Joachim Mencel – A pianist, composer, lyricist (hurdy-gurdy player) and music producer. A graduate of the Faculty of Jazz and Light Music at the Music Academy in Katowice (1991). A cofounder of New Life’m, he has played in the bands created by Janusz Muniak, Andrzej Cudzich, Nigel Kennedy and more.

Hurdy-gurdy performance of Joachim Mencel. He collaborates on a regular basis with the American clarinet player Brad Terry (LPs: ‘All about Spring’, ‘Colorado’, ‘Live in Fort Andross’). Mencel is an esteemed vocal music arranger. He composed and arranged songs for Ewa Bem (LP: ‘Kakadu’), Mieczysław Szcześniak, Nina Stiller, Anna Maria Jopek, Kaissy and others. He also composed film, ballet and pantomime soundtracks. He has toured in many European, American and Asian countries, mainly with his independent project named jmTrio (LP: ‘lnterludium’). This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.