Łuc, Rafał International Festival of Contemporary Music Warsaw Autumn

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Born in 1987 in Wrocław, graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music (class of Owen Murray), Musikene Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco in San Sebastián (class of Iñaki Alberdi), and the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music (accordion class of Zbigniew Łuc), where he is now an assistant professor. In September 2018 he obtained a postdoctoral degree in musical arts. He has given performances from his earliest years, playing as a soloist with Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra at 15 years of age. In 2004 he appeared with orchestras from Malmö and Copenhagen. In January 2009 he made his debut in London’s Purcell Room. During his UK studies he also performed notably at London’s Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, Barbican Centre, King’s Place, Royal Albert Hall, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Bristol’s Colston Hall, and Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, as well as Wigmore Hall (as a finalist of Young Concert Artists Trust and Patron’s Award competitions). His 2011 US debut included performances at Carnegie Hall and Weill Hall. 

With violist Rafał Zalech he plays in Duo van Vliet. He is also a cofounder and member of Kompopolex ensemble. He has worked with ensembles and institutions such as BBC Symphony, Royal Opera House, Aurora Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta, Nash Ensemble, Chroma, Rambert Dance Company, Riot Ensemble, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, and Wrocław Opera. He cooperates with composers on new accordion repertoire, appearing at major festivals of new music such as Warsaw Autumn, Musica Polonica Nova, Musica Electronica Nova, Codes, Poznań Music Spring, Sacrum Profanum, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and Ostrava New Music Days. His achievements earned him scholarships from the Wrocław City Council, Marshal’s Office of Lower Silesia, zDolny Śląsk programme, Crescendum Est Polonia and Solti foundations, the Young Poland programme, and the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage (four times). 

Łuc has developed his abilities at masterclasses taught by Friedrich Lips, Matti Rantanen, Mika Väyrynen, Claudio Jacomucci, Vojin Vasovic, Raimondas Sviackevičius, Joachim Pichura, Bogdan Dowlasz, and Jerzy Jurek. As a soloist and orchestral musician, he has performed under leading conductors such as as Pierre-André Valade, Baldur Brönnimann, Lionel Bringuier, Christopher Austin, Mirga Gražynitė-Tyla, Łukasz Borowicz, Szymon Bywalec, and Maciej Koczur. In June 2011 he recorded (with Korean cellist Ha-Eun Kim) a CD of works by Bach and Piazzolla (Universal Music), followed in June 2015 by his solo debut album acc++ca with music for accordion and electronics. Two years later Orchid Classics released Duo van Vliet’s Lachrymae ReVisited, nominated by New Music Scotland for the EMV Award as New Music Recording of the Year. Early in 2020 two other joint CD projects came out under the Requiem Records label: cROSSFAdE, dedicated to Cezary Duchnowski’s chamber music, and Dualabilis, an album of Polish accordion works recorded with Maciej Frąckiewicz. In 2017–18 Łuc was OMN New Music Orchestra’s artist-in-residence in Katowice. The artist plays a specially commissioned instrument built by Pigini Nova.