A member of our editorial staff, kind-hearted, reserved, taciturn, patient, reflective, understanding, tolerant, warm, kind… humble, wise, mature, sensitive, helpful and… I could use many other adjectives describing an exceptional and good person because it so happens that they all fit his personality.
Listen to this: Dorota Sobieska, co-founder of Cleveland’s Opera Circle, traveled to Bulgaria in June to appear as soprano soloist with the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra under Grigor Palikarov. She sang four Donizetti arias, including “L’amour suo mi fe’ beata…Ah! ritorna qual ti spero” from “Roberto Devereux.” Here’s the remarkable live performance, complete with high G – that’s G above high C! – a Sobieska interpolation.
Read More: Cleveland.com – Music & Dance
Polish-American Cultural Center in Honor of John Paul II has reached yet another milestone; in May 2009 Polish-American Cultural Center (PACC) established an organizational endowment fund at the Cleveland Foundation. The foundation want to thank the board of directors of PACC for the trust you have placed in the foundation.
So what does this mean to PACC and its supporters? An endowment fund is a fund set aside to generate income as well as for long-term use for the not-for-profit organization. Having a strong and stable endowment fund is a sign that an organization is fiscally responsible and prepared for whatever the future may hold. It can also ensure that the mission of an organization can continue in perpetuity if needed.
After Eugene Bak was presented with the Knights Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland on April 20th, his two sons celebrated with him by taking him on a spring golf tour. The festivities started with a day at Firestone Country Club on Sunday and then moved on Monday to Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, the site of the 2007 U.S. Open Championship. The event at Oakmont was sponsored by American Express and was set up to provide avid golfers with an opportunity to preview the 18 holes that contain more than 300 bunkers before the professionals arrive for the U.S. Open in June. After an enjoyable round, the group of 80 golfers settled in for a lunch. During the lunch, a presentation was made by American Express and a number of celebrities were introduced. First was Robin Roberts from Good Morning America and then Mike Tirico from ESPN and Monday Night Football. Finally the President of American Express announced we were to experience a very special treat, and in walked Tiger Woods. The very special treat was that Tiger was about to play a practice round at Oakmont and the 80 golfers attending the event were to walk the course with him.
We all embarked onto the first hole where Tiger displayed a completely different side of him. Normally, all business, he portrayed a light hearted side, cracking jokes and interacting with the small gallery. He started off with a 350 yard drive with a follow up comment “That will work” Each hole was a mini-clinic, as Tiger explained his strategy from tee to green and how he intended to hit the next shot. It was amazing to see Tiger hit within five feet of his intended target on almost every hole.
When we reached Oakmont’s famous row of church-pew bunkers between the third and fourth fairways, someone asked if he would demonstrate how to hit a shot out of them. He refused. “Why bring negativity into your thoughts,” he said, adding he only practiced from places he intended to play. Gene asked Tiger “How do you deal with the noise and distraction of the fans” to which Tiger responded “What noise.”
On the 484-yard final hole, into the wind, he hit his approach with a five-wood: “This is my senior club,” he said. “When you turn 30 you get a five-wood, when you turn 40 you get at seven-wood, when you turn 50 you get a nine-wood.” Gene has taken this advice and is in search of an eleven-wood.
The evening culminated with an awards dinner, where Gene Bak received yet another award, second place in the net score competition. Gene accepted his glass cup trophy and of course made sure his sons felt the humility of having the old guy beat them.
Although the Tiger appearance was icing on the celebratory cake, the opportunity to unite the Bak boys, who only get together about once per year, was the true gift to Gene.
Mark Bak
I just came back from Poland, but I feel like I am still there. I am “infected” by the climate of the homeland. One can see so many paradoxes in our native land! It seems that a happy person, enjoying free time, does not notice those in need. Does the lack of sensitivity during vacation cause a person to stop thinking? But…It is hard not to notice in Poland the obvious needs and stay unconcerned.
I cannot say why I visited the orphanage in Bialystok on Slonimska Street 2. A sudden impulse? Actually I wanted to “borrow” a small girl and take her shopping, to the movies, buy her ice cream and get to know her. I wanted to keep in touch with her, even later. It turned out that the idea was not mature enough. The people in charge of the institution did not agree to my proposition. Today I think they were right, but at the time I was upset: “so what if they do not know me, is this a reason to suspect me right away of wrongdoing?! But I want to do something good!” (more…)
The round figure of the tenth anniversary of Opera Circle is reason for cordial congratulations to the entire cast and crew, for the expression of appreciation, and furthermore for a certain national pride.
For here two Poles gifted with a passion for music, having been professionally trained in Poland, undertake an enormous work: they open an opera house in Cleveland.
Dorota Sobieska and Jacek Sobieski did not resign from their artistic calling after coming to the US and did not change profession. Rather, they remained faithful to music. And furthermore in that most difficult form, which is the art of opera. To realize such a production requires various elements: soloists, orchestra, oftentimes chorus and ballet, sets, props, costumes, and naturally a venue.
All these components developed with each performance. From the very beginning, the operas were cast with exceptional soloists, while the instrumental ensemble continued to grow. Regular audience members and aficionados remember that the first operas were accompanied only by Jacek Sobieski on the piano. But with time, he became the conductor of a chamber orchestra, composed most regularly of twelve to fourteen musicians, among them the violinist daughter of the Sobieskis, Wanda. (more…)
Twelve months have passed since the moment of my departure from Poland and my heart was filled with warmth as I viewed the exhibition “Discover Poland” at the Cultural Center. It showed the beauty, history, culture, and economic accomplishments of Poland.
We were able to see the cities of Poland. It is important to mention that many Polish cities are older than the country itself. According to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy, the town of Calisia existed in the second century, and the country of Poland began to form in the 10th century. In later years, large cities formed at the initiative of powerful magnates, like Zamość shown on the first picture with its renaissance town hall. The next photograph is the Church of Peace in Jaworze. It is hard to believe that this building formed from wood and clay in the gothic style has a baroque interior. From southeast, we move north. We can admire the harbor in Szczecin, the modern business center, as well as remember the past in the ramparts of King Chrobry. It is impossible not to stop in Malbork, the fortified stronghold of the Teutonic knights. The capitals – old Krakow and the present Warsaw, hold a separate chapter in the history of Poland’s cities. Then, there is Lodź which quickly developed in the late 19th and early 20th century with its many examples of Art Nouveau in architecture. Next was Poznań, popular for its inter-national commerce. Then there was Wroclaw, a city of many cultures. A statement made about the royal city of Kraków says that if “the homeland disappeared, in its monuments one can see the kaleidoscope of Polish history, changes, ways of thinking, and human achievements across the centuries”. It is hard to disagree, looking at the Main Square of the Old City, Sukiennice, and Wawel – the royal castle overlooking Vistula River. Additional pieces of Krakow presented in the colorful pictures are Kazimierz quarters, which was the center of activity at the heart of Krakow for seven centuries. The Jews formed spiritual and economical cultures here contributing to the Polish culture. Currently, the Festival of Jewish Culture – Kazimierz brings back its old charm.
