WALDEMAR WOJTAL (Poland)

Graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, where he studied with Zbigniew Śliwiński, one of the most eminent Polish teachers, the founder of the Gdańsk piano school. Mr. Wojtal continued his education in Paris with Vlado Perlemuter and Suzanne Roche. He attended master classes given by Georgi Sebok and Dieter Zechlin.

Recipient of a scholarship from the F. Chopin Society in Warsaw, prize winner at the Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk, Young Musicians’ Festival in Gdańsk and the 2nd National Piano Competition in Warsaw.

The pianist gives concerts in Poland and abroad – in France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, USA, Ukraine and others. Nevertheless, his main activity is piano teaching. Since 1979 he has been conducting a piano class at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. At the same time he works with gifted pupils from music high schools of the same city. For many years Mr. Wojtal has been a member of the National Children’s Fund, which looks after extraordinary talented young pianists, selected from Polish music schools on the basis of significant competition results. Among the students of Waldemar Wojtal, there are prize winners of main awards at piano competitions. Many of them commenced an active concert carrier.

Waldemar Wojtal co-operates with the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and the Centre for Artistic Education. He has been for instance a member of the Artistic Education Council and several times a jury member at national piano auditions organised by the institutions named above. He has also held seminars for piano teachers. Moreover Mr. Wojtal gives master classes in Poland and abroad. He is also a jury member of national and international piano competitions and the founder and organiser of the 1st Baltic International Piano Competition.

Since 1999 Waldemar Wojtal has been the head of the Piano Department at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. 1993 – 1999 and 2004 – 2005 he was the rector of this academy. During his term of office, the Academy of Music was moved to a new location, the current one. Apart from that, the construction of an additional building, in which the new concert hall has been opened this year, started.

For his artistic and pedagogical activities Mr. Wojtal received the Minister of Culture Award, the Golden Cross of Merit and the Medal of Great Merit in the Service to Culture – “Gloria Artis”.

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