Chopin Society of Atlanta

The home of Dorota Lato and Piotr Folkert in Morton Reserve was again the scene of culmination of a year’s activities for the Chopin Society of Atlanta. It was of course the organization’s annual gala.

Highlights this year included special guests Congressman Tom Price and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Price, Consul General of France Phillippe Ardanaz and Consul General Shoji Ogawa. It was an evening of good food, exquisite champagne (courtesy of M. Ardanaz) and beautiful, transcendent music – courtesy of Piotr Folkert who when not entertaining his wife’s guests is a worldwide classical pianist.

The Chopin Society of Atlanta was established in December of 2000. It is a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting the medium of music, culture and the arts in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

Its major goal is to foster an understanding and appreciation of Frederick Chopin’s music and its influence on the art of piano performance and on piano compositions.

To that end the Chopin Society brings an international array of musicians to perform Chopin’s music in the area, most often at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

“We also want to promote the music for young people. They are given free tickets to our concerts. Then we ask them to write essays on what the music meant to them, how did it make them feel,” said Lato.

The society also promotes essay and composition competitions and awards scholarships to promising young musicians.

It was for his efforts to rescue one of the Chopin Society’s concerts that Congressman Price was lauded that evening.

It seems one of the concert performers was having difficulty getting a visa into the United States to perform, and Lato said she was in desperate help for someone to cut through the red tape.

“Helping with visa problems is of course what I do as a congressman,” Price said. “I was delighted to help Dorota and such a great organization as this.”

Lato said she was “completely grateful” to Price who “saved our concert,” she said.

“With his help and then the wonderful [Atlanta] attorney Robert Banta who then took all of those documents and saw to it they got the right place in time – all pro bono to the society,” Lato said. “It is wonderful that we have so many friends".

Other important friends who helped prepare for the event include Linda and Marty Merkler, Elizabeth Krawczynska, Barbara Leszczynska and Ania Standish.