"Polish Culture and Nature in Poetry and Music"

A Tribute to St. John Paul II and famous Polish composers

The St. John Paul II Institute hosts a concert and poetry reading as a tribute to St. John Paul II and famous Polish composers.

Register NOW to hear the passionate and classical musical brilliance of Duo Dramatique with guest artist Kinga Skretkowicz-Ferguson, Dr. Janet Lowery reading and reflecting on the poetry of St. John Paul II in English and Małgorzata Bujak, MA reading in Polish.

WHEN: Thursday, March 21, 7-9 PM

WHERE: Cullen Hall,

University of St. Thomas,

4001 Mt. Vernon St. | Houston, TX

Free and open to public

A suggested donation of $20 is welcomed.

SEATING IS LIMITED.

For information, email sjpiiprograms@stthom.edu OR emilia.piechota@stthom.edu

About Our Artists

Dominika Dancewicz (Violin) is a founder of the acclaimed violin and piano Duo Dramatique. She has been praised as “passionate and charismatic”, and her performances have been hailed as “transporting and thought-provoking”. As an orchestra, ensemble, and chamber musician, she has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages including the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall in New York.

She is also a founding member of Axiom Quartet, a dynamic professional string quartet known for eclectic, ambitious chamber music programs. She is currently a Professor of Violin at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

Andrew Schneider (Piano), is a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, composer, and conductor whose virtuosic technique and interpretative daring cemented his reputation as a fearless musician. His extensive collaborative activity encompasses early music, standard operatic and art song repertoire, as well as contemporary music.

He holds a B. Mus. in music composition from Rice University, and in 2009, was a finalist in the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Competition. From 2010-2016, Andrew served as an organist at St. Michael Catholic Church in Houston and continues to perform as a church organist throughout the Houston area.

Kinga Skretkowicz-Ferguson (Soprano) is the executive director of Ars Lyrica Houston, Grammy-nominated early music ensemble that has gained an international reputation for its distinctive programming of music from the seventeenth and eighteen centuries. Born in Poland and educated in France and the United States, Ferguson has experience in both arts management and vocal performance that spans three countries.

She holds MBA from the University of Lyon, France, MM and Performer’s Diploma in Voice from Indiana University, a Master’s in English from Lodz University, and an Artist’s Diploma in Piano from the State School of Music in Lodz, Poland.

Janet Lowery, Ph.D. (Poems in English) is a Tenured Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. She joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas in 1990. Her poetry has been published in several literary reviews and anthologies. 

Dr. Lowery has published two chapbooks of poetry, Thin Dimes, and The Pugilist’s Daughter and one full collection of poetry based on women from Classical mythology called Traffic in Women. Her trilogy of plays TRAFFIC IN WOMEN I, II, III was produced 2006-2008 on the UST campus. Her play, A Heroine-Free Summer, was produced in Houston by Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company in 2017. She recently edited By the Light of a Neon Moon, a collection of poetry out of the country western dance tradition, and her fifth play called Midwinter at the Dancehall, is based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Parking is available for free: at the Link Lee, 3800 Montrose Blvd or curbside along Yoakum Blvd. Additionally you can park at the Moran Parking Center ($10) - entrance at 3807 Graustark St. (The Moran Parking Center is located at the corner of West Alabama and Graustark Street).

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