Employees

prof. dr hab.

Aleksander Kościów

composition

Aleksander Kościów was born on 1974 in Opole. In 1993 he took up studies at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in composition class of Professor Marian Borkowski, and in 1994 he became a student at viola class of Professor Błażej Sroczyński. He graduated in both majors in 1998 (diploma in composition with honours). He also studied ethnography at the University of Warsaw (Chair of Ethnography and Cultural Anthropology 1995/1996) and classical philology with Polish language studies (Faculty of Classical Philology and Faculty of Polish Studies, 1999–2000).

Since 2008 he has been a teaching employee at his parent university’s Department of Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music, the main subject he teaches is counterpoint (for students of composition, on the basis of his original programme). He also taught composition as a visiting professor at Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea (2009, 2014–2015), gave lectures and taught classes in composition and contemporary music performance during the Jeunesses Modernes in Weikersheim and Munich (Germany, 2003) and at the San Diego State University in San Diego (USA, 2006). He was a prize winner of composition competitions and holder of the Fulbright scholarship (2005). In 2007 he obtained a doctoral degree (supervisor – Professor Marian Borkowski), followed by a post-doctoral degree in 2014.

His pieces have been performed during contemporary music festivals, concerts and events in Poland (e.g. International Festival of Music Tradition and Avant-garde KODY, Musica Polonica Nova, Warsaw Music Meetings, and more ) and abroad (France, Japan, South Korea, Lithuania, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Great Britain and Italy). He has collaborated with Joe Alter, an American contemporary ballet choreographer, numerous string quartets (such as Royal, Wilanów, Camerata, NeoQuartet or Kronos), choirs and ensembles (e.g. Kwartludium, Cellonet, Vocal Ensemble of the International School of Traditional Music, London Sinfonietta, Hebrides Ensemble, or ProModern).

He is also an author of texts about music (e.g. he regularly collaborates with Opole’s sociocultural quarterly magazine “Strony”), novels “Świat nura” (Muza 2006), “Przeproś” (Muza 2008, nomination to “Passport award” of the magazine “Polityka”) and “Lecą wieloryby” (Znak 2010) as well as short stories.

He is a member of the Polish Composers’ Union, Polish Society of Authors and Composers and Phonographic Academy.