The Koryfeusz Polish Music Award, which has been awarded for 14 years, is presented in four categories: Personality of the Year, Event of the Year, Discovery of the Year, and the Honorary Award. The winners of this year's edition were announced during yesterday's Gala at the National Philharmonic.

The Honorary Award for lifetime achievement was given to Mrs. Agnieszka Duczmal – conductor, founder, and longtime director of the Amadeus Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra.

The Personality of the Year award went to Jakub Józef Orliński – an outstanding Polish countertenor – in recognition of his rich concert activity and numerous exceptional artistic performances on the world's greatest opera stages.

The Event of the Year was awarded to the 10th anniversary of the musical cooperative Hashtag Ensemble for its series of jubilee artistic events, openness to diverse audience, the AżTak Festival, and the dynamic work of the cultural institution Hashtag Lab.

The Discovery of the Year award, granted by the Electorate College and through an open online vote by the public, went to conductor Joanna Natalia Ślusarczyk – for winning the award for the best Polish conductor at the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition in Katowice.

The laureates received statuettes designed by Professor Adam Myjak.

This year's gala artistic program featured, as is tradition, only Polish music.

The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yaroslav Shemet, performed works by Szabelski, Panufnik, Wieniawski, and Górecki. The soloists were trumpeter Jakub Waszczeniuk, violinist Wojciech Niedziółka, and harpsichordist Maciej Skrzeczkowski. Composition by Michał Ziółkowski was performed by the vocal ensemble Art’n’Voices.

Jazz music was also performed – Monika Borzym and her band took the audience on a journey through Polish pre-war jazz standards, which have lost none of their charm. The artist was accompanied by pianist Krzysztof Dys, double bassist Andrzej Święs, and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz. A special tribute to Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski was prepared for this evening by his former quartet (Wojciech Niedziela, Andrzej Święs, Marcin Jahr), with Henryk Miśkiewicz as the leader, performing under the name Special Quartet. The musicians were accompanied by DJ envee.

The event is organized by the National Institute of Music and Dance with funds from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. The event's partner is the ZAiKS Authors' Association.

https://nimit.pl/aktualnosci/znamy-laureatow-nagrody-koryfeusz-muzyki-polskiej-2024/