prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Latała
Prof. Dr Krzysztof Latala was born in 1953 in Cracow. He started his music education with his father, Prof. Wladyslaw Latala and continued taking piano lessons with Prof.s Halina Niec-Esders and Ludwik Stefanski before studying organ at the Academy of Music in Cracow with Prof.s Leszek Werner and Jan Jargon.
Between 1979 – 1980 he has been granted with the Austrian Government scholarship to study Theory and Old Music Performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with N. Harnoncourt and J. Sonnleitner.
He attended a number of organ master classes, among others with L. Lohmann, J. Laukvika, W. Rubsam, E. Koimmman, A. Gasta and G. Leonhardt.
Between 1981 – 1983 he organised a cycle of organ concerts at the “Arka Pana” church (“Lord’s Ark”) in Nowa Huta (industrial Cracow’s quarter). In 1985 he received the Special Prize at the Bach – Haendel Competition in Brugge (Belgium) after which he has recorded a CD with Bach’s major works in Kempen, Germany. Since 1998 he is recording on historic organs for Westdeusche Rundfunk from Cologne in the Polish towns of Nowy Sacz and Imbremowice for Rieger-Kloss in Krosno-Turaszowka, Poland and in Sistig, Germany. In 2000, on the occasion of 250th anniversary of J.S. Bach’s death, he recorded CD with Bach’s works in Steinfeld Germany. In 2010, again at the “Arka Pana” church (“Lord’s Ark”) in Nowa Huta along with Lucja Czarnecka – soprano, he recorded a CD with sacred music. Between 1967 – 2000 he was active as an organist and concerts organiser in several churches in Cracow. Between 1999 – 2002 he was a co-organiser and Head of the Church Music Department (of the Cracow Music Academy), which has later been converted into the Inter-Colleges Department of the Church Music at the Academy of Music and Pontifical University of John Paul II, both in Cracow.
As a participant of the European Professors Exchange Programme he gave organ master classes in Leipzig, Lubeck (Germany) and Graz (Austria) and also at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (China).
He was also a member of jury at the International Organ Competition in Maastricht (Holland) and the Bach Competition in Leipzig. He performs regularly across Europe, USA, Canada, Russia, Ukraine and China.