Zbigniew Ciechan has died...

Composer, pianist, arranger, teacher and music journalist Zbigniew Ciechan passed away on 24 January 2021 at the age of 91.

Initially he studied at the State Higher School of Music in Poznań and then at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw, from which he graduated in 1962. He was a student of Witold Rudziński.

In the years 1961-66 he was the musical director of the "Stodoła" student cabaret in Warsaw, in 1964 – the Alibabki ensemble, and from 1966 to 1970 – the "Granica" Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army. He prepared educational and popularizing programmes for the Polish Radio – Music for Children section. He taught at the Academy of Music in Warsaw and at the Institute of Music Education at the Pedagogical University in Kielce. He was the editor of the magazine "Music Education at School", the author of the first textbook for arranging pop music in Poland and other textbooks.

Zbigniew Ciechan received many important awards and distinctions, including several Polish Radio Awards, the Award of the Polish Composers' Union (1977) and the Award of the Prime Minister of Poland (1983). In 2018 he was honored with the Special Award of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

May he rest in peace.