Hubert Kowalski
He is a versatile musician conducting multidirectional artistic activities. Composer, conductor, music producer, string bass player and vocalist. He studied choral conducting at the Krakow Academy of Music.
His musical interests developed through collaboration with outstanding musicians such as Marcin and Lidia Pospieszalscy, Joachim Mencel, Piotr Baron, Mieczysław Szcześniak, and Andrzej Cudzich. Since 1993, he has been co-creating the band Deus Meus, with which he performs contemporary genres of popular music (he has recorded 6 albums with the band). Fascination with early music resulted in cooperation with the lutenist Antoni Pilch and the band Brotherhood of Lute. One of the most interesting projects realized within this group is a combination of 16th and 17th century vocal music with jazz improvisation, which Tomasz Stańko undertook. In the years 2003–2013 he collaborated with the Polish Radio Choir in Krakow, with which he sang under the baton of the most outstanding Polish conductors and composers.
His interest in film music, music of different eras and cultures, and contemporary entertainment music has led to the creation of own compositions combining styles. As a composer, he has made Christmas Oratory for choir, orchestra, soloists and rhythm section (premiere Krakow 2007; symphonic version – premiere Poznań 2014), Passion according to St. Jan for choir, orchestra, soloists and percussion instruments (premiere Krakow 2008), musical Zazdrosna Miłość (as co-creator; premiere Kraków 2005), Oratorium o Św. Rafale Kalinowskim for choir and orchestra (premiere Krakow 2009), Mystery of Forgiveness for choir, symphony orchestra, soloists and jazz section (premiere Legnica 2010), Sign of Hope – musical show about the apparitions of Our Lady in Gietrzwałd (Gietrzwałd 2013), Per Crucem ad lucem – oratorio program on the importance of suffering (Legnica 2014), Oratory. Here is my faithful servant about Blessed Fr. M. Sopoćko for soloists, choir and symphony orchestra (Białystok 2014), Monumenta Rychwałda – Mystery of the miraculous events in the Sanctuary of the Mother of God in Rychwałd (Żywiec 2015) – for soloists, choir, orchestra and band; Soli Deo per Mariam – Oratorio on Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński (Katowice 2017) – for soloists, choir and orchestra; Jubilate Deo omnis terra – Oratory on St. Maria Magdalena (for the city of Lubań for the patronage ceremony of Saint Mary Magdalena – Lubań 2017); many songs addressing the problems of the modern world, including Give time, Love continues – songs supporting the 1% campaign for the Małopolska Children’s Hospice.
In 2007 he founded the ICON orchestra consisting mainly of students and graduates of the Krakow Academy of Music. He performs with her his own compositions, film and entertainment music (including the group New Life M, Raz Dwa Trzy and Michał Urbaniak). He led projects of UrbSymphony (music of M. Urbaniak) with the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra and the Toruń Symphony Orchestra as well as the Mystery of Forgiveness with the Lower Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, Raz Dwa Trzy- 25 incl. the NFM Orchestra in Wrocław and NOSPR in Katowice. He collaborates with many orchestras – the Częstochowa Philharmonic Orchestra, the Silesian Philharmonic, the Podkarpackie Philharmonic, the Płock Symphony Orchestra, the Archetti Chamber Orchestra.
In 2011, he was invited by Jan Budziaszek to prepare and lead an orchestra at Europe’s largest open concert of worship – One Heart of One Spirit – in Rzeszów. Is a producer of various cultural events, including the concert Wracam do Was, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the Krakow Market Square in connection with the beatification of the Holy Father John Paul II, during which he collaborated with Kayah, Andrzej Lampert, Ryszard Rynkowski, Zbigniew Wodecki, Beata Rybotycka, Elżbieta Towarnicka and the Zakopower group. He is the author of various arrangements, in particular orchestral ones, for film and light music (Raz Dwa Trzy – 25 – nomination for Fryderyk 2017) as well as educational music (Rainbow music – an interactive project for children). He is the leader of the Only You group consisting of talented scholarship holders of the Work of the New Millennium Foundation.
For several years, he has been composing contemporary liturgical songs, preparing new vocal and instrumental arrangements for songs constituting the Tradition of the Catholic Church (his compositions were used during the meeting of Benedict XVI with young people in Krakow in 2006). He conducts numerous workshops throughout the country, aimed at improving the quality of religious music performed during the liturgy in Polish churches. He led the choir and orchestra during the recording of WYD Hymn – Krakow 2016. Music is for him a reality that expresses the deepest feelings and experiences, capable of opening a man to true Beauty.
