Calendar of Cultural Events

Please verify dates and times with The Kosciuszko Foundation Director of Cultural Affairs
Tom Pniewski -- (212) 734-2130 ext. 214

Piano-thon of Polish Pianists at Kosciuszko Foundation, June 21 at 7:30 PM, tickets $15.

Camille Antoinette Budarz,after graduating from The Juilliard School, became the first American to study with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in Italy. After competing in the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw she studied in New York with Rudolf Firkusny, David Bar-Illan and Jan Gorbaty.

Ms. Budarz has performed in Europe, Japan and throughout the USA including New York, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Denver, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Hartford. Career highlights include playing in the Chopin gala at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in 1999 and being invited by Steinway to celebrate its 150th anniversary by performing on pianos owned by Vladimir Horowitz, Van Cliburn, and a newly created Gershwin commemorative piano. When Paderewski's remains were returned to Poland, Ms. Budarz was invited to play at Arlington Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by Vice-President Quayle.

In addition to solo recitals she has appeared with orchestras and numerous chamber music ensembles. She is a Steinway Artist.

Ms. Budarz has taught at The Juilliard School and served as Visiting Scholar and Artist-In-Residence at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, Indiana.. Among the many juries on which she has served are the Chopin Foundation Council of Greater New York and Manhattan School of Music's Special Chopin Prize. Her CD of Chopin works was issued as part of the commemoration of a Chopin anniversary year.

On July 6, Ms. Budarz will perform at Warsaw's Ostrogski Palace, home of the International Chopin Society, in a concert observing the tenth anniversary of Michelangeli's death. She will also appear with the Dorian Wind Quintet in a program of works for piano and winds.

Her recital on June 21 includes works of Chopin, including the Fantaisie in F minor, and song transcriptions by Liszt and Premezzi; music of both Karol Szymanowski and Maria Szymanowska, a virtuoso composer who served as pianist to the Russian court in St. Petersburg; and a work by the overlooked but outstanding Franciszek Brzezinski.

All events take place at the Foundation House, unless otherwise noted. Programs subject to change. Click here for directions.

Kosciuszko Foundation programs are supported by the Mary F. Koons Charitable Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Tadeusz Solowij Literary Fund, and the KF Cultural Fund.

Camille Antoinette Budarz