EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A Polish pianist is set to take the stage in El Paso as part of a festival and competition dedicated to the music of Frederic Chopin, with organizers emphasizing that the public can attend for free.

Julian Stani, a guest artist from Poland, said he was invited by Dr. Oscar Macchione to perform at the Borderlands Chopin Festival and Competition after the two met in Poland. Stani said Macchione heard him during his “first diploma of master degree,” liked it and invited him to the festival.

Stani said it is his first time in El Paso and that he has enjoyed the visit so far, including the local food. “I love Mexican food,” he said. “I love local cuisine.”

Stani said his recital program will include Chopin, Brahms and Polish composer Juliusz Zaremski.

Half of the recital will be Chopin’s composition,” he said. “Then I will play Brahms’ free intermezzo. And the last one will be a polonaise by Juliusz Zaremski.

Asked what draws him to Chopin, Stani said, “I love his phrasing and the emotional depth in his music is amazing.” He added that he wants audiences to experience the music’s beauty. “I just want them to show the beauty of the music,” Stani said. “So I like doing this so like probably every pianist in the world to show beauty of music to the people and make them happy because of this.”

Stani said he is looking forward to the performance and praised the venue. “I’m very excited. I can’t wait to play the concert,” he said. “The hall is amazing.”

Deborah Svedman, executive director of the Borderlands Chopin Festival and Competition, said the event is designed for El Paso and the surrounding region, which is why it uses the “Borderlands” name. She said the festival and competition was designed by Macchione and is supported through funding from the Bonnie Brooks Foundation.

Svedman said the festival alternates between local and international competition cycles. “Every third year we have an international competition which the next one will be next year in 2027,” she said. In the years between, she said, the organization holds a local festival and competition.

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For the local competition, Svedman said eligibility is limited to competitors who live in El Paso or Las Cruces, Juarez or Chihuahua.

She said the festival also offers master classes and brings in a guest artist to perform, with a focus on Chopin’s works.

Svedman said Stani was selected in part because of his background. “This year of course we have Julian Stani and he’s from Poland so he knows the Polish music of Chopin very, very well,” she said.

Svedman said the guest artist concert is scheduled for Friday night at 7.30 in the Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall, and she emphasized that the public can attend at no cost. “There is no admission fee,” she said. “It is free. We’re doing this for the El Paso public.”

In describing Chopin’s music, Svedman noted his reputation and his focus on piano. “Chopin is called the poet of the piano,” she said, adding that he was born in 1810 and died in 1849. She said Chopin’s music is “so full, so rich of emotion,” and pointed to his Polish roots, including mazurkas and nocturnes.

Svedman said the local competition is divided into four levels so students compete against others in their grade level and age group, ranging from elementary through college. She said competitors submit videos and are required to play at least one Chopin piece, along with a second piece by another composer “so we can see that they can play a variety.”

For more information, Svedman said the festival is run through UTEP and that details can be found on the university’s website by searching “borderland Chopin.” She also encouraged the public to attend. “Well, if you’re free and available, come and listen to some Chopin,” she said.

Svedman said the effort builds on a tradition of free Chopin performances in El Paso, noting that Lucy Scarborough previously hosted a Chopin Festival that was free to the public at the Chamisal. After Scarborough’s death, Svedman said, Macchione wanted to continue the tradition, leading to the current festival and competition supported by the Bonnie Brooks Foundation.

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