JAKUB STEFEK

AREAS OF MY ACTIVITY

1. Jewish Organ and Synagogue Music

Scope
Research and artistic activity devoted to Jewish organ music and synagogue music of Central Europe in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century (c. 1810–1938), developed within the context of Reform Judaism and Central European musical culture.

Thesis / Core Focus
There exists a recognizable set of stylistic, aesthetic, and functional features characterizing the works of composers of Jewish synagogue organ music—rooted in the tradition of European art music while being firmly embedded in the liturgical and cultural context of Reform Judaism.

Objective
The creative renewal of an almost completely interrupted performance tradition, and the first comprehensive collection, systematization, and dissemination (in the Polish language) of knowledge on Jewish organ and synagogue music as an essential component of Central European cultural heritage.

Forms of Implementation
Source and archival research, repertoire reconstruction, concert activity, recordings, scholarly and popular-scholarly publications, and the introduction of the subject into academic and artistic discourse.

2. Cultural Economics and the Performing Arts Market

Scope
Analysis of the economic and social conditions shaping the functioning of the performing arts market in Poland, with particular emphasis on patterns of cultural consumption.

Thesis / Core Focus
Audience behavior in the performing arts is determined by a complex interplay of psychological, social, and economic factors, and non-participation in culture does not necessarily result from a lack of cultural competence.

Objective
The development of models of behavior of current and potential consumers of the performing arts in Poland, and the identification of ways these models can be applied in cultural management and audience-development policies.

Forms of Implementation
Quantitative and qualitative research, market analyses, model-based studies, scholarly publications, and expert reports and consultations for cultural institutions.

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3. Projects in the Field of Revived Music

Scope
The realization of artistic-research projects devoted to forgotten, marginalized, or historically disrupted repertoires of the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the music of Central Europe.

Thesis / Core Focus
Music historically displaced from cultural circulation can be reintegrated into contemporary artistic life only through the combination of rigorous research, performance practice, and modern contexts of presentation.

Objective
To restore forgotten works and composers to active cultural circulation and to develop sustainable models for working with “recovered” repertoire.

Forms of Implementation
Concerts, festivals, reconstruction and editorial commissions, recordings, publications, educational activities, and interdisciplinary projects.

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4. Development and Popularization of Culture in Szczecin

Scope
Activities aimed at the development of Szczecin’s cultural life through the initiation, coordination, and implementation of artistic, educational, and social projects.

Thesis / Core Focus
The long-term development of urban culture requires the simultaneous strengthening of artistic quality, audience competencies, and stable organizational structures.

Objective
To broaden cultural audiences, strengthen the city’s cultural identity, and build durable frameworks for the realization of ambitious artistic projects at the local, national, and international levels.

Forms of Implementation
Production and curatorship of artistic events, cooperation with cultural institutions, educational projects, community-based activities, and long-term initiatives.