Instrumental Faculty
The history of the Instrumental Faculty dates back to the times of Franciszek Mirecki’s Music School and Hall of Residence (1841-1873), the Music School of the Music Society (1867-1888) and the Conservatoire of the Music Society (1888-1939). For decades, generation after generation of instrumentalists were taught there by a group of eminent pedagogues, such as Jan Chmielewski, Adolf Peters, Leopold Bobilewicz, Egon Petri, Seweryn Eisenberger, Jan Drozdowski, Jerzy Lalewicz, Wiktor Łabuński, Kazimierz Krzyształowicz, Bolesław Domaniewski and others.
The teaching staff of the post-war Faculty (established in 1946) comprised, for a number of years, of academic teachers coming from Krakow and other places in Poland. They included, among others, Eugenia Umińska, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Jan Ekier, Bronisław Rutkowski, Jan Hoffman, Henryk Sztompka, Witold Herman, Ludwik Stefański, Ludwik Lutak, Józef Stojko, Karol Skarżyński, Czesław Peciulewicz, Edward Szcześniak, Władysław Kosieradzki, Wacław Chudziak, Zenon Feliński, Zofia Adamska, Jan Tawroszewicz, Jan Jargoń, Józef Mikulski, Zbigniew Szlezer, Tadeusz Żmudziński and many others.
Today, the mission of the Instrumental Faculty is to ensure multifaceted education of instrumental musicians in the spirit of combining rich traditions with new achievements of the performing arts.
The most important goal of the highly qualified teaching staff is to improve the instrumental and other core competences of students, to prepare them for independent careers in the music profession and to shape their artistic personalities. What plays a crucial role in the teaching process is the master-student relationship, and the tasks set for the students are selected according to the individual needs of each of them.
One of the important objectives of the Faculty is to shape the tastes and improve the competences of music consumers through active participation in the cultural life of the city and the region. The Instrumental Faculty’s teachers continuously support the music education institutions at lower levels.
Of the 158 staff members at the Faculty, 36 hold the title of Professor, 58 hold the title of Associate Professor [PhD habil.] (including 20 professors of the Academy) and 48 the title of Doctor (data at February 2022). They carry out artistic and research activities in 11 Departments assigned to the Faculty, and an important element of their work is providing students with opportunities to present their artistic and scientific achievements during concerts, festivals and thematic sessions.
The Instrumental Faculty is also actively involved in the educational courses of the Doctoral School and offers a two-year postgraduate programme. The Faculty maintains dynamic and extensive relations with foreign pedagogues and universities. There are student research groups actively operating at the Faculty, which continue to undertake new innovative research and artistic initiatives.
At present, within the field of instrumental music, the Instrumental Faculty offers 30 specialities in the bachelor’s degree programme and 38 specialities in the master’s degree programme. The master’s programme is provided in a modular system. Depending on the speciality, the available modules include:
– soloist module,
– chamber music module,
– orchestral module,
– tutor module (for pianists),
– contemporary music performance module.
In recent years, the educational offer has been enhanced by introducing new specialities into the bachelor’s programme (playing the guitar in the field of jazz music) and into the master’s programme (playing the violone and playing the historical piano).
Pedagogues who have served as Dean of the Instrumental Faculty since 1946 (in chronological order):
Professor Jan Hoffman (1946-1949)
Professor Karol Klein (1949-1950)
Professor Bronisław Rutkowski (1950-1951)
Professor Józef Chwedczuk (1951-1954)
Professor Jan Hoffman (1954-1955)
Professor Józef Chwedczuk (1955- 1969)
Professor Jan Jargoń (1969- 1972)
Professor Zbigniew Jeżewski (1972-1975)
Professor Krzysztof Missona (1975-1978)
Professor Zbigniew Szlezer (1978-1981)
Professor Janusz Dolny (1981-1987)
Professor Leszek Werner (1987- 1993)
Professor Andrzej Godek (1993- 1996)
Professor Andrzej Pikul (1996- 1999)
Professor Zbigniew Kamionka (1999-2005)
Professor Mirosława Semeniuk-Podraza (2005-2012)
Professor Zbigniew Kamionka (2012-2016)
Professor Mariusz Sielski (2016-2024).
In the present term, the office of Dean is held by prof. dr hab. Jan Kalinowski, with dr hab. Monika Wilińska-Tarcholik, dr hab. Monika Gardoń-Preinl, prof. AMKP, and dr hab. Wiesław Suruło, prof. AMKP, serving as Associate Deans.