Virtuoso violinists to perform Sunday at church

Jaroslaw and Katarzyna Powichrowski will perform classical music at The Church of Saint Ann at 3 p.m. March 25. $25 for adults, $10 for children.

By: John Dunphy
   On Sunday, the sweet sounds of classical violin and piano will fill the air.
   No, this isn’t at some big concert hall in New York or Philadelphia. This performance, titled "Violin Virtuosos in Concert," will be held at The Church of Saint Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, as part of their ongoing concert series. The show will begin at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children.
   The "virtuosos" in question are Saint Ann parishioners Jaroslaw and Katarzyna Powichrowski, Polish immigrants who moved to Ketterer Court from New York City in 2005. Japanese pianist Mayu Matsuki will accompany them on a Bosendorfer piano, which will be shipped from New York City for the event. The program will feature the works of such classic composers as Ludwig von Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Johannes Brahms, among others.
   The couple, both originally from Kielce, Poland, and married in 1994, approached Saint Ann’s church about performing a concert there soon after the couple moved to Lawrence.
   "What they (the church) want to do is establish a music series with professional musicians," said Katarzyna Powichrowski, 32. "They are so enthusiastic. They have lots of great ideas."
   Eleanor Kiel, director of music ministries with The Church of Saint Ann, said the church’s goal has been to "highlight talent within our church and seek to eventually expand to outside talent as well."
   "They (the Powichrowskis) offered a concert," she said. "I thought that was a wonderful idea."
   The church’s music and arts series officially began in December and has included the parish’s adult and children’s choirs, as well as a soprano performance of love songs by Ms. Kiel and another soprano at the parish.
   Ms. Kiel said, however, that Sunday’s "violin virtuosos" concert is in a class by itself.
   "We consider all our music groups to be very talented. However, Katarzyna and Jaroslaw are true professionals of a caliber we don’t always see in this area," she said. "To have a couple right here in Lawrence is really special."
   Of course, to reach a higher caliber, one, or two in this case, must work toward achieving such talent.
   For Jaroslaw, his passion for violin began "kind of late."
   "I was 9," he said, noting his present age with a smile and laugh as "10 years older than my wife."
   "I was passing an antique store," Jaroslaw said. "An old man had a little violin on display. And I was always passing by and I wanted it (the violin). So, I asked my mother for lessons."
   Jaroslaw proved a quick learner, performing early Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn’s work in concert by 13.
   A friend at school introduced Katarzyna to the instrument at around the same age. "I was amazed by the instrument; I wanted to touch it. My parents were surprised because most kids asked for piano lessons. And that’s how it began."
   What has occurred since has been a whirlwind tour of the world, performing in numerous countries from the United States to Japan. At his most prolific, Jaroslaw was performing away from home six months out of the year.
   Jaroslaw Powichrowski holds two master’s degrees in performance, from the Chopin Academy of Music in Poland and The Mannes College of Music, in New York City. He has recorded two albums of music and is presently contracted to begin a third.
   Katarzyna also holds a master’s degree in performance from Mannes College and currently teaches music to children as young as 3 years old in New York City. She had been planning on releasing her own album of music, but put that on hold following the birth of Patrick, their 20-month-old son, who shares his mother’s sandy blond hair and who scurries about the couple’s home with a perpetual smile and a seemingly infinite amount of energy.
   Katarzyna smiles as she picks Patrick up from the kitchen floor and places him gently on her lap, which lasts for about a minute before he ambles back down. "I focused my energy and time with him," she said. "We wanted to give him his first year and a half of attention."
   Patrick’s birth was also the Powichrowski’s impetus for moving to the area. "We’ve been living in big cities for practically our entire adult life," Katarzyna said. "Naturally, we felt we needed to move out. It wouldn’t be very easy to raise a child in a big city."
   So far, Lawrence Township has been good to the Powichrowskis, Jaroslaw said. "I think it is one of the sweet spots of Mercer County."
   He said Sunday’s concert would feature a lot of music for everyone to enjoy. "We wanted families to come and enjoy the music, not just music aficionados."
   "It’s an interesting program; we certainly put a lot of pieces into it," Katarzyna said, calling Beethoven’s work "light and bright," and Brahms’ inclusion "very dramatic."
   Overall, Ms. Kiel said she, and the rest of Saint Ann’s parish, hope the "violin virtuosos" concert will be a resounding success.
   "It was really something to offer to the parish and the greater community," she said. "This is kind of a way of bringing people to the church to enjoy beautiful music outside of the context of liturgy."
   For the Powichrowskis, the concert also is a way for others to experience the joy of their life’s work.
   "It’s magic," Katarzyna said. "The violin is such a great instrument."
   For more information about Sunday’s "violin virtuosos" concert, visit www.churchofsaintann.net or call (609) 882-6491. For more information about the work of Jaroslaw and Katarzyna Powichrowski, call (609) 882-0239.