persons' index (D)

accordion player, composer and teacher; b. 8th January 1949 in Łódź. In 1974 he graduated from the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany), where he studied accordion with Irmgard Slots-Krieg as well as music theory and composition with Heinrich Becker and Herbert Kirmß. In 1996 he obtained the title of professor and in 1999 he was appointed full professor.

He has been associated with the Academy of Music in Łódź (in the years 1993-1999 as its rector, in 2007-2014 as the head of the Department of Accordion Studies and Contemporary Music Interpretation, and in 2008-2013 as the head of Doctoral Studies) and the University of Łódź (in 1999-2003 as the head of the Department of Art Education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences). He has conducted classes and lectures at master courses both in Poland and abroad (Austria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic). He has participated in numerous scientific sessions and symposia, giving papers in the field of accordion performance, accordion music and its history.

Many of his students are winners of national and international competitions. He was a member of the jury of accordion competitions in Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Slovakia. He was a promoter or reviewer in the first and second degree qualification, doctoral and postdoctoral qualification, as well as in proceedings for conferring the title of professor of musical arts in Poland and Austria. He is the author of reviews and expert opinions in the field of didactics, performance and composing, as well as curricula for music schools of all levels.

He took part in numerous festivals, performing world premieres of works by contemporary Polish and foreign composers. He was the founder and manager of numerous ensembles, including the Łódź Accordion Quintet (active in 1974-1983), the Łódź Accordion Orchestra (1984-1986) and the Łódź Trio (1987-2002) composed of: Antoni Wierzbiński – flute, Jerzy Nalepka – guitar, Bogdan Dowlasz – accordion. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in Poland and abroad – in total at about 1,000 concerts.

His body of works include solo and chamber composition as well as theatre music. He is a laureate of composers’ competitions in Poland (Czechowice-Dziedzice, Łódź, Toruń), as well as in Austria and Italy. His works have been published by Polish and foreign publishing houses, including Italian (Ricordi), German (Matthias Hohner, Karthause-Schmülling, Schott) and Austrian (ABC Edition). Accordion literature, including pedagogical works, occupies a significant position in his composition output. Many of his works have been included in the compulsory repertoire of national and international accordion competitions.

He was the vice president of the Main Board of the Polish Accordionists Association (until January 2018), a member of the board of Förderverein für internationale Akkordeonwettbewerbe Klingenthal (Germany), a member of the board of the Łódź Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and an expert of the Ministry of National Education.

For his activities he was awarded the Gold Medal for Long Service, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis, the Medal of the National Education Commission and the Gold Honorary Badge of the Association of Polish Musicians.

updated: 2020 (ac)

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