This was an original project of the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre – International Ceramics Centre, prepared and carried out by Dariusz Uściński. As part of the project, five-day vocal workshops were held and two final concerts were organised in Bolesławiec and Liberec.
The workshop instructors were American soul-jazz vocalist Frank McComb, who has worked with stars such as Stevie Wonder and Prince, and Ania Szarmach, one of Poland’s finest soul singers. She works with McComb and was the one who invited him to the workshops.
During the concerts, the vocalists were accompanied by an outstanding trio of musicians: Grzegorz Jabłoński (piano, Poluzjanci, Natalia Kukulska), Błażej Chochorowski (bass, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Renata Przemyk, Mrozu) and Wojciech Fedkowicz (drums, Leszek Możdżer, Kuba Badach, Grzegorz Turnau). Admission to the concerts was free.
On the Polish side, the workshops were attended, among others, by young vocalists from Barbara Lendzian’s studio (BOK-MC). Ania Szarmach spoke highly of the young performers’ skills.
— I worked with extraordinarily talented people in a beautiful city — the vocalist said during the concert. — Thank you to Darek Uściński for the idea behind these workshops and for inviting us to Bolesławiec.
The young vocalists and the professional band gave an energetic concert featuring covers selected by the young performers from the repertoires of the biggest stars, as well as original songs by Ania Szarmach and Frank McComb in excellent soul arrangements.
The project aimed to establish cooperation between the artistic and musical communities of the borderland cities of Bolesławiec and Liberec. The “Musical Bridges – Polish-Czech Vocal Workshops” project is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and by the state budget, via the Nysa Euroregion.
