Piotr Damasiewicz’s work draws on the language of jazz, 20th-century classical music and European improvised music. During the concert he will present a specially composed piece for a partly prepared trumpet and piano. It will use the sound of these instruments in a both conventional and contemporary way, resulting from the experimental approach to their structure. In its content, it will address the concept of a city in which the national and cultural boundaries disappear and intersect, basing on the example of Wrocław and Novi Sad.
Between December 2018 and January 2019 Damasiewicz stayed in Novi Sad as an artist in residence. He worked there on his new material, taking inspiration from the atmosphere and acoustics of historic temples, such as the synagogue, as well as addressing the contemplative and meditative human sphere. The choice of space is to emphasize the character of Damasiewicz’s musical manifestation as a symbolic act of intercultural reconciliation. The activities involving local artists in the field of contemporary art in its broadest sense carried out during the residence facilitated an attempt to get to know and understand the city that Novi Sad has become – the capital of the multicultural and autonomous province of Vojvodina, and in 2012 also the European Capital of Culture.
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Piotr Damasiewicz – composer, arranger, trumpeter, educator and curator of international music platforms. He is the author of such projects as Power Of The Horns, Mnemotaksja, Hadrons, ImproGraphic, and co-author of VeNN Circles, Red Trio Quintet. He represented Poland at such international music platforms as Take Five Europe and Jazz Playes Europe, and as a leader at Art Meetings and Melting Pot Laboratory. He is the author of orchestral, chamber, solo, theatre and film music, including “Hadrons”, commissioned by the National Forum of Music for the Wrocław Jazztopad festival or “Some Kind of Greek Story”, composed for Casa de Musica in Porto. He is the winner of the phonographic award “Fryderyk” (2013), “Nagroda Muzyczna Wrocław” (“Music Award of Wrocław”) (2013) and the Krzysztof Komeda Composition Competition. In 2013 he was awarded the title of the “Musician of the Year” according to the “Polish Jazz Blog” ranking. Between 2017-2018 Damasiewicz was the artistic director at the Dhow Countries Music Academy in Zanzibar. Author of music platforms M. A.T.A. (Music According to Art) and L.A.S. (Listening and Sounding). Co-author of the “Wszystko Gra” initiative.
For several years, his works have been among the leading Polish music releases. He has recorded 13 albums, including 4 solo productions. He continues to work with foreign groups: the Portuguese Red Trio and the Dutch Spinifex, as well as with Maciej Obara, Maciej Garbowski and Dominik Wania. He has performed with such artists as Jason Moran, Tomasz Stańko, James Carter, Lotte Anker, Dave Rempis, Michael Zerang, Paul Nilsen Lowe, Magda Mayas, Jeb Bishop, Josh Sinton, Matthias Muche, Per Zanussi, Phil Minton, Eduardo Maraffa, Andrzej Bauer, Igor Pudło, Hans Koch, Joker Nies, Betina Wenzel, Jon Falt, Kazuhisa Uhichashi, Satoko Fuji, Morihide Sawada, Rodrigo Amado, Kazimierz Jonkisz, Marcin Masecki, Michał Tokaj. He has played at many prestigious festivals, including Solidarity Of Art Stańko Plus, North See Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz, Lincoln Center Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Tokyo Jazz Fest, Paris Banlieues Bleues Jazz Fest, Jazztopad, Manchester Jazz Fest, Krakowska Jesień Jazzowa, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, Ad Libitum, Musica Polonica Nova, Music Biennale-Zagrzeb, Isai Festival Chennai-Indie, Ars Musica-Brussels.
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The concert accompanies the fourth edition of the international conference AIR Wro Talks 4.0, addressed both to experts and practitioners involved in the field of culture, who are interested in current socio-cultural phenomena. The main theme of this year’s edition are “borders”. Their diverse meanings will be explored during discussion panels, lectures and workshops by distinguished guests – the representatives of Polish and European cultural organisations and institutions. The issues raised during the conference include topics of significance not only for the cultural community, but also for the citizens of 21st-century Europe. We will talk about the impact of Brexit on the European community, the role of national institutions in cultural promotion, the need to create barrier-free culture and ways to fight hate speech.
