Wiesław Ochwat – accordion

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Wiesław Ochwat is a versatile and actively engaged instrumentalist, committed to cultural life through frequent concert performances, co-organization of artistic events, and dedicated work in both academic and educational spheres. In 2014, he graduated with distinction from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. He received his PhD in 2018 and earned his postdoctoral degree (habilitation) in 2024. He currently leads the accordion class at the Department of Woodwind Instruments and Accordion at the same institution.

A major milestone in his artistic development was the completion of the two-year “Italian Accordion Academy” program in 2016 — an advanced postgraduate course in accordion performance and pedagogy, held in Urbino, Italy, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The program was led by distinguished accordionist and educator Claudio Jacomucci (one of the last students of Mogens Ellegaard) and dancer, choreographer, and Alexander Technique specialist Kathleen Delaney.

His main area of artistic focus is the performance and promotion of contemporary music. He has premiered dozens of new works, both solo and chamber, many of which were commissioned or created on his initiative. Wiesław Ochwat is a laureate of numerous accordion competitions and festivals both in Poland and abroad, including: the IBLA Grand Prize Competition 2019 (Ragusa, Italy), the Castelfidardo International Accordion Prize (Italy), the Andrzej Krzanowski Accordion Competition (Czechowice-Dziedzice), the International Accordion Music Festival (Przemyśl), and the International Accordion Competition in Poprad (Slovakia). In addition to contemporary music, his repertoire also includes classical, improvised, and popular music.

In 2023, he was awarded the main prize — the “Musical Eagle” statuette — for the world premiere of In Between by Mikołaj Majkusiak, the first concerto in Poland for quarter-tone accordion and orchestra, performed with Sinfonietta Cracovia under the baton of Maestro Maciej Tworek. In 2021, he also received the “Golden Diploma” in Category I – Phonographic Album at the same competition for his debut solo album Between Paths – Contemporary Accordion Music – Polish Solo Works (2020) / DUX 1701.

Wiesław Ochwat has performed extensively in Poland and internationally at major music festivals, including: Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), Ibla Music Festival (Italy), Il Fiore delle mille e una nota (Netherlands), Les Clés du Classique (France), Festival Internacional de Tango de Granada (Spain), Prikarpacka Vesna (Ukraine), Composer+ Summer Academy (Lithuania), Castelfidardo International Accordion Prize, Classica Brianza, Armonie di Natale (Italy), as well as Sacrum Profanum, MOZG Art Festival, Musica Basilica, Euro Chamber Music Festival, Lower Silesian Music Festival, On the Road to a New Harmony, Autumn Music Festival “Alkagran”, and the Kraków International Festival of Composers (Poland).

He has further developed his skills through numerous masterclasses and workshops led by acclaimed teachers such as Alexander Dmitriev, Claudio Jacomucci, Teodoro Anzellotti, Mika Väyrynen, Bogdan Dowlasz, and Joseph Petric. He is a multiple-time scholarship recipient of the Polish Ministry of Culture, the Rector of the Academy of Music in Kraków, and the Mayor of Brzesko. He is also a laureate and scholarship holder of the Tarnów “Week of Talents” festival and received a Creative Scholarship from the City of Kraków to support his debut album.

For several years, Wiesław Ochwat has been actively collaborating with the Art Forum Foundation, where he contributes to organizing successive editions of the Kraków Accordion Festival and other cultural events.