Over its twelve years of existence, the State Music School, first level, in Bolesławiec has played a significant role in the city’s cultural life. The steadily growing number of candidates taking entrance examinations confirms that even in the age of video and comics—which have unfortunately come to dominate entertainment—children and young people want to develop their musical interests, play instruments and make music. Currently, the school educates 151 students from Bolesławiec as well as the following towns lacking music education facilities: Lwówek, Nowogrodziec, Warta and Osiecznica. Depending on their age, students are taught in two departments: children’s and youth. The children’s department, which provides six years of instruction, accepts children aged 6–10 into piano, violin, accordion and classical guitar classes. In the youth department, students aged 10–20 may begin studying clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba, classical guitar, cello, double bass and transverse flute. Instruction in the youth department lasts four years. In addition to playing their principal instruments, the curriculum includes ensemble music-making and theoretical subjects: ear training, rhythmic studies, music appreciation and the principles of music. Instrument lessons are held individually and in ensembles: clarinet, flute, accordion, guitar, wind-instrument, mandolin, string and vocal.
For years, the school orchestra “Odeon” has existed, with teachers and PSM graduates making music alongside the students. At present, classes are held in two rooms intended for group instruction—theory and rhythmic studies—as well as in nine classrooms where individual lessons take place. Most are rooms with an area not exceeding 8 m², making group classes impossible there. Rehearsals of the school orchestra take place in a room made available in the school basement. Four practice rooms have also been adapted in the attic, but because they lack thermal insulation, they do not meet the necessary requirements.
Thanks to the efforts of the school’s first headmaster, mgr B.Cieborzewskicgo, and the current headmistress, mgr D.Pińczuk, the new school building has reached the enclosed shell stage. Interior plastering and electrical, central-heating, water and sewage, and gas installations, together with the connections, have been completed; the school is in arrears with the contractor for these works by 200 million old złoty. In the new school, in addition to classrooms, there will be a 200-seat school hall where concerts, lectures and morning music events can be organized. The most pressing issue now is finishing the ground floor of the building: purchasing and laying parquet in the hall, floor coverings and tiles, equipping the restrooms and school kitchen, painting, and so on.
In view of these problems, the Social Council of the State Music School appeals to everyone who understands the need to develop musical culture in our city to help build the second-level PSM. At the initiative of the School Council, students’ parents have undertaken lighter work, and, as always, the reliable Military Unit has also expressed its willingness to help. Hoping for financial assistance, we appeal to construction companies and building-material wholesalers for in-kind support.