Zofia Michalska was welcomed to the Community Hall in Bożejowice with tremendous applause. After entering the room, the woman took her place on a special throne, and the choir “Harmonia” from Nowogrodziec sang welcoming songs. Later, the excellent “Harmonia” choir, led by Antonina Zakrzewska, performed. Not everyone could attend the benefit that day, but everyone had the opportunity to watch their recorded greetings on the screen during the event. The next item on the program was a performance by the “Ad Hoc” accordion trio from Nowogrodziec. There were also amusing theatrical sketches in which Ewa Bartków portrayed Zofia Michalska.
The girls from the “Iniemamocne” group at the Youth Cultural Center in Bolesławiec, led by Marek Łętowski, charmed the large audience with their beautiful voices. Accordionist Piotr Orawiec performed “Gypsy Song” for the listeners and received thunderous applause. Wojciech Andrzejewski, a graduate of the School of Music, demonstrated remarkable musical artistry, and his guitar playing delighted the audience.
Everyone was also taken into a nostalgic mood by Milena Konieczna, a vocalist who has already achieved many successes. Dominik Bezkorowajny gave a wonderful accordion performance in a duet with his teacher, Bogusław Kłak. A surprise was the performance by a hastily assembled ensemble featuring three mandolins (Elżbieta Tor, Edyta Michalska and Beata Widera) and two guitars (Agnieszka Orawiec and Łukasz Michalski). Performing on keyboards before the audience were Emilia Tkacz and Mateusz Rosiński, students of Antonina Zakrzewska.
The audience had great fun watching Agnieszka Orawiec perform and sing a humorous song on the double bass, accompanied on violin by Piotr Szmit. Zofia Michalska’s favorite song, “Dawn and Dusk,” a theme from “Fiddler on the Roof,” was sung by Katarzyna Rzepka, who received thunderous applause. The event concluded with a performance by the Jutrzenka Municipal Song and Dance Ensemble, whose songs brought forth much emotion and many memories.
Zofia Michalska is a well-known figure in the artistic community of our region. Since the 1960s, she has helped shape Bolesławiec’s musical culture and plays 11 instruments: mandolin, guitar, banjo, mandola, double bass, accordion, piano, keyboard, percussion, recorder and saxophone. She began her professional career in 1962 as an instructor at the PKS workplace community center in Bolesławiec. For many years, she worked at the Bolesławiec Youth Cultural Center, the Preschool Education Study Program, the Teacher Training College and the Teacher’s College in Bolesławiec, the State First-Degree School of Music, and the Municipal Cultural and Sports Center in Bolesławiec with its seat in Kruszyna. Zofia Michalska led many ensembles with which she proudly performed at numerous regional and national festivals and reviews, achieving top places. These ensembles included “Vibrato,” a mandolin ensemble; “Michałki,” a boys’ band; “Subito,” a mandolinist ensemble; she led the band of the “Mały Bolesławiec” Song and Dance Ensemble; and she was choirmaster of the “Jutrzenka” ensemble.