prof. dr hab. Alan Urbanek

Alan Urbanek is a graduate of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, where he completed studies in Choral Conducting under Prof. Halina Bobrowicz (Diploma, 1992) and Symphonic Conducting under Prof. Marek Pijarowski (Diploma, 1995).
In 1996, he obtained his Doctorate, in 2002 his Habilitation, and in 2003 completed Postgraduate Studies in Cultural Management at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In January 2009, he received the title of Professor of Musical Arts from the President of the Republic of Poland.

Since graduating in 1992, he has been continuously affiliated with the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. For many years, he worked at the Faculty of Music Education, where he conducted the class of choral conducting; currently, he is a Professor at the Faculty of Composition, Music Theory, Conducting, and Music Therapy, a member of the Department of Conducting, and leads the class of symphonic conducting.
He serves as the Organizational Director of the Adam Kopyciński National Conducting Competition for Students, and since October 2019 has been a member of the Council for the Discipline of Musical Arts. Between 2016 and 2020, he chaired the Faculty Election Committee; in 2013 he was appointed to the Faculty Committee for Research, and during the 2012–2016 term served as a member of the AMKL Senate.

Within the Socrates–Erasmus Programme, he conducted courses at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden. He organized two editions of the International Choral Conductors’ Tournament “Towards Polyphony”, and for nearly a decade directed the Student Symphony Orchestra of the Academy.

He has supervised dozens of Master’s theses, acted as supervisor for two doctoral dissertations, and served as reviewer in doctoral proceedings and secretary in habilitation committees.

Academic and Choral Activity

Outside the Academy, he has been associated with the University of Wrocław, where since 1992 he has directed the University Choir “Gaudium”, and with the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, where since 2009 he has led the University Choir.

During his conducting studies, in 1994 he prepared and conducted Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor with the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gaudium Choir of the University of Wrocław, presenting the work to the Wrocław audience.

He began his professional conducting career in 1995, when he became Chorus Master of the Wrocław Opera. There he co-produced premieres such as Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Verdi’s Don Carlos.
From 1995 to 2001, he was affiliated with the Wrocław Musical Theatre – Operetta, successively serving as assistant conductor, conductor, orchestra director, and music director. His repertoire included operettas such as Die Fledermaus, The Gypsy Princess (directed by Igor Przegrodzki), Vienna Blood, Count Luxemburg, The Beggar Student, and Victoria and Her Hussar. He also conducted productions of The Magician of Lublin (dir. Jan Szurmiej) and the musical Chicago (dir. Roberto Skolmowski).

In 1996, as part of his doctoral dissertation, he conducted the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gaudium Choir, and soloists in a performance of Rossini’s Stabat Mater, presented within the Lenten Concerts series.

Concert and Oratorio Projects

Since 1997, the Lenten Concerts have been held under the patronage of the College of Rectors of Wrocław and Opole Universities.
In subsequent years, Wrocław audiences heard great oratorio works including Haydn’s Stabat Mater, Schubert’s Mass in G major, Grechaninov’s Liturgia Domestica op. 79 (Wrocław premiere), Nikodemowicz’s Missa Misterium Crucis (Wrocław premiere), Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, Haydn’s The Creation, and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater.

In 1997, during the Final Concert of the 24th Barbórka Festival of Academic Choirs, he conducted Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra, combined university choirs, and soloists.

In 2000, he conducted Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem op. 48 with the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra as part of the 300th Anniversary of the University of Wrocław celebrations. In the following years, as part of the University’s annual festivities, he presented Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz’s Ludźmierz Vespers (the 100th performance of the work, with the composer present) and Wojciech Kilar’s Missa pro Pace, also in the composer’s presence.

From 2000 to 2002, he returned to the Wrocław Opera as Chorus Master, collaborating with Ewa Michnik on productions including Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, Bizet’s Carmen, and Bock’s Fiddler on the Roof.

Between 2002 and 2005, he served as Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Choir of the Wrocław Philharmonic, preparing numerous oratorios for symphonic concerts and the Wratislavia Cantans International Festival, including Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 3 “Song of the Night”, Rachmaninoff’s The Bells op. 35, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Holst’s The Planets, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Handel’s Oratorio Susanna, G. Schi-Wen Chin’s Song of the Youth, and Kilar’s Missa pro Pace.

In September 2002, he participated in a concert in the United States dedicated to the victims of the World Trade Center attacks, performing works by Wrocław composers, including Mirosław Gąsieniec’s oratorio St. Hedwig – Patroness of Reconciliation.

