Dar Al Athar to present ‘Springtime Music’
Cantores Maiores Choir … human live voice
KUWAIT CITY, April 3: Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyya will hold Organ and Choir Concert Springtime Music by Cantores Maiores on Wednesday, April 5 at 07:00 pm at the AlYarmouk Cultural Centre Yarmouk, Block 3, Street 3. The concert is being held as part of the 22nd Cultural Season. Entrance is free.
The project “Springtime Music” by “Cantores Maiores” Choir is a continuation of a 8-year conductor’s activity of Dr Valentina Maria Baginska in Kuwait. The purpose of it is to present the beauty and emotional richness of worldwide famous and favorite songs from movies and musicals.
“Cantores Maiores” Choir is very young, filled with talented people coming from different cultural backgrounds and many countries: Egypt, India, Philippines and Poland. They were brought together by their common love to singing and to music.
Dr Valentina Maria Baginska consecutively fulfills her artistic visions, perfecting vocal abilities of the singers, combining the members of “Cantores Maiores” into a single, perfect and most beautiful musical instrument — human live voice.
The predecessor of “Cantores Maiores” was The Embassy Vocal Ensemble “The Polish Singers” which came to existence thanks to its founder and director, Maestro Valentina Maria Baginska in May 2010. The purpose of “The Polish Singers” was to popularize Polish music in Kuwait. The first project ,”Polonia Restituta’’ (Poland Reborn) was concluded with a concert on the 8th of November 2010 to the occasion of Polish Independence Day. The repertoire consisted of historical and patriotic songs, as well as instrumental music and presentation of Polish rich history by the narrator.
The second project, “Music Semper Viva’’ (Music Always Alive) had its purpose to bring Polish folk tradition, show the richest and varsity of Polish folk songs from all over Poland. Similarly, the Polish dances (polonez, mazur, krakowiak, oberek, kujawiak). The project concluded with a performance on the Dec 14, 2011 to the occasion of the Polish Presidency in the Council of the European Union.
Project
The third project , “Music from Mazurka’s Land” consisted of traditional, army and popular songs, as well as instrumental dance music. The concert took place on Dec 5, 2012.
The fourth project , “Musica Lingua Mundi’’ (Music is the Language of the World) on Dec 8, 2013 was of international nature in 12 languages. Music is a universal language, felt and understood without the need of translating the text. Every human being is able to feel the atmosphere created by the music, as well as the emotion. Music is a medium of expressing human emotion. Music, choral singing is a bridge, connecting people all over the world.
The fifth project, “The Art of Canons” on April 29, 2015 presented a richness of European polyphonic music starting from 13th century and requested more advanced skill in choral singing.
The sixth project “The Sound of Music” on 6th April 2016 was fulfilled by the songs composed by Oscar Hammerstein II (lyric) and Richard Rodgers (music).
Dr Valentina Maria Baginska is an artist with international achievements as a conductor, concert organist, pianist, music professor, juror, lecturer and impresario. She graduated with first class honors degree at the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, the Music Academies in Gdansk (PhD in organ performing) and in Riga. She perfected her virtuoso skills in prestigious European music centers.
She was assistant professor and associate conductor at the Frederic Chopin University of Music and supervisor in the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, conducted many choirs and orchestras. Some of her students are currently famous Polish vocalists, opera singers and conductors.
Prestigious
Maestro Baginska performed in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, France, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine during prestigious international music festivals.
She recorded CDs with organ music, made interviews and performances in Radio and TV.
She cooperated with different governmental and social organizations, corpus diplomatic; she made music therapy projects with disabled people.
Dr Baginska introduced the organ into Kuwaiti music life. Since 2006 in Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah, she regularly performs organ recitals, chamber concerts and lectures with versatile repertoire ranging from Renaissance to Modern periods. These include organ, symphonic and piano music arranged by her for organ. She also performed Arabic music arranged for organ.
Maestro Baginska is called “a woman-orchestra” since she presents a modern digital organ Viscount-Prestige 100 in St Augustine Warsaw and the same model of organ in Kuwait. She is the initiator and animator for organ music in Kuwait, one from the founders and a former member of DAI Music Circle Committee. For her untiring efforts to popularize Polish music abroad, many connoisseurs described her as a music ambassador for Poland.
Kinga Masternak is a Polish pianist and singer. In 2001 she graduated with distinction F. Chopin High
Dr Valentina Maria Baginska, music director and conductor
Cantores Maiores Choir