Karolina Cicha and Bart Palyga Present Music from the Polish Borderlands on U.S. Tour

Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - Monday, September 28, 2015 

Cedar Rapids, IA 
Chicago, IL
Milwaukee, WI 
Madison, WI 
Detroit, MI
Bloomington, IN
New York, NY. 

9 Languages will be presented at the World Music Festival Chicago, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival, the Landfall Festival of World Music, Alverno College's Global Union World Music Festival, the Brink Lounge, and the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). The tour will end with a concert co-presented by Live Sounds at the legendary DROM club in New York as part of the New York Gypsy Festival. The tour is presented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

The project is inspired by the multicultural richness of the Podlasie region, which borders Russia, Lithuania and Belarus and is one of the most diverse areas of Poland. Karolina Cicha and Bart Palyga draw on the full range of traditional music, but rather than an archival compilation, the project a compact whole, speaking the language of contemporary music. This language is built on the innovative style of the two performers, their charisma, and their experience in musical expression from folk, ancient and rock music projects. 9 Languages features songs in the minority languages of Podlasie: Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Russian, Romani, Belarusian, Yiddish, Polish, Tatar and Esperanto. Traditional folk instruments, such as the morin khuur, dotar, Jew's harp, duduk, accordion and mandolin are joined by modern samplers and loopers, as well as ancient overtone singing. The concerts present multidimensionality of Polish culture and the power of music – the best translator of emotions, universal language, understandable for people of all cultures.  

9 Languages was awarded the Grand Prix of the Polish Radio New Tradition Festival and has been performed at prestigious folk festivals. This fall, the concert will be staged as part of the official selection of the World Music Expo WOMEX in Budapest.

Karolina Cicha is a vocalist, composer, actor and one-woman orchestra. From 2005 to 2009 she was a member of the Gardzienice Theater Practice Center and created the title roles in their productions of Electra and Iphigenia in A…. Her new album, Greetings from Yiddishland, with songs composed to texts written by Jewish poets from Podlasie, premiered at the 2015 Warsaw Singer Festival. Her newest project, Poland Pakistan: Music Without Borders was produced with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Islamabad. The goal of this musical journey was a collaboration between Karolina Cicha and Shafqat Ali Khan, a songwriter and master of the ghazal tradition of South Asian classical music. Karolina Cicha holds a PhD in Literary Studies.

Bart Palyga is a cellist, multi-instrumentalist and improvisational artist. He specializes in more than a dozen string instruments from around the world. He has collaborated with the bands Laterna, Masala, Village Kollektiv, Arcus Poloniae, the Polish Ensemble, Yerba Mater and the Maria Pomianowska Ensemble. He is a pioneer of aliquot (throat) singing in Polish modern, folk and pop music. He performs all over the world and at prestigious festivals, including the Ollincan Festival in Mexico, the Fusion Festival in Germany, La Folle Journée in France, the Mostar World Music Festival in Moldova, and the Open’er Festival in Poland.

9 Languages was supported by the Podlasie Marshal’s Office and the Bialystok Municipal Office. The tour is presented by the Landfall Festival of World Music, World Music Festival Chicago, Alverno College's Global Union World Music Festival, University of Illinois at Chicago, Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, The Brink Lounge, Mad-Pol KA, Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), Wayne State University (WSU), WSU Slavic Program, WSU Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, DROM, and Live Sounds in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

Tour Schedule

Wed, Sept 16, 2015, 6:30 pm
Landfall Festival of World Music
Cedar Rapids Public Library
450 5^th Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
tel. 319.364.1580

Thu, Sept 17, 2015, 6:30 pm
Landfall Festival of World Music
Cedar Rapids Public Library
450 5^th Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
tel. 319.364.1580

Fri, Sept 18, 2015, 8:00 pm 
World Music Festival Chicago  
Martyrs’
3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
tel. 773.404.9494
FREE and no cover

Sat, Sept 19, 2015, 2:00 pm  
Global Union  Alverno Presents
Humboldt Park 
3000 South Howell Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207 
Tickets: $15.00

Sun, Sept 20, 2015, 3:15 pm
Chicago World Music Festival
Chicago Cultural Center
Preston Bradley Hall
78 E. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602
tel. 312.744.6630

Tues, Sept 22, 2015, 7:00 pm
The Brink Lounge
701 E. Washington Ave. 
Suite 105
Madison, WI 53703
tel.  608.661.8599
tickets: $20 at the door; $15 in advance

Thu, Sept 24, 2015, 7:00 pm
Detroit Institute of Arts
Wayne State University
5200 Woodward Ave
Detroit, MI 48202
tel. 313. 833.7900
FREE Community Event

Fri, Sept 25, 2015, 7:15 pm 
Lotus World Music & Arts Festival
First Presbyterian Church
221 E 6^th Street
Bloomington, IN 47408
tel. 812.323.3020 (Box office)
Tickets: http://lotusfest.org/lotus-ticket-information/

Sat, Sept 26, 2015, 7:15 pm 
Lotus World Music & Arts Festival
First Presbyterian Church
221 E 6^th Street
Bloomington, IN 47408
tel. 812.323.3020 (Box office)
Various pricing http://lotusfest.org/lotus-ticket-information/

Mon, Sept 28, 2015 (7pm doors, 8pm show)
DROM and Live Sounds 
New York Gypsy Festival 
85 Avenue A
New York, NY 10009
Tel. 646.791.4244
Tickets: $15 advance price, door $20