country
activities

Country Director
Grant Beglarian

Consultants
Andrzej Choldzunski, Jill Houghton Emery, Frank S. Johnson, Jr., Gilbert Levine, Peter Lyman, Jillian Poole, Charles Ritcheson

Activities Summary

After concluding its work in Poland in 1997, The Fund was again asked to lend its expertise in assisting the Capella Cracoviensis, an eminent Krakow musical organization, with its campaign to build a world-class concert hall.

Founded in the late 60’s, Capella Cracoviensis has an established reputation in Poland and internationally as a distinguished ensemble of instrumentalists and singers. Since Krakow has no concert hall, the Capella performs in various churches and academic venues. All are unsuitable to a consistent quality of musical performance or to building a subscriber base. The Capella’s music director and founder, Stanslaw Galonski, desired to embark on a campaign to raise the funds necessary to build a specially designed concert hall. Mr. Galonski was fortunate to have enlisted the support of two prominent Americans, Mr. Joseph Firszt, the Polish-born conductor and educator and his wife Patricia Hoiles, the noted singer and philanthropic activist. The Fund was asked to evaluate the situation and suggest a plan and structure for developing the resources needed to implement this ambitious undertaking.

The Fund began its work by developing a detailed questionnaire for the Capella leadership, analyzing the situation and proposing a general plan of action. It was clear that the Capella does not have the resources or the experience to accomplish its goal by itself. Consequently, the main thrust of The Fund’s plan is to have the Capella leadership act as a catalyst in making its need for a suitable concert hall become a unifying aspiration shared by other cultural organizations and the city’s political forces headed by the mayor of Krakow, Mr. Andrzej Golas.

Late in 1999, the Krakow city council approved a request by the Capella for a specific commitment from the city to set aside land for the concert hall and match funds raised for the project. The Fund has indicated its willingness to lend its continuing expertise as the Capella and the city progress with this undertaking.

Future Plans

With these steps taken, the Capella’s task is to begin the planning and execution of a fund raising campaign on a large scale - a new experience for its leadership. As one first step, the Capella is forming a tax-deductible charity organization in the United States for the purpose of raising funds among persons of Polish ancestry and ties in the U.S. and abroad.

While it is still early in the process, it is fair to state that the necessary elements for a successful campaign are now in place - the Capella’s artistic stature and visibility are strong; Krakow and Poland are experiencing an economic upsurge; there is a significant U.S. and especially European corporate presence in the Krakow area; and finally, the Mayor has endorsed the concert hall within his larger vision for the city.