The Board
The present Board was elected on 12 December 2021 by the General Assembly of the Members of the Fryderyk Chopin Society.
The Members, including those affiliated in five local groups operating across the country, traditionally elected prominent Polish pianists and pedagogues. They are Prof. Bronisława Kawalla (Warsaw), Karol Radziwonowicz (Warsaw), Prof. Maria Gabryś-Heyke (Warsaw), Prof. Zbigniew Lasocki (Łódź), Prof. Joanna Ławrynowicz (Warsaw), Prof. Janusz Olejniczak (Warsaw), Prof. Piotr Paleczny (Warsaw), Prof. Wojciech Świtała (Katowice) and Prof. Waldemar Wojtal (Gdańsk). Also elected to the Board were Sylwia Jakubek, vice-chairwoman of the Ostrów Wielkopolski group, Ryszard Sławiński, a longtime chairman in Żychlin near Konin, a politician, a journalist, a two-term senator and member of the National Broadcasting Council (2004-2005), and Jan Popis, a musicologist and music critic,
The new Board met on 24 January 2022 to formalise its status. The Board re-elected Prof. Kawalla as president of the Society (she has held the position since 2018) and chose Karol Radziwonowicz and Jan Popis to act as vice-presidents.
Prof. Kawalla is a well-known concert pianist and a piano teacher at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. She has trained several generations of Polish and foreign pianists and has served on the juries of prestigious piano competitions. A graduate of Polish and US music universities, Karol Radziwonowicz is a versatile pianist and piano teacher. It is his second term as vice-president. Jan Popis is a new member of the Board. A music writer and promoter, he produces and publishes classical music records, and provides live commentaries on piano competitions and festivals. He is the artistic director of the International Young Pianists Competition “Arthur Rubinstein in Memoriam” and of the Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk.
The present Board will serve a five-year term of office (2021-2026).
The Board Members:
Bronisława Kawalla – president
Jan Popis – vice-president
Karol Radziwonowicz
Maria Gabryś-Heyke
Sylwia Jakubek
Zbigniew Lasocki
Joanna Ławrynowicz
Janusz Olejniczak
Piotr Paleczny
Ryszard Sławiński
Wojciech Świtała