On 11 December a year has passed since Katowice joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Music. In the last 12 months the city has proved that we deserve the prestigious title.

The already intense music life of Katowice was further enriched by original projects – both one time and recurring. Katowice witnessed the visit of Roman Polański to the ceremony of presenting Wojciech Kilar Award to composer Alexander Desplat, Miuosh celebrated the 15th anniversary of his stage life in the Culture Zone, the city became one of the stops for Męskie Granie and was visited by many artists from other Cities of Music, incl. great flamenco musicians and dancers from Sevilla (the opening show of Art Naif Festival), as well as young jazzmen invited to Silesian Jazz Festival. The music from Katowice resounded loudly also in Wrocław – the European Capital of culture, where Katowice had its stage for a week.

Music also took over the building of the former Katowice Cultural Centre, as since February 2016 it has been the seat of the City of Gardens. It is there that the talents of the musicians selected within the Hood Sounds Good programme are groomed. It is also there that crowds of parents and children flock every weekend for musical trips on the Musicdrome with Asi Mina or for musical matinees with Zdzisław Smucerowicz. The basement on the other hand is taken by the future rappers during work-Hops.

2016 will also be remembered for the remarkable concerts. The meeting of the best Silesian bluesman during the concert inaugurating Silesian Blues Route, a surprising encounter of a mining brass band with SBB rock band and the season-closing  concert by Colin Stetson performing post-rock interpretation of III Symphony by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki will for a long time remain in the memory of good music lovers.