Nuta w Nutę Choir in Rakoniewice

The founder of the choir was Józef Kowalonek - the Music teacher from the Junior High School in Rakoniewice. He first put forward the idea of founding the choir during a parents' evening at the school in September 2003. This was followed by announcements encouraging the inhabitants of Rakoniewice to take part in common singing, and on 14^th October 2003 the first meeting was held, attended by about 15 singers, which was recorded in the chronicle of the choir.

Original name

On 2^nd December 2003 the choir was officially named "Pijawka" ("The Leech"). The name was closely connected with the history of Rakoniewice, which was famous for trading in leeches. The first Management Board was also elected; its members were G. Kotlarski, B. Waligóra and I. Bartkowiak. Małgorzata Chmiel was elected chronicler and Zbigniew Lietz administration manager of the choir; whereas Józef Kowalonek is the person responsible for the musical preparation and coordination of all the choir's activities. As a result of the voting on 3^rd February 2004, the name of the choir was changed to Nuta w Nutę (Note by Note) Choir.

The first performance

On 23^rd December 2003, the choir gave its first mini-concert of Christmas carols in the building of Rakoniewice Town Council. The concert was attended by the Mayor of Rakoniewice J. J. Sieradzan, the Chair of the Town Council Aleksandra Tomaszewska, the Deputy Mayor Krystyna Pietrzak, members of the Town Council and representatives of the local media. After the greatly applauded concert, the Mayor promised his support for the choir and help in establishing contacts with the choir from our Lithuanian partner town - Širvintos.

Motto of the choir

"Śpiewajmy Nuta w Nutę,

Zaśpiewajmy wraz,

Śpiewajmy, śpiewajmy, dopóki czas."

(„Let's sing note by note, let's sing together, let's sing, let's sing while there's still time.")

Choir Festival

Since its establishment in 2003. the Nuta w Nutę Choir has regularly been participating in the Choir Festival, which is held every year in Grodzisk Wlkp.

* 5^th Festival - 18^th April 2004 - "Polish national dances in song"

* 6^th Festival - 17^th April 2005

* 7^th Festival - 23^rd April 2006 - "With springtime in the background"

* 8^th Festival - 22^nd April 2007

The festivals are not a competition but only an opportunity to present their repertory by the local choirs. In the 2004 festival, our soloist Beata Waligóra was awarded a distinction by Władysław Chwalisz, the Starosta (County Commissioner) of Grodzisk Wielkopolski County.

Friends of the choir

The Nuta w Nutę mixed choir is affiliated with the Michał Drzymała Society of Lovers of the Rakoniewice Region; some of the choir members are also members of this Society. The choir accompanies the meetings of the Society with its singing; it also takes part in different celebrations organized by the Society, like the Independence Day, which is celebrated every year on 11^th November, or meetings before Christmas. The choir is also affiliated with the EnterArt Artists Association. The choir is supported by the Mayor and Rakoniewice Town Council, which bought new costumes for it in 2006. A great sponsor of the choir is also the Nadobrzański Cooperative Bank in Rakoniewice; the choir repays this help by performing at the meetings of the Management Board of the bank.

Did you know...?

On 17^th June 2007, the town of Rawicz in the south of Greater Poland Province hosted the festival of choirs which are affiliated and not affiliated with the Polish Choirs and Bands Association: 32^nd Greater Poland Music Festival.

Its participants were 42 choirs and bands from different age groups, including youth, folk bands, orchestras and choirs. Again, it turned out that the Nuta w Nutę choir is an ensemble you can always rely on: it took 2^nd place in the choir category and was awarded the Silver Ribbon award and a cup. The participation of the choir was sponsored by the Mayor of Rakoniewice and the Rakoniewice Town Local Government. The conductor of the Nuta w Nutę Choir would like to express his gratitude to the town authorities for their help and to the choir members for their excellent performance during the 32^nd Music Festival Rawicz 2007. With such a great atmosphere and a positive attitude of the town authorities to our work, we can be sure of a brilliant future of our choir.