Later Artistic Work

Since 2006, he has realized original artistic projects and participated in large-scale productions.
He conducted at the 25th Festival of Polish Contemporary Music “Musica Polonica Nova”, participated in the Era New Horizons Film Festival, and recorded for Polish Television (TVP) the concert programme Arias with Laughter, featuring the Beethoven Academy Orchestra of Kraków and leading Polish vocal stars.
He also conducted concerts within the project Polonia Semper Fidelis – In Tribute to John Paul II the Great and co-produced the large-scale performance Requiem pro Pace by Hadrian Tabęcki at the Centennial Hall in Wrocław (dir. Roman Kołakowski).

In 2014, during the 49th Jazz on the Odra Festival, he conducted George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Symphony Orchestra of the Wrocław Academy of Music, accompanying the legendary jazz pianist Adam Makowicz. That same year, he began collaboration with composer Bartosz Chajdecki, conducting concerts of music from the TV series Time of Honor (Czas Honoru) performed in numerous Polish cities, including Warsaw (at the Warsaw Uprising Monument) and Kraków’s National Old Theatre.

In 2016, as part of Wrocław – European Capital of Culture, he co-created major artistic events with director Chris Baldwin: the Opening Ceremony (January 2016), and FLOW (June 2016) – considered the largest multimedia spectacle in Wrocław’s history – featuring the Beethoven Academy Orchestra of Kraków, young musicians from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and a 300-member international choir.
He also served as Music Director of the Closing Ceremony (December 2016).

In 2017, he conducted the Wrocław premiere of Michał Lorenc’s oratorio Przymierze (The Covenant) and co-produced the theatrical performance En avant, marche! directed by Alain Platel and Frank Van Laecke, which opened the 9th International Theatre Festival “Dialog – Wrocław”.

In 2018, he realized his original project History – Memory – Identity celebrating the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regained independence, conducted during the concert Wrocław for Aleppo, and co-produced the final Wrocław stage production directed by Roman Kołakowski – Names of Freedom (Imiona Wolności).

Artistic Output and Recognition

To date, his conducting output exceeds one thousand concerts, opera, and operetta performances.
Among the major works he has conducted are:
Beethoven’s Mass in C major op. 86 and Choral Fantasy in C minor op. 80, Brahms’s Nänie op. 82, Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” op. 36, Haydn’s Stabat Mater, Hilarion Alfeyev’s Passion According to St. Matthew, Stabat Mater and De Profundis, Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C major KV 317, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 “Lobgesang” op. 52, Nikodemowicz’s Missa Misterium Crucis, Preisner’s Requiem for My Friend, and Śmiełowski’s arrangement of the Liturgy of Polish Armenians.

He has collaborated with many of Poland’s foremost soloists, including Aleksandra Kurzak, Jadwiga Rappé, Stefania Toczyska, Ewa Vesin, Józef Frakstein, Piotr Kusiewicz, Piotr Łykowski, Bogdan Makal, Leonard Andrzej Mróz, Wiesław Ochman, and Krzysztof Szmyt.
He has conducted concerts with musicians from the Lower Silesian Philharmonic (Jelenia Góra), Łódź Philharmonic, Kalisz Philharmonic, Opole Philharmonic, Sudeten Philharmonic (Wałbrzych), Wrocław Philharmonic, and the Ricordanza Ensemble under Wiktor Kuzniecow. He has also collaborated multiple times with the Martin Luther University Orchestra in Halle.
A particularly significant experience was his work with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra of Kraków, and with the Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra, with whom he made the first Polish recording of Alexander Grechaninov’s Liturgia Domestica.

Awards and Distinctions

In 1992, he received a Scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture.
He is a laureate of the 3rd Prize at the International Choral Conductors’ Tournament “Towards Polyphony” and 1st Prize at the National Choral Conducting Competition named after Prof. Stanisław Kulczyński in Poznań.
He has been repeatedly awarded distinctions by the Mayor of Wrocław, Rectors of the University of Wrocław and the University of Environmental and Life Sciences, as well as the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music.
He has received the Golden Badge of the Wrocław Lovers’ Society for his contributions to the city’s cultural life, the Silver Honorary Badge of the Polish Association of Choirs and Orchestras, the Bronze Cross of Merit (2012), the Order of St. Mary Magdalene, 1st Class (2015), and the Badge of Merit for the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław (2015).
In 2017, he received the “Wrocław Thanks – ECoC 2016” Medal, and in 2018, under his direction, the Gaudium Choir of the University of Wrocław was awarded the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – GLORIA ARTIS.

International Activity

He has performed extensively in Austria, Belarus, China, Finland, France, Greece, Canada, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, Hungary, and Italy.