Michałowski, Zawartko, Rehlis, Lampert, Goliński, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir
Biography Michałowski, Zawartko, Rehlis, Lampert, Goliński, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir
Bartosz Michałowski
graduated with distinction in choral conducting from the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. In the years 1998–2005, he was assistant to Prof. Stefan Stuligrosz and conductor of the Poznań Philharmonic Choir. Together with this Choir, also known as the Poznań Nightingales, he has performed extensively in Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Russia, and Japan.
Bartosz Michałowski won the 2015 Orphée d’Or of the Académie du Disque Lyrique in Paris, was nominated for a 2015 Fryderyk award for his 2CD album featuring works by Pasquale Anfossi, is the recipient of one Gold Disc, and also won the 9th Polish National Choral Conductors Competition, where he received a special prize for his work on voice production with choirs. Bartosz Michałowski is the founder, conductor, and Artistic Director of the Poznań Chamber Choir, one of the best ensembles of its kind in Poland. He is also the founder and Director of the Opus 966 Polish Composers’ Competition, and the author of Pisz muzykę – to proste! (Write Music – It’s Easy) composing workshops for children and young people. He is also a co-author of the Obrazogranie project organised as part of the Art for Children Biennale in Poznań.
Together with the Poznań Chamber Choir, his talents have been recognised in prestigious competitions in Germany and France, and he has also received the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the International Choir Festival in Neuchâtel.
The Poznań Chamber Choir is the only choir in Poland to collaborate with the legendary Concerto Köln Orchestra; in addition, it has appeared with the Irish Baroque Orchestra and performed many times with the Poznań Philharmonic Opera, Polish Radio Orchestra, Jelenia Góra Philharmonic, Gorzów Philharmonic, and Czech Virtuosi.
As a conductor, Michałowski has garnered major prizes in reputable choral competitions as well as numerous special awards for, inter alia, best vocal technique of an ensemble, best performance of contemporary music, and best conductor.
During his 18-month term with the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, he conducted—both at the Warsaw Philharmonic concert hall and on tour—Szymanowski’s Kurpie Songs, Kodály’s and Gretchaninov’s Masses, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. In October 2017 as the Choir’s director, he prepared the ensemble for a performance of the world premiere of Anton Rubinstein’s sacred opera Moses (cond. Michail Jurowski) and in February 2018, he recorded Roman Padlewski’s Stabat Mater as part of the 100 na 100 – Muzyczne dekady wolności (100 by 100 – Musical decades of freedom) project launched by PWM Edition. He also helped prepare a dozen vocal-instrumental concerts of the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, during which he collaborated with eminent conductors such as Ton Koopman, Christoph König, Matthew Halls, and Jacek Kaspszyk, as well as with Krzysztof Penderecki on his Polish Requiem.
He has been invited to participate in prestigious festivals, such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Gaude Mater International Festival of Sacred Music, International Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki Festival, Transatlantyk, Nostalgia, Wojciech Kilar Contemporay Music Festival, Poznań Spring Contemporary Music Festival, Musica Sacromontana Oratorio Music Festival, Lower Silesia Music Festival, and Mikołów Music Days.
To date, Michałowski has rehearsed and staged several hundred a cappella pieces from all musical periods, and he has also collaborated regularly with renowned institutions and orchestras on performances of vocal-instrumental works. His output includes numerous first performances.
In addition to gaining a wealth of experience as a conductor, Bartosz Michałowski has spent many years working on enhancing his skills and knowledge in the field of voice production: he has completed masterclasses with Poppy Holden, Christian Elsner, and Józef Frakstein. As a conductor, choirmaster, and soloist, he is featured on 20 albums.
