My Dear President,
Dear Chantal,
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Chopin Foundation, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations.
In 1999, together we organised our first Chopin Foundation concert in Namur with Governor Dalem.
On 1 February 2001, the statutes of the non-profit association (ASBL) “Fondation Chopin” for the Wallonia region and the
French Community of Belgium were published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur Belge).
The non-profit association (ASBL) Fondation Chopin had been founded at the request of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland,
JW Piekarski, in the context of your voluntary activities in Poland as Vice-President of a Chamber of Commerce between Wallonia
and Poland, your role as Commissioner of the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs—of which Poland was a member—your passion for
classical music, and your admiration for the diligent work of young musicians.
Guided by the advice of my brother, lawyer Joe Sepulchre, you drafted the statutes of the Fondation Chopin ASBL.
The foundation was built on volunteer work to promote young musical talents, and from the very beginning each person contributed
their expertise free of charge.
Active in Poland and a lover of music, I was one of the co-founders, and we worked hard to organise our first concerts under the
direction of Maître Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, our co-founder. Our first sponsors were Ciments Goradze, Europalia Polska, and later
Ghelamco NV, etc.
After taking part in Europalia Polska 2001, in 2003 leading figures from the business world such as Philippe Delaunois and Josée Deriu
joined us. What wonderful memories—when our young talents were rewarded and we followed their progress together as young pianists or
violinists.
I moved abroad, but I continued to faithfully follow the development of ASBL Chopin, which in 2019 became a private foundation operating
across all of Belgium.
Today I would like to congratulate you, dear Founding President, dear Maître Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, as well as all members of the Board
of Directors, on the success and achievements of your young musical talents.
Lawrence Sepulchre
Co-founder, ASBL Fondation Chopin
