Natalia Kukulska, Margaret, Natalia Szroeder, Andrzej Piaseczny, Tomasz Organek, Natalia Muianga, Wiktor Dyduła, Szczyl and Jan Stokłosa's 30-piece orchestra – these are just some of the artists who will take part in the concert celebrating Gdynia's 100th birthday. Rehearsals are currently underway at a recording studio in Warsaw. The results will be revealed on 10 February at 8 p.m. at Kościuszki Square. The Mayor of Gdynia Aleksandra Kosiorek invites everyone to the birthday music show. The event is free of charge.
On Tuesday, 10 February, the highlight of the celebrations will be the musical show ‘It started with the sea – 100th Anniversary of Gdynia’. At Kościuszki Square, on a special stage inspired by the city's architecture, an orchestra conducted by Jan Stokłosa will accompany well-known and beloved artists of the Polish music scene and actors from the Danuta Baduszkowa Music Theatre.
Natalia Kukulska, Margaret, Natalia Szroeder, Andrzej Piaseczny, Tomasz Organek, Natalia Muianga, Wiktor Dyduła and Szczyl will play their greatest hits, as well as songs associated with Gdynia in new arrangements. The concert will also feature film footage specially prepared for the occasion, showing archival images, history and the contemporary face of Gdynia. The event will be hosted by Paulina Sykut-Jeżyna and Tomasz Wolny.
Preparations for the concert
Rehearsals for Gdynia's birthday concert are underway at a recording studio in Warsaw. Composer Jan Stokłosa and producer Sebastian Mikołajczyk talk about the preparations and production of such a unique show. The director of the entire project is Michał Bandurski ('Sylwester z Dwójką', 'Must be the Music', 'Ania'- a film about actress Anna Przybylska).
Photo: Magdalena Śliżewska
"We are preparing a show consisting of 17-18 songs. It will be a birthday concert, so it will definitely be fun and dynamic. There will be references to Gdynia, the sea and the film festival. I can tell you that we are starting with the song ‘Celebration’ by Kool & The Gang, so it will also be international. We have a fairly large orchestra – 30 people, so you can expect a lot of power", announces Jan Stokłosa, composer, arranger and conductor.
The orchestra will accompany well-known and beloved Polish singers and actors from the Musical Theatre in Gdynia.
"We have wonderful artists. Not only those from the front pages of newspapers, such as Natalia Kukulska, Organek and Piasek. I am very happy because actors from the Musical Theatre in Gdynia will also be joining us: Maja Gadzińska, Krzysiek Wojciechowski and Karolina Trębacz. This is important to me because I am very closely associated with the Musical Theatre in Gdynia. This year, I also had the pleasure of writing the first part of the New Year's Eve concert, which is dedicated to the centenary of Gdynia", adds Stokłosa.
What can the residents of Gdynia expect from the birthday concert?
First of all, we want to tell the story of Gdynia through narration and the materials that will be presented. Each of these popular songs and the way they are performed will have its own meaning and connection to this story. We will be accompanied by Janek Stokłosa's wonderful orchestra. It will be a big show in terms of the amount of lighting and multimedia, so it will be very colourful. The set design is a completely different matter, but I don't want to reveal anything yet. However, I think that everyone who sees it will know that we are in Gdynia. And the whole thing will be absolutely in the spirit of this city, promises the concert's producer, Sebastian Mikołajczyk.
Photo: Magdalena Śliżewska
The concert will take place on 10 February at 8 p.m., at Kościuszki Square. It is organised by the city of Gdynia. Admission is free.
All information related to the city's centenary celebrations can be found at 100.gdynia.pl.