ALEKSANDER WNUK, multi-percussionist / performer / sound artist / PhD in Arts
“He always strives for perfection in his playing and a very personal performance by involving his artistic emotionality. Through a large portion of talent, combined with an enormous motivation, he has already become an experienced musician with a personal voice in the field of solo performing.” [Gert Mortensen]
He specializes in performing Contemporary and Experimental Music, as a soloist and chamber musician. His interests mostly revolve around multi-percussion and intermedia genres. His repertoir covers classical literature and new works. He often focuses on post-instrumental issues and on the corporeality of the performance. He creates his own sound projects combining musical genres – the most recent is Lupnik and Komentarz eufemistyczny. His activity includes free improvisation, instrumental performance art, composing and performing music for dramatic theater (e.g. Art of Living, National Stary Theater) and dance performance (e.g. Manhattan, MISSPIECE), and for silent film. Writings of his have been published in the magazines Glissando and Ruch Muzyczny. He collaborated, among others with Pierre Jodlowski, Sara Nemtsov, Trond Reinholdtsen and Matthew Shlomowitz. Among the most significant achievements is the World Premiere of Sarah Nemtsov’s concerto for solo percussionist, narrator and large orchestra En Face, numerous solo recitals (including at Musica Electronica Nova 2021) and chamber performances at most important festivals for new music.
Currently he is a member of Spółdzielnia Muzycznacontemporary ensemble (holder of Ernst von Siemens Music Prize 2021-22), Krakow Improvisers Orchestra, duos: with Paulina Owczarek, and with Michał Lazar. As a guest artist he co-operated with Hashtag Ensemble and New Music Orchestra. He was collaborating with The Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theatre and The Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Krakow. He was a member of Percurama Percussion Ensemble for many years.
He obtained education in Denmark, Poland, Austria and Germany. This includes Academy of Music in Gdansk and Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen (reputable class led by Prof. Gert Mortensen, where he also completed prestigious Soloist Class), Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, impuls Academy in Graz, Ensemble Recherche Akademie in Freiburg and IEMA.
He defended his doctoral thesis at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, where he currently teaches in the Percussion and Contemporary Music Department.
Aleksander Wnuk 