(Credit: Jiyang Chen)

Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński has received The Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Merit in Culture from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.

In a statement, Orliński said, “Yesterday was one of those days that I’ll remember till the end of my life! I am still trying to put my head around everything that happened in the past month. So many incredible experiences and accomplishments that I have never dreamt of. After our concert with Aleksander Dębicz, I was awarded by Hanna Wróblewska, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland with The Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Merit in Culture. I was speechless! They took me by surprise and well… all left to do was to accept it and cry a bit.”

He added, “I am so grateful that I can do what I love to do, and even more so, do it with really incredible people that I can call friends! To share with them that creative process is pure gold, and then to present the fruit of our work around the world to whoever wants to see and listen is another beautiful thing. I feel blessed having all of those people coming to our shows and concerts! To be honest I still cannot believe that it’s happening. I hope it will never become a routine for me. I have to thank my collaborators because without them, there is no me. Thank you Michal Biel for always supporting me and coming up with that Polish Album idea! It was wonderful to present those Polish songs to people who couldn’t understand even one word, but still got mesmerized by the beauty of Polish Art Songs.”

This season Orliński performs at the Bayreuth Baroque Festival and goes on tour with Il Pomo d’Oro. He also performs alongside Aleksander Dębicz.