Wojciech Czepiel:

Wojciech Czepiel is a prominent Polish conductor of the middle generation. He was born in Nowy Targ, southern Poland, in 1959. He started to take violin lessons from his father at the age of five.

Ten years later, as a member of the All Antico Orchestra of a secondary music school in Kraków, he won First Prize at the Herbert von Karajan Competition for Chamber Orchestras in Berlin.

He also had an opportunity to play under the Karajan’s baton. In 1976, as a student of Antoni Cofalik, he won Fourth Prize at Zdzisław Janke National Violin Competition. A year later he qualified to the semi-finals of the Henryk Wieniawski International Competition in Poznań. He continued his studies with Kaja Danczowska at the Academy of Music in Kraków. In 1979 [one year] he worked as a violinist in the Polish Chamber Orchestra and then studied conducting with Krzysztof Missona at the Kraków
Academy (diploma with distinction in 1984).

He made his conducting debut in 1981 with the Chamber Orchestra of Krakow Music Academy . In 1982-84 he worked as assistant conductor and leader of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra.In 1984-86 he was Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk and between 1986 and 1990 worked as Conductor of the Warsaw Chamber Opera. In 1990-1991, he was associated with the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź and 1991-1994 worked as Conductor and Vice-Artistic Director of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw. 1997-2006 he was Chief Conductor of the Symhony Orchestra of Kraków Music Academy.

Mr Czepiel has made numerous archive recordings for Polish radio,Deusche Welle as well as various labels such as Arts,Dux, Europa Musica, Polmusic, Denon, Polskie Nagrania, and Pro Musica Camerata.

At present he is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra in Beirut.