Employees

prof. dr hab.

Bogdan Gola

choral conducting

Choirmaster, conductor and educator. He debuted as the choir leader of the Silesian Opera in Bytom (1976–1982). After that, he led the following choirs: at the J. Elsner Philharmonic in Opole, “Silesia” Song and Dance Ensemble, the Music Academy in Katowice and the Teatr Wielki — Grand Theatre in Warsaw. He established the “All Antico” Ancient Music Ensemble (1976–86), which specialised in Renaissance and Baroque music, and the “Sacri Concentus” Polyphonic Choir which was affiliated with the Warsaw Music Society in 1993–1998. His range of interests is very wide indeed: from Gregorian monody to the monumental works of Wagner and Penderecki.

The Teatr Wielki — Grand Opera Choir which he led in 1984–95 and has again been managing since 1998 has won the never-ending acclaim of critics and audiences at home and abroad (e.g., in Paris, London, Berlin, Moscow, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Peking or Hong-Kong). This choir’s supreme competence has been recorded by Polskie Nagrania, Schwann Koch International, Studio Berlin Classic, CPO, EMI, CD-ACCORD and also by TVP, ZDF, 3SAT and ARTE, Polish radio broadcasters and EBU. Bogdan Gola has co-operated with many distinguished conductors, e.g., Jacek Kaspszyk, Mark Minkowski, Jesus L. Coboz, Jan Krenz, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Antoni Wit, Kazimierz Kord, Krzysztof Penderecki and Placido Domingo. He has also co-operated on many opera productions with such well-known stage directors as Kazimierz Kutz, Maria Fołtyn, Mark Weiss-Grzesiński, Mariusz Treliński and Krzysztof Warlikowski. In 1988–89 he co-operated with stage conductor Robert Satanowski and the outstanding stage director August Everding in the production of Wagner’s “Ring”.

When planning his concert programs Bogdan Gola reaches not only for well-known oratory and choir works but also for ancient, forgotten canzonalles, codes and scores of the masters of Polish baroque and romantic music (J. Elsner, F. Gotschalk, S. Moniuszko, J. Stefani, J. Wański, J. M. Żebrowski, I, Reimann). He has prepared archival recordings of these programs for TVP2 in co-operation with the “Concerto Avenna” Chamber Orchestra and leading Polish singers. In addition to his artistic work Bogdan Gola also teaches. He began to teach at the K. Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice in 1979. In 1986 he moved to the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw where he is a member of the faculty at the Department of Music Education. He was Vice-Dean of the Department in 1998–2004 and is now full professor responsible for the training of choir conducting adepts. He was nominated titular professor of musical arts in 2001. His artistic and educational work has won him a Gloria Artis Silver Medal. Many of Professor Bogdan Gola’s former students now hold significant posts at all levels of music education, in various cultural institutions and the public media.

He is head of the Chair of Choir Conducting for term 2008–2012.