organised by
TOWARZYSTWO MUZYCZNE W CZĘSTOCHOWIE (the Music Association of Częstochowa)
FILHARMONIA CZĘSTOCHOWSKA (the Częstochowa Philharmonic Concert Hall)
 
with the cooperation of
Conducing Chair of the I. J. Paderewski Music Academy in Poznań
financed with the funds of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as well as the Marshall of the Śląskie Province

In the period from 22nd to 30th June, 2007, in Częstochowa there took place a Conducting Course taught by the artistic director of the Częstochowa Philharmonic Concert Hall, prof. Jerzy Salwarowski. This was the first such undertaking in Częstochowa; however, we do hope– especially in the light of the effects of these new experiences – to continue and develop the idea of educating young novices of the conducting art, frequently only students.
Thanks to the cooperation between the Częstochowa Philharmonic Concert Hall and the Music Association of Częstochowa, as well as the  Conducing Chair of the I. J. Paderewski Music Academy in Poznań and the financial support of the  Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Local Self-Government of the Śląskie Province, we were able to  invite young people interested in conducting to an 8 days’ work session with the Częstochowa Philharmonic Concert Hall Symphonic Orchestra under the supervision of the conducting maestro, prof. Jerzy Salwarowski. The Course’s participants also attended a lecture on the bow use given by the concertino violinist of the Częstochowa Philharmonic Concert Hall Symphonic Orchestra, Adam Mokrus, as well as participated in psychological workshops on group leading. The 12 active participants of the course, selected on the basis of an exam, had various previous experience in conducting. They were (or are) connected with music schools in Poznań, Warsaw, Katowice, Cracow and Lvov, some of them already leading their own bands. Each of the participants had at their daily disposal the symphonic orchestra for a half-hour session during which to work on first Classical and then Romantic material. Even though the course was not a competition as such,  the young conductors were assessed, with the top six performing in concert at the end of the Conducting Course in Częstochowa. These were: Joanna Piaścik (who conducted the overture to “The Thieving Magpie" opera by G. Rossini), Katarzyna Szymko (F. Schubert-VIII Symphony in H minor "Unended" part 1), Monika Stefaniak (M. Karłowicz – Symphonic Poem "Eternal Songs" -"Song of Eternal Longing”), as well as Szymon Wyrzykowski (C.M. von Weber – overture to "Oberon" opera), Maciej Sztor (A. Dworak – V8th Symphony in G major opus 88 part 1) and Jakub Chrenowicz (L. v. Beethoven - overture "Egmont" opus 84). The last three named conductors were also awarded the highest grades by the Orchestra, with whom the conducting youth had the opportunity to exercise for 8 days.
The repertoire of the Conducting Course in Częstochowa was selected so as to prepare the candidates for the possible participation in the Grzegorz Fitelberg 8th  Conducting Tournament in Katowice. The Częstochowa meeting of the young novices of the conducting art, as mentioned above, was not a competition. However, in the light of the success of the Course’s first edition, it is our ambition to not only organise another Conducing Course in Częstochowie, but also to transform it in two years’ time into a tournament.