During his residency in Novi Sad (Serbia), a city that will become the ‘European Capital of Culture’ in 2021, Piotr Damasiewicz will work on his new material, drawing on the atmosphere and acoustics of historic temples, such as the synagogue, Orthodox church and Catholic church, as well as referring to the contemplative and meditative sphere of man. The choice of space is to emphasize the character of Damasiewicz's musical manifestation as a symbolic act of intercultural reconciliation. The series of concerts also includes two symbolic dates: 31 December, i.e. New Year's Eve celebrated in the Catholic Church and 13 January, i.e. Orthodox New Year, celebrated in Serbia.
The residency is also intended to serve as an attempt to get to know and understand the city of Novi Sad, the capital of multicultural and autonomous Vojvodina, through activities with local artists in the field of contemporary art in its broadest sense. Joint improvisations and interactions between music and other fields, such as visual arts, new media or dance, will be accompanied by meetings with representatives of music schools, academies of fine arts, theatres and other institutions and organisations, as well as lectures and workshops for students and residents of Novi Sad.
Piotr Damasiewicz – composer, arranger, trumpeter, educator and curator of international music platforms. In his work he uses the language of jazz, 20th-century classical music and contemporary music, including European improvised music. Damasiewicz is the author of such projects as Power Of The Horns, Mnemotaxia, Hadrons, ImproGraphic, and co-author of VeNN, Circles, Red Trio Quintet. He represented Poland in four international music platforms: Take Five Europe and Jazz Playes Europe and as a leader: 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 (Portugal). He is a laureate 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 ‘Music of the Year’ according to the ‘Polish Jazz Blog’ ranking.
For several years, his albums have been among the leading Polish publishers. He has released 13 albums, including 4 of his own. He constantly cooperates with foreign groups: Portuguese Red Trio and 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.