Andrzej Kosendiak

A renowned conductor of oratorio and cantata works from various periods, as well as symphonic music from the Classical and early Romantic periods, Andrzej Kosendiak has long been passionate about early music performed on period instruments. He has founded numerous artistic ensembles, including the Collegio di Musica Sacra, NFM Choir, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, NFM Boys’ Choir, NFM Girls’ Choir, and Wrocław Baroque Ensemble. He also initiated the Leo Festival. Thanks to his efforts, a recording project of Paul McCreesh and the NFM Choir, encompassing recordings of great oratorio works, was realised. He also initiated the recording series 1000 Years of Music in Wrocław and Witold Lutosławski. Opera Omnia. Andrzej Kosendiak has an extensive discography to his credit – recordings under his direction have won the Wrocław Music Prize, four Fryderyk Awards, and received numerous nominations, including for Opus Klassik and the International Classical Music Awards. As a conductor, he performs with ensembles of the National Forum of Music and other orchestras, both in Poland and internationally. He has given concerts in almost all European countries, as well as in China, Thailand, and the United States. As a conductor, he has performed at numerous prestigious festivals and in concert halls, including the Teatro della Scala in Milan and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Andrzej Kosendiak graduated from the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, and Music Theory at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, where he served as head of the Interfaculty Workshop of Early Music from 2001 to 2009, and in 2013 he obtained his postdoctoral degree. Between 2014 and 2016, he lectured at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. In 2021, he was awarded the title of professor. Since 2018, he has been teaching at his alma mater. In 2005, he became director of the Wrocław Philharmonic and the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, leading the transformation of both institutions and their merger into the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music, which he directed until August 2024. He currently serves as artistic director of the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, artistic director of Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, and artistic advisor to the NFM management. 

At his initiative, the Society of Polish Philharmonics was founded, where he served as chair of the board for three terms. From 2016 to 2019, he was vice-chair of the Council for Artistic Institutions at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. He is a member of the Programme Council for Music of the National Institute of Music and Dance, and since 2021 has served on the University Council of the Wrocław University of Economics. 

Andrzej Kosendiak is an extremely active organiser of musical life and originator of numerous educational projects. He has collaborated with the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio” in Brescia, Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón in Zaragoza, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Between 1990 and 2000, he served as a visiting scholar at the Centre for Artistic Education, and from 2000 to 2001, he was director of the Department of Programming and Supervision of Artistic Education at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. He initiated educational projects such as Singing Wrocław, Singing Poland, international choir meetings Singing Europe, and Mummy, Daddy Sing to Me. Thanks to his support, the Polish National Youth Choir, Choral Academy, Academy of Early Music (an annual festival combining master classes and concerts), NFM Orchestra Academy (preparing musicians for work in professional orchestras), and the NFM Education Centre were established. He initiated the Musica Polonica Rediviva programme, which encourages young artists to perform Polish music worldwide with the support of conservatories and festivals. The first CD in a series of complete Johann Sebastian Bach cantatas for recorder will soon be released, performed by Giovanni Antonini and Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, conducted by Andrzej Kosendiak. The CD will be released on the renowned Alpha Classics label.