Draft:Walenty Bonk

Walenty Bonk (born February 13, 1879, in Poznań, Prussia; died October 1, 1961, in New York, United States. ), also known as Valentine J. Bonk and Val Bonk, was a Polish composer and organist active in the United States. He is especially renowned for his contributions to liturgical music and his impact on the musical life of Polish immigrant communities.

Early Life and Education
Born in Poznań, Bonk's father, a church organist, fostered his early interest in music. Completing primary school in Rawicz, he faced limited opportunities under Prussian rule and emigrated to the USA in 1900. In April 1907, he married 16-year-old Elizabeth A. Lowicka

Career
He initially worked as an organist and music educator in Reading, Pennsylvania, before becoming the organist at St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in 1906, a position he held until 1911. Moving to Long Island, New York, in 1933, Bonk served as an organist in several churches, including St. Casimir's in Yonkers, Our Lady of Czestochowa and St. Casimir in Brooklyn, and St. Hedwig's in Floral Park. Bonk was a member of St. Hedwig Association, the Polish National Alliance, and was the general director of the Polish Singing Societies of New York. In 1955, he received a papal blessing from Pope Pius XII for his 55 years of service as an organist and composer.

His son Jerome and daughter Angela also pursued careers as organists. Bonk died on October 1, 1961, and is buried at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, New York.

Musical Works
Bonk's primary contribution was in liturgical and mass music for the Polish immigrant communities in the U.S. Operating Jordan Music Publishing Co. in Floral Park, he composed and published a vast number of pieces performed and printed across North America and Europe. His compositions include:

Secular Music

 * Autumn Revery, Op.23
 * Colonial Guard March
 * Ja kocham cię
 * Prof's birthday; a musical comedy playlet in 3 scenes
 * Two-Step

Liturgical Music

 * Mass in E-flat Major - Over 15,000 copies printed, performed in over ten thousand Catholic churches in America.
 * Jubilee Mass in D Major
 * Mass in honor of Mother Frances Cabrini
 * Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary
 * Mass in honor of St. Andrew Bobola
 * Mass in honor of St. Stanislaus
 * Palm Sunday Mass
 * Requiem Mass

In total, he composed 382 musical works, including offertories, hymns, vespers, as well as secular pieces like waltzes and tangos.

Selected Recordings

 * 1906: Colonial Guard March – Edison Records, cat. no. 9441
 * 1917: Ja kocham cie (I Love You) – performed by Piotr Wizła, Victor Records, cat. no. 72398-B mx: 72398B
 * 2023: Jubilee Mass in D