Congratulations & Best Wishes Bartosz!
Newry & Mourne Ethnic Minority Support Centre presented A Concert of Polish Classical Music on Sunday, February 3rd in the Seán Hollywood Arts Centre, Newry. The music was performed by the internationally renowned Polish pianist, Marcin Dominik Gluch who was preceded by a performance of Sonata Pathétique Op.13 by Beethoven from St Colman's College student, Bartosz Thiede. While Chopin is a composer known to us all (hopefully?), it is highly unlikely that the music of Mirecki, Paderewski, Fotek, Kisielewski and Gluch had been heard in the city before. The concert was supported by Polish Saturday School in Dundalk, Newry & Mourne District Council and the Office of the First Minister & Deputy First Minister.
The academic year 2012-2013 has been yet another exciting year of extraordinary opportunities for Bart. A native of the city of Pila in Poland, Bart moved to Northern Ireland with his family in 2005. Having transferred from St Dallan’s PS, Warrenpoint, it was at St Colman's College that Bart began to pursue his already keen interest in music. He commenced piano lessons with our current tutor, Mrs Georgina Hughes and under the excellent instruction of past-pupil James Murphy, soon developed competence as an organist. A bursary from Newry Musical Feis assisted Bart on the path of furthering his studies with Mr Nigel McClintock, organist at St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast. It became clear that Bart was a man of extraordinary perseverance and determination!
Over the last two years, Bart had been travelling to Belfast three and four times as a member of Schola Cantorum in order to avail of organ tuition and a wealth of musical experiences. This led him to gain a place on the Organists Summer School course in Northamptonshire. While there, Bart’s attention was drawn to a Music Scholarship at Clifton College in Bristol… and he decided to apply!