dr hab. Wojciech Rodek

Artistic Director of the Lublin Philharmonic, Artistic Director of the Lower Silesian Philharmonic, Music Director of the Gliwice Music Theatre, Guest Conductor of the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. He teaches conducting at the Academy of Music in Wrocław. He holds a Doctor of Arts degree. Winner of the 2nd prize at the 3rd Witold Lutosławski Conductors' Review in Białystok (2002). In 2011, he was awarded the Jan Kiepura Theatre Music Award in the category of Best Conductor. In 2015, he was awarded the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

He studied piano from the age of eight at the Primary Music School in Namysłów and at the Secondary Music School in Wrocław with Jacek Gębski and Krystyna Puchała-Kajdasz. From 1998 to 2003, he studied conducting in the class of Prof. Marek Pijarowski at the Academy of Music in Wrocław, where he made his debut in 2000 with the Academy Symphony Orchestra. He also graduated in Slavic Philology from the University of Wrocław and the Pushkin Institute of Russian Language in Moscow. In 2005, he won a competition for the position of assistant to Antoni Wit at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, where he worked from 2005 to 2007.

He has conducted many symphony orchestras, including the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, and philharmonic orchestras in Gdańsk, Koszalin, Szczecin, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Białystok, Kielce, Łódź, Zielona Góra, Wrocław, Jelenia Góra, Opole, Wałbrzych, Katowice, Rzeszów, Kraków, orchestras in Toruń, Płock, Łomża, chamber ensembles Capella Bydgostiensis, Capella Cracoviensis, Leopoldinum. He regularly collaborates with the Ankara Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Antalya State Symphony Orchestra, Bursa Regional Symphony Orchestra, Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, and European Johann Strauss Orchestra. He has performed with outstanding soloists, including Rafał Blechacz, Idil Biret, Ingolf Wunder, Michael Vaiman, Olga Rusina, Alexandre Dubach, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Marcin Zdunik, Paweł Wakarecy, Gavriel Lipkind, Valentina Igoshina, Lukas Geniusas, Jakub Jakowicz, Johannes Moser, Gautier Capucon, Gulsin Onay, Alexander Markov, Huseyin Sermet/

Wojciech Rodek has prepared premieres and performances for the Theatre Montansier in Versailles /Mozart's ‘Apollo and Hyacinth’/, the Capitol Music Theatre in Wrocław (Loewe's My Fair Lady, Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Lehar's The Land of Smiles, Zeller's The Bird Catcher from Tyrol), the Wratislavia Cantans festival (Britten's The Little Sweep), Gliwice Music Theatre (Lehár's The Merry Widow, Strauss's A Night in Venice, Rodgers' The Sound of Music, Lippa's The Addams Family, Herman's Hello Dolly, Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Abraham's Hawaii, Strauss's Wiener Blut). Since 2002, he has been a regular guest with the Opera Polska ensemble in the most important concert halls in Europe, including Basel, Bern (Casino), St. Gallen (Tonhalle), Dresden (Kulturpalast), Hamburg (Musikhalle), Munich (Philharmonie am Gasteig), Salzburg (Grosses Festspielhaus), Stuttgart (Beethovensaal), Vienna (Konzerthaus), Zurich (Tonhalle).

He has participated in renowned festivals, including Wratislavia Cantans, Xanten Sommerfestspiele (Mozart's The Magic Flute – 2008 opening), Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City, Virtuosi in Lviv (Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Lviv Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra), and the International Festival of P. Tchaikovsky and N. von Meck in Vinnytsia.

At the turn of 2009/2010, he performed with the European Johann Strauss Orchestra during a tour of China (Guangzhou, Changsha, Shenzhen, Kunming, Chongqing, Tianjin). In 2012, Wojciech Rodek made his debut at the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw (premiere of Agata Zubel's dramatic opera Oresteja) and also performed for the first time in Ankara (Presidential Symphony Orchestra), in Verona (I. Stravinsky's ‘The Soldier's Tale’ with the Verona Conservatory ensemble) and with the INSO-Lviv orchestra (world premiere of I. Pakhota's Symphony Synthesis). In 2013, the conductor prepared the premiere of J. Strauss's ‘A Night in Venice’ at the Gliwice Music Theatre, travelled abroad with the Lublin Philharmonic Orchestra (to Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Lviv, made his debut with the Antalya State Symphony Orchestra and the Bursa Regional Symphony Orchestra, and took part in another tour of China with the European Johann Strauss Orchestra. In 2014, Wojciech Rodek prepared the premiere of the musical The Sound of Music at the Gliwice Music Theatre and Man of La Mancha at the Music Theatre in Poznań, and in 2015, The Addams Family at the Gliwice Music Theatre.

Wojciech Rodek's discography includes recordings of symphonic, film and entertainment music, including A. Illaramendi's Symphony No. 7 for the Karonte label with the Choir and Orchestra of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw; Witold Friemann's Concerto for Voice and Orchestra with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, soloist M. Rodek; D. Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, soloist G. Lipkind; A. Berg's Violin Concerto with the NOSPR, soloist K. Jakowicz; L. Zielińska's Melodram with the NOSPR, Zamiana, music by M. Mirowski, The Film Harmony Orchestra; ENEN, music by B. Gliński, Sinfonia Varsovia; City Island, music by J.A.P. Kaczmarek, Polish Radio Orchestra; Get Low, music by J.A.P. Kaczmarek, Polish Radio Orchestra; Kanapka z człowiekiem (Sandwich with a Man), music by P. Gintrowski, Polish Radio Orchestra; Lublin premieres, Dębski, Czarnecki, Pietruszewski, Dubaj, Mirowski, Lublin Philharmonic. The recording of Angel Illaramendi's Seventh Symphony won the prestigious award of the Spanish magazine Compact CD as the best recording of Spanish music of 2009. The recording was also used as the soundtrack for the film La Buena Nueva, directed by Helena Taberna, and won an award at the 14th Toulouse Film Festival.