaken an interest in the fine arts. That’s what we did during our presentation of the oratorio “Tu Es Petrus” at the Rosemont Theatre and “Songs of Freedom” at the same facility. We will attempt the same with the “Chopin Celebration” Concert at the Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center. Although we knew these events would be extremely challenging, both artistically and organizationally, we were thrilled that we were able to invite to the concert hall thousands of listeners who had never before attended concerts at the Rosemont Theatre. An audience of almost 9,000 Poles and Americans alike experienced firsthand a true masterpiece performed by over 260 performers!
As we look at our accomplishments over the years, we are greatly encouraged by the response we've received from within the community. We are grateful for the thousands of hours donated by our hard working volunteers, for the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to our efforts and above all, for the thousands of music aficionados who regularly attend our concerts. As we continue with our mission we see the impact of our work reverberating throughout our community and beyond and we are excited about the tremendous potential of growth and further service to our audience that lies in store in the years ahead.
A Not - For - Profit Cultural Organization
5844 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60646
Barbara Bilszta – General Director
Wojciech Niewrzol – Music Director
|
|
