Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel
Format: In-Person
Tickets: General Admission ($10–$20) + VIP ($50)
About the Event
Join us for a special afternoon concert featuring the American debut of Polish soprano Małgorzata Trojanowska with pianists Konrad Binienda and Jiana Peng. Internationally celebrated for her luminous voice and distinctive interpretations of Polish repertoire, Trojanowska brings to life the songs of Chopin, Paderewski, and Szymanowski—works rarely heard on American stages. From Chopin’s colorful miniatures to Paderewski’s heartfelt melodies, and Szymanowski’s mystical modernism steeped in folk traditions, this program offers a rare opportunity to experience the diversity and richness of Polish art song, presented in the intimate and historic settings of Harkness Chapel at the heart of University Circle.
This concert is generously supported by the Ohio Arts Council.
About The Artists
Dr. Małgorzata Trojanowska—soprano, conductor, and pedagogue—holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance and degrees in choral conducting and solo singing from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. A prizewinner of numerous competitions and artistic scholarships, she has appeared as a soloist with leading Polish orchestras and opera houses, including the Polish Royal Opera, Opera Nova, Podlaskie Opera and Philharmonic, Grand Theatre in Łódź, and the Polish Radio Orchestra, as well as at festivals across Europe and the Philippines. Her wide-ranging repertoire spans opera, operetta, and oratorio, with roles including Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Almirena (Rinaldo), Serpina (La serva padrona), Titania (The Fairy Queen), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), as well as leading roles in Moniuszko’s Halka and Straszny dwór, Puccini’s Mimì and Tosca, and Strauss’s Der Zigeunerbaron. She has also premiered contemporary works, notably the title role in Zygmunt Krauze’s Noc kruków, under directors such as J. Kilian, P. Aigner, and N. Babińska. Trojanowska has sung solo parts in major oratorios and choral works including Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium, Magnificat, and Passions, Handel’s Messiah and Brockes Passion, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem and Masses, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Fauré’s Requiem, and Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs and works by Nowowiejski, Kilar, and Zelenka. She has collaborated with eminent conductors such as R. Silva, M. J. Błaszczyk, D. Runtz, and G. Nowak, and taken part in world premieres of works by Zalewski, Grinhol, Trojanowski, Nagnajewicz, and Bogdan. Her discography includes two solo albums, Głos duszy and Pieśni do słów Kazimierza Przerwy-Tetmajera. An accomplished pedagogue, Trojanowska teaches at the University of Białystok and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, nurturing the next generation of singers while continuing to bring Polish vocal music to international audiences.
Praised for her "intelligent and creative sensibility" and "spectacular technique," Dr. Jiana Peng is internationally acclaimed for her captiving performances across the Americas and Europe. A specialist in the music of Chopin, she released her debut album of 24 Preludes in 2022 and has championed rare repertoire, including the solo piano transcription of Szymanowski’s Harnasie, premiered at the 2024 Frost Chopin Festival. Dr. Peng is the first prize winner of the 2020 International Chopin Piano Competition (Corpus Christi) and second prize winner of the 2022 Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition (Washington, D.C.). She was also a finalist in the Fou Ts’ong International Piano Competition and a candidate in the prestigious 2021 Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. Dr. Peng has appeared as soloist with the Cleveland Pop, National Philharmonic, Oberlin Symphony Orchestra, and the Tolima Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, under distinguished conductors including Grzegorz Nowak, Raphael Jiménez, Uri Segal, Piotr Gajewski and Carl Topilow. Festival highlights include PianoTexas, Frost Chopin Festival, and Dubrovnik Summer Music Festival, with a recent South America debut at the Ibagué Festival in Colombia. Notably, she has collaborated with legendary pianist Maria João Pires at the Gilmore Festival, "Days of Wisdom" (Spain), and Belgais (Portugal) Festivals. Her performances span prestigious venues worldwide, from Carnegie Hall and Severance Hall to the Warsaw Philharmonic, and is a frequent guest of concert series hosted by the Culture & Art Foundation of New York, Chopin Foundation of the U.S. and the Chopin Society of Texas. Dr. Peng holds a doctorate in Piano Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music with previous degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Oberlin Conservatory. She is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute of Ohio.
Dr. Konrad Binienda is an acclaimed pianist renowned for his poetic interpretations of Romantic repertoire, charismatic stage presence, and deeply expressive performances. A specialist in the music of Chopin, he has released numerous albums including Peaks of Piano (2018), Works by Chopin and Binienda (2022), and Symphonic Poems (2020), which features his own orchestration of Chopin's Allegro de Concert, Op. 46 and was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London under Grzegorz Nowak. Dr. Binienda has performed internationally across the United States, Poland, China, Switzerland, and the Philippines. Recent engagements include concerts hosted by Chopin Society of Texas, Chopin Society of Geneva, the Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Polish Consulates in Houston and Chicago, the Stanisław Pomian-Srzednicki Foundation, the Symphony of the Redwoods and a debut with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. A laureate of numerous competitions—including the International Chopin Competition (Corpus Christi, TX) and the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition—Dr. Binienda is also an accomplished composer and educator. His recent compositions include a Mazurka-Fantasie commissioned by Chopin Society of Texas and premiered at Carnegie Hall, a piano transcription of Szymanowski’s Harnasie, and a Piano Concerto in E Minor premiered with the Irving Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, his Mazurka for piano, bass, violin, and guitar earned Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2015 Carl E. Baldassarre Composer-Performer Competition. Dr. Binienda holds a doctorate in Piano Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a joint degree in Physics and Piano from Harvard University/New England Conservatory. He is the Co-founder and President of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute of Ohio, devoted to promoting Chopin’s music and preserving his cultural legacy for future generations.
Venue
Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel (est. 1902) is known for its Tiffany stained-glass windows, soaring arches, and exquisite woodwork. The neo-Gothic structure, located on Mather Quad at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH), commemorates the brief life of Florence Harkness Severance. The chapel offers a warm, intimate, and acoustically resonant space for performances and special events.
Health + Safety
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