conductor, b. 3rd December 1988 in Poznań. Graduate of the Academy of Music in Poznań, where he studied with Prof. Marcin Sompoliński in the class of symphonic opera conducting. He attended masterclasses run by Dejan Savic (Burgas Opera, 2011) and Bernard Haitink (Lucerne Festival, 2013).
Since 2017 he is assistant-conductor at the Wrocław Opera. Here he conducted performances of Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, premiere of opera for kids Flea the swindler by Maciej Małecki and premiere of first polish opera Krakowiacy i gorale by Jan Stefani). He also conducted rehearsals (every kind: orchestral, ensamble, stage) of: Faust by Charles Gounod, Borys Godunov by Modest Musorgski, Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven), Candide by Leonard Bernstein, Liebesverbot by Richard Wagner, Nabucco and Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini, and King Roger by Karol Szymanowski.
Particularly close to his heart is operatic repertoire; since the 2011 debut in this field, he has conducted such works as Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera in Burgas, Bulgaria), The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Polish Theatre in Poznań/Bydgoszcz Opera Festival – production of the Academy of Music in Poznań), Die Fledermaus by Johannes Strauss, Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach, Csardas Princess by Emmerich Kalman, My Fair Lady by Frederick Loewe, Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter, Jekyll & Hyde by Frank Wildhorn (Musical Theatre in Poznań), and Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock (Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Białystok). In 2015, to great critical acclaim, he conducted the award-winning world premiere performance of Paweł Mykietyn's contemporary opera The Magic Mountain.
Between 2013 and 2015, he was a music director and full-time conductor of the Musical Theatre in Poznań. It was here that he conducted the premiere of David Chesky's performance for children The Mice War (in collaboration with Ludwig van Beethoven Society, dir. by R. Drobniuch), of the musical Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman (dir. by Maria Sartova), as well as of Operetta Charts concert series, which was also released on CD. He has given concerts with philharmonic ensembles from Częstochowa, Płock, Toruń, Kalisz, Koszalin, Wałbrzych, Jelenia Góra, Opole, as well as with the Polish Radio Orchestra. It was with this ensemble that he recorded compositions by Jerzy Młodziejowski, which he had rediscovered.
Part of his conducting practice was preparing the orchestra for concerts, so-called music collaboration. He worked on such titles, as The Magic Flute (Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Białystok), The Gypsy Baron (Musical Theatre in Poznań).
Between 2006 and 2015, he was a director of l'Autunno Chamber Orchestra, and initiator of the ensemble's artistic undertakings. Performances with the ensemble included Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg (National Museum in Poznań, 2011) and Histoire du soldat by Igor Stravinsky (Polski Theatre in Poznań, 2012; dir. by Paweł Szkotak); he also prepared Polish premieres of Requiem by Tigran Mansurian (Nostalgia Festival, 2014), pieces by L. Nono, W. Rihm, B. Furrer,S. Tickmayer (Nostalgia Festival, 2013), as well as of Arvo Pärt's. It was also with this ensemble that he initiated the Polish Camino de Santiago Festival. As an artistic director of the event, he also gave several concerts in the role of conductor (2009-2013). During the Polish Presidency of the EU (2011), the orchestra performed gala concerts in Brussels and Berlin.
On a number of occasions, he took up interdisciplinary collaboration with the world of cinema, performing music by Mark Isham, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, conducting the orchestra at event to mark the 25th anniversary of Varese Sarabande film studio, or accompanying film screenings (Orchestra by Zbigniew Rybczyński, animated films by Theodor Ushev, silent film Janosik). Has also conducted orchestras at various festivals: Animator, Poznań Baroque, Chanterelle, Jan Kiepura Festival in Krynica.
A number of radio and TV stations have broadcast concerts conducted by Adam Banaszak; these include TVP Kultura, Polish TV's Channel 2, TV Polonia, Polish Radio's Channel 2, Radio Merkury, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, Radio Emaus in Poznań.
updated: 2018 (ac)
Artist's website: www.adambanaszak.pl
