For the first time in 30 years, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will be embarking on an international tour, traveling to Poland in March to perform at the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw.
The Festival is comprised of about 50 performances in venues throughout the city of Warsaw and features many world famous artists. This will be an historic moment for the BPO in more ways than one. Buffalo’s orchestra will be the first full American orchestra to perform at the festival. Additionally, Maestro JoAnn Falletta will be the first female American conductor to take the podium at the festival.
The BPO was invited to perform at the festival by the founder and artistic director, Elzbieta Penderecka. This invitation sparked an opportunity to do a full tour while in Poland, traveling to perform at venues throughout the country.
The BPO Poland tour will begin on March 15 & 16 in Luslawice, where a wind octet will give master classes and perform at the Krzysztof Penderecki Centre for European Music. On March 17, the octet will perform in Buffalo’s sister city, Rzeszow. On March 18, the entire orchestra will perform at The National Forum of Music in Wroclaw. The big performance at the Beethoven Easter Festival will take place on March 20, where the BPO will be one of 12 concerts taking place at the Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw. On March 21, they’ll head to Katowice to perform at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall. Finally, they’ll make a stop in Lublin on March 22 to perform at the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures.
Thanks to the generosity of longtime BPO supporters Cindy and Francis Letro, the orchestra has started a fundraising campaign to finance the musicians’ travel costs. The Letro’s have challenged the BPO to raise $30,000, promising to match contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $30,000. No donation is too small to be eligible for the match campaign. Those who decide to contribute will be entered to win a prize package, which will include an autographed copy of the BPO’s “Treasures in Poland” CD (not yet released), a Poland tour hat created by New Era Cap, and a voucher for two concert tickets for any performance in the 2017-2018 BPO season.
“Undertaking a tour of this magnitude is a huge endeavor; sending 100 musicians and staff members to Poland – not to mention all of the instruments – is a monumental venture, ” said Daniel Hart, BPO Executive Director. “We are grateful to the Letros for this challenge gift. There has been an outpouring of support already from the community, and we invite the public to be a part of it and help the orchestra meet this challenge and fulfill its role as Buffalo’s cultural ambassador to the world.”
As part of the fundraising challenge, the BPO has created several sponsorship levels for those interested in giving a little more. Donors can sponsor a single musician’s trip, a musician and their instrument, or an entire section of musicians and their instruments. The sponsorship packages are as follows:
Send a BPO Musician to Poland – $1,000
- Invitation for one to the Poland Tour Send Off reception held on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Kleinhans Music Hall
- Invitation for one to a private VIP reception
- Recognition on the Poland Tour page in BPO programs in the 2017-2018 season
- Communication throughout the tour with your BPO musician
- Invitation for one to the post-tour “Welcome Back” luncheon
- Personal thank-you note and souvenir from your musician
Send a BPO Musician and Instrument to Poland – $2,500
- Invitation for two to the Poland Tour Send Off reception on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Kleinhans Music Hall
- Invitation for two to a private VIP reception
- Recognition in all BPO programs in the 2017-2018 season
- Recognition on the Poland Tour page in the BPO program in the 2017-2018 season
- Communication throughout the tour with your BPO musician
- Invitation for two to the post-tour “Welcome Back” luncheon
- Personal thank-you note and souvenir from your musician
Send a BPO Section and Instruments to Poland – $5,000
- Invitation for four to the Poland Tour Send Off reception on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Kleinhans Music Hall
- Invitation for four to a private VIP reception
- Recognition in all BPO programs in the 2017-2018 season
- Recognition on the Poland Tour page in the BPO program
- Communication throughout the tour with BPO musicians in your sponsored section
- Invitation for four to the post-tour “Welcome Back” luncheon
- Personal thank-you notes and souvenirs from the musicians in your sponsored section
Some special connections have already been made through the sponsorship program. One donor sponsored a musician as an 85th birthday gift for her mother, who is a longtime fan of the BPO. Though she is too frail to make the journey to see the orchestra perform in Poland, the BPO has arranged to bring her to the send-off party. Eleven members of the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus have pooled their funds to sponsor basoonist Max Pipinich, who will be hosting a thank you dinner for them at his home.
The #BPOinPoland fundraising challenge will conclude on March 2, 2018. Anyone seeking more information or wishing to take part in the fundraising challenge by donating to the tour can visit the BPO website or call (716) 242-7826.
This content is part of a sponsored series in partnership with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.