Tatry band

If you shouted ‘Muzykanty! Powolniaka, ale żywo!’ to our band (or Kapela), they would all know what you were on about - which is surprising, since most of them don't speak Polish! Still, this largely non-Polish band has enjoyed the challenge of getting used to the idiom of the music, and the frantic speeds at which the dancers want them to play, and accompanies us at almost all shows.

If you would like to play in the Tatry Kapela contact kapela@tatry.org.uk

Patrick and how the Kapela started. Patrick is Head of maths at St Dominic’s Sixth Form College in Harrow. In his spare time he composes and plays the clarinet. He is a regular attender at Canford Summer School of Music. Accordion playing is a fairly recent enthusiasm. When Krysia, his second in department and a long standing Tatry member, found out that he played the accordion, she realised how he could be of some use to Tatry. After a while getting accustomed to the dances and the style of arrangement needed, he has taken on the role of arranger and fixer for the band. In October 2001, immediately after a Tatry show in Reading, Patrick rushed off to Northampton to attend a weekend music course as a clarinettist. Because he had the accordion and the Polish music in the car, he thought he would get some players together to play some of this music. This led to the ‘Stary Kujawiak-Oberek’ being played at the informal concert at the end of the course- and to fellow course members Tony and Caroline joining the band. Tony and Caroline are two the band’s most faithful and enthusiastic members- in spite of having to travel all the way from Northampton and Bedford respectively to play in our shows. Peter was known to Patrick through playing amateur chamber and orchestral music in the London area.

Peter is an engineering consultant specialising in noise and vibration, mostly applied to industrial situations like oil refineries and power stations. He plays the French horn as well as the double bass, and plays regularly with Ealing Symphony Orchestra, Three Rivers Chamber Orchestra and North London Morning Orchestra, and have played in several concerts with Kaleidoscope Wind. The range of music this covers is from large-scale symphonic (Mahler / Prokofiev) through concert performances of operas (Magic Flute, Queen of Spades) to light music. And then there's Tatry to round it all off!

Caroline is a clarinet and saxophone teacher. She performs in a 1940s big band, a light music orchestra, a clarinet choir and a saxophone quartet - all available for concerts and other events. She also plays in the pit for musical theatre, and is a keen amateur tap dancer. Caroline was originally from Yorkshire, but now lives in Bedford.

Tony enjoys playing fiddle for dancing. He also plays for the Morris dancing group North West Clog, for barn dances and with the Great Bear Band. He is a member of his local symphony and light orchestras and is always looking to play with other small groups (classical, folk, jazz). He is currently playing with a piano trio in his home town of Northampton. Tony used to visit Poland quite a bit until recently when he had a member of his family working there.

Marek is an actual Pole! He has been associated with Polish folk music for a long time. He first encountered it as student in the famous “Piwnica Pod Baranami” in Kraków. Later he worked for many years with song and dance group “Wolbromiacy” with whom he performed all over Europe. He plays piano, accordion, harmonica and guitar as well as playing percussion for fun.

Roz is a part time English teacher and part time mum at the moment and enjoys fitting in some clarinet playing when she can. She first met Patrick at Canford summer music school a number of years ago and casually agreed to play in his Polish band. Much to her surprise she soon received a phone call asking her to really play! She enjoys the challenge of keeping time for the dancers and of course getting to wear traditional Polish outfits and picking up snippets of the language.

Dick started playing the piano at 5 years old, the double bass at 12 and the church organ at 13. He studied at Trinity College of Music attaining Grade 8 piano and LRAM organ. From 1962 - 2003 he has played commercial and jazz gigs on Double Bass or Bass Guitar and has played classical Double Bass in semi-pro orchestras (West London Sinfonia, Kingston Chamber Orchestra, BBC Elstree Concert Band, Ealing Symphony Orchestra, Trinity Orchestra Harrow, etc.) up to the present day. As an organist, he plays regularly at four churches for services, weddings and funerals. Dick is a professional sound recordist who has worked for the BBC. It is planned to call on his professional services to record the Tatry repertoire, for the rare occasions which the band cannot make.