dr Joanna Wójtowicz
Dr Joanna Wójtowicz is a conductor, choirmaster, educator, and Doctor of Musical Arts in the discipline of conducting. She graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Kraków, Faculty of Music Education, where she completed studies in choral conducting and music education. As part of the Erasmus programme, she studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. She also completed postgraduate studies in Cultural Management in the European Context.
From 2012 to 2015, she was a research and teaching staff member at the Department of Music and Educational Research of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Since October 2015, she has been affiliated with the Department of Choral Studies at the same institution, where she pursues both pedagogical and artistic activities.
Since 2008, she has been closely associated with the Kraków Opera. Her collaboration began as conductor of Marta Ptaszyńska’s children’s opera Pan Marimba, after which she assumed the position of Chorus Master of the Kraków Opera. Since then, she has continuously participated in the theatre’s artistic work, preparing the chorus for numerous premieres and revivals encompassing a wide operatic, operetta, and oratorio repertoire. She has collaborated with many distinguished conductors and stage directors, gaining extensive experience in preparing repertoire of diverse styles and demanding theatrical requirements. Since 2023, she has regularly conducted the annual Christmas concert of the Opera Chorus entitled Christmas Carols of the World.
Alongside her work at the opera, she develops original artistic and educational projects. In recent years, she collaborated with the Górecki Chaber Choir, preparing and conducting the organ version of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48 (2022). She is the creator, conductor, and lecturer of the project The Chorus – The Great Hero of the Opera Stage. Speaking Concert (2024), featuring the Chorus of the Kraków Opera and devoted to the distinctive nature of the opera chorus profession. Together with the Vocal Ensemble of the Students of Artistic Education and Church Music at the Academy of Music in Kraków, she realized interdisciplinary artistic projects including Poulenc Meets Jazz (2024), combining the choral music of Francis Poulenc with jazz improvisation, and a performance of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero gitano, Op. 152 (2025), in collaboration with Prof. Michał Nagy, who performed the guitar part.
Dr Wójtowicz serves as a jury member in choral competitions and leads choral workshops for children, youth, and adults. Her artistic and scholarly work focuses on the role of the chorus in opera and the unique characteristics of the opera chorus profession. These topics have become the subject of her lectures, conference presentations, and academic publications, including contributions to Creare et Cantare 3, published by the Department of Musicology of the University of Opole in 2025.
In 2026, she completed an Erasmus+ training placement at the Conservatorio di Musica di Cagliari, further expanding her artistic and pedagogical experience.
Her artistic activity is centred on exploring new dimensions of choral music—within operatic and concert settings as well as through projects that extend beyond traditional performance frameworks. She combines extensive experience working with a professional opera chorus with pedagogical expertise and a creative approach to music education.