Galica, Józef

Born and lived in Olcza [NE of Zakopane]; The last piper of the old generation of his region; As a young boy, when he was grazing sheep in the Mała Łąki Valley, he became fascinated with the playing of Stanisław Budz-Lepsiok "Mroz"; Being taught by the latter, he started playing at the end of World War I; He built bagpipes for, among others, Tomasz Skupień, teacher of the modern generation of pipers; His grandfather and brother also played the bagpipe; According to family messages, the instruments of his grandfather were very beautiful, and when he [i.e. Józef’s grandfather; ws] was grazing sheep in Liptov, playing, one of the local shepherds wanted to buy an instrument from him in exchange for his most beautiful sheep; History has come full circle because today [i.e. 2016; ws] Józef’s great-granddaughter Martyna Galica [*ca.1995; ws] plays on his bagpipes; She is a pupil of the great-great grandson of an aunt of Józef, Szymon Bafia, who was taught by Tomasz Skupień.