Polish Folk Music

MAŁGORZATA JĘDRUCH

Małgorzata Jędruch was born in Lublin, where she graduated from the class of piano of K. Lipiński State Musical School of the 1st and 2nd grade. She studied in the Department of Musicology of the Warsaw University. At the beginning I didn't know what would be my passion, but soon, after the first classes of Ethnomusicology, I knew what I wanted to take up- she recalls. At that time I was fascinated by the Japanese culture. Luckily, I met a wise person who, by means of just one sentence, convinced me to "return to my home".

The earliest childhood recollections came back to her mind like a far- away echo. She remembered how her grandmother was singing some strange songs to her and recollected family stories about her grandfather, who was a carpenter and played as a violinist during weddings. Both of her grandparents came from a village in the Zamość region. During her studies she had a possibility to ascertain that she had a gift of organization. At that time, because of Wojciech Ossowski, she engaged in organization of the folk part of the "Festival of Life" and folk concerts within the FAMA Festival in Świnoujście. Then she met such groups like: Jorgi Quartet, Varsovia Manta, Raga Sangit, and Open Folk.

She had her first contact with journalism when she started to cooperate with a daily newspaper, published during the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 1990. Later she co- worked with the Polish Radio, where in 1991she became employed in the Channel 2 of the Polish Radio. After she had worked in the Cultural News Office, she moved to the Office of Folk Music. When the Folk Culture Radio Center had been founded, she started to realize her other dreams. She organized concerts, Folk Festivals under a witty name of "The New Tradition", outdoor festivities in the yard of the Polish Radio and, what is the most significant, she started traveling and meeting great people. She is a very well- informed, resolute and helpful person.