dr hab. Waldemar Gromolak

A virtuoso of classical guitar; a renowned and highly regarded soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Waldemar Gromolak has been continuously involved in a wide range of artistic activities since the beginning of his career. He regularly performs with orchestras from all philharmonic halls in Poland and also gives concerts abroad. His artistic achievements include symphonic concerts in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Lebanon, and in Poland he collaborates with the most outstanding Polish conductors, including Antoni Wit, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Marek Pijarowski, Marek Moś, Wojciech Czepiel, Jerzy Salwarowski, Jerzy Kosiek, Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Adam Klock, and Wojciech Rodek. His symphonic activities resulted in the recording of Joaquin Rodrigo's famous Concierto de Aranjuez with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit, which was broadcast on Polish Television's Channel 2 as a New Year's Concert. Another important musical event was the release of an album with Joaquin Rodrigo's concertos accompanied by the Łódź Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Wojciech Czepiel. It is the first Polish guitar recording to be nominated for the prestigious FRYDERYK music award. After receiving the nomination, the artist became a member of the Phonographic Academy. He is the first Polish guitarist to record Joaquin Rodrigo's most famous guitar concertos on CD.

Waldemar Gromolak is the winner of many prestigious awards at major international guitar competitions. Throughout his competitive career, he has won seven first prizes, three second prizes, and many distinctions. The laurels won at competitions in Weimar, Pirna, Cologne, Volos, Krakow, Tychy, and Łódź paved the way for him to perform at the most important guitar festivals throughout Poland and in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, Greece, France, Lebanon, Hungary, and Belarus.

Waldemar Gromolak is also an outstanding chamber musician, performing with leading Polish artists. His versatility and openness give him the opportunity to participate in original artistic projects. In 2008, he recorded the soundtrack for the film ENEN, directed by Feliks Falk. In the same year, he participated in the recording of the song Możliwe, which appeared on Anna Maria Jopek's album Dwa serduszka cztery oczy. His latest album, Waldemar Gromolak-guitar, Aukso String Quintet, was covered by Polish Radio 2.

Waldemar Gromolak is also a highly regarded teacher. He shares his knowledge and skills by giving lectures and master classes at international music courses throughout the country and abroad. Since 2001, he has been a lecturer at the Academy of Music in Wrocław, and after obtaining his doctorate in arts in 2011, he was employed as an assistant professor. He also taught guitar at the State Secondary Music School in Wrocław. His students are winners of national and international guitar competitions, as well as scholarship holders of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the Mayor of Wrocław. Waldemar Gromolak is the author of the book O pięknym dźwięku gitary klasycznej (On the Beautiful Sound of the Classical Guitar).

The artist received an excellent education. He graduated from the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, where he studied under internationally renowned professors Hubert Käppel and Roberto Aussel. At the State Music High School in Wrocław, he studied under the guidance of the outstanding teacher Marek Zieliński, and began his musical education in the class of Danuta Pietrzak, MA.

Waldemar Gromolak was honored with the Oleśnica City Award and the Medal for Merit for the Development of the Oleśnica County. In 2018, he became the artistic director of the Oleśnica Guitar Festival.