The official address of the Ignacy
Jan Paderewski Festival is:
Ignacy
Jan Paderewski
103
Birkhaven Drive
Cary,
NC 27518-8942
Telephone number for the Festival is: (919) 233-5200
E-Mail address for the Festival is: afountain@mindspring.com
The Festival and its activities are organized by a Board of
Directors and the Officers. These serve in a volunteer capacity. It
is funded primarily by contributions from the general public.
The
President and Treasurer of the Festival is Dr. Alvin M. Fountain II; he is ex
officio a member of the Board of Directors.
Dr.
Fountain is a former administrator with the State of North Carolina and was for
more than 25 years associated with the history department of North Carolina
State University. In 2008, Dr. Fountain was appointed as an Honorary
Consul of the Republic of Poland and, as such, is an official representative of
Poland. Dr. Fountain received his bachelor of Arts in 1967 from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; his Master of Arts in 1972 from
Columbia University in the City of New York in East Central European History;
and Doctor of Philosophy in 1976 from Columbia University in East Central
European History. Dr. Fountain is a member and former President of the
Polish-American Club of the Triangle. As a Director and President and
Treasurer of the Festival, his duties include assisting in the
formulation of the Festival’s long-term mission and daily operations.
The
Vice-President and Secretary of the Festival is Brenda Bruce Fountain; she is
ex officio a member of the Board of Directors.
Mrs.
Fountain is an accomplished pianist, harpsichordist, acclaimed teacher, and
accompanist who performs professionally under her maiden name Brenda
Bruce. She holds a Master of Music degree in performance from the New
England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She has performed in numerous
solo and chamber music recitals throughout North Carolina, the eastern United
States, and Europe and was for several years the chief pianist and
harpsichordist for the North Carolina Symphony. She is particularly noted
for her expertise in the piano repertoire and history of Polish Composer,
Fryderyk Chopin, and she has presented all-Chopin programs in North Carolina
and France. She has also appeared frequently in various chamber groups
and presented music on leading Polish composers, including Henryk Wieniawski,
Karol Szymanowski, and Grazyna Bacewicz. As a Director and Vice-President
and Secretary of the Festival, her duties include assisting in the
formulation of the Festival’s long-term mission and daily operations.
The Artistic Director of the Festival is Professor Adam Wibrowski; he is ex officio a member of the Board of Directors.
Mr.
Wibrowski is the founder and served as artistic director of several major
musical events in Europe: Chopin Festival in Nohant, France; Liszt Festival in
Sopron, Hungary; Austria Piano Summer in Wiener Neustadt, Austria; Deutscher
Klavierwettbeweb Polnischer Musik in Hamburg, Germany; International Music
Sessions in Holland; and of E.U. program Piano as Mirror of European Culture.
He is a Masters Graduate of the Superior School of Music in Kraków and studied
the doctorate of 3 cycle at the Sorbonne in Paris . He is an accomplished
pianist and teacher and provides concerts, master classes, and workshops
throughout Europe, Japan, China, and the United States. He currently teaches at
the Conservatoire Hector Berlioz in Paris, France, and is an internationally
recognized authority on the life and music of Fryderyk Chopin. He taught for a
number of years at the University of Southern California with John Perry and
has won many awards and served on many juries in the United States and Europe. He
is a member of the Paderewski Association of Switzerland; of the Board of
Directors of the Paderewski Music Society of Los Angeles; and President of the
Chopin Association in Nohant, France. Professor Wibrowski serves as Artistic
Director of the Festival and as such oversees the selection of performers for
the Festival.
Barbara
Stann is the European Coordinator for the Festival; she is ex officio a member
of the Board of Directors.
Mrs.
Stann is an accomplished musician. After 5 years at the Superior School of
Music in Krakow in music theory and composition, she continued her education in
musicology at the Sorbonne in Paris. She obtained her degree DESS (Direction
des Projets Culturels) at the University in Grenoble. She was Director of
Summer Music Academy “Session Musicale Internationale” and “Festivalpes” in
Grenoble, attachee to the Gilmore Festival in Kalamazoo and Director of Piano
Festival “Chopin chez George Sand” in Nohant. Her duties consist of promoting
and coordinating connections between the Festival and government and
quasi-governmental agencies in Poland and in Europe at large. As a Director ex
officio of the Festival, she participates in the formulation of strategic plans
and policies for the Festival.
William Wynne, D.D.S., is a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival.
Dr. Wynne
is a highly respected North Carolina dentist. He was graduated from the
University of North Carolina School of Dentistry in 1971 and has been a leader
in the field of Aesthetic Dentistry. Dr. Wynne also has a passion for the
arts and piano music, and his wife occupies a named chair in the first violin
section of the North Carolina Symphony. He serves as a Director of the
Festival and aids in formulating and evaluating the policies and strategic plan
of the Festival.
Carol
Williams Bilbro is a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival.
Mrs.
Bilbro is a life-long arts promoter in the City of Raleigh where she has served
on the boards of many charities and community organizations, including the
Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Symphony society, In., Raleigh Fine
Arts Commission, and Opera in the Schools. She is a pianist and cellist,
and her husband is a highly respected physician. She serves as a Director
of the Festival and aids in formulating and evaluating the policies and
strategic plan of the Festival.