Kołodziejski, Leszek

Accordionist, soloist and chamber musician, music arranger and session musician, he graduated from the Grażyna & Kiejstut Bacewicz Music Academy in Łódź. He has recorded music notably by Zbigniew Bargielski, Paweł Łukowiec, Mikołaj Majkusiak, Krzysztof Olczak, Bronisław Kazimierz Przybylski, and Artur Zagajewski. He has performed at festivals such as Fiesta della Musica in Rome, Spring Voices in Moscow, Alkagran Autumn Music Festival in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Film Trailers Festival in Wałbrzych, Silesian Quartet & Guests Chamber Music Festival in Katowice, International Accordion Music Festival in Przemyśl, Science, Technique and Arts Festival in Łódź, Dialogue of Four Cultures Festival in Łódź, Film Music Festival in Łódź, Music Competition Award Winners' Festival in Bydgoszcz, and Musica Moderna in Łódź. He has also appeared with the Łódź and Zabrze philharmonics.

As a musician, arranger and composer, he regularly cooperates with theatres in Łódź, and is the author of music for theatrical performances such as the Dybbuk directed by Mariusz Grzegorzek and The Miser by Mariusz Pilawski.

An important element of his art is improvisation. He regularly takes part in multimedia and theatre projects with live improvised music. In 2017, a CD was published with his Jewish and Hasid music arrangements, performed by Rabbi Symcha Keller.

He has won numerous awards at Polish and international competitions, including the International Accordion Music Festival in Przemyśl (1997, 1998, 2004), International Accordion Competition in Caste dardo (2nd Prize, 1999), International Accordion Competition in Poprad, Slovakia (1st Prize and Special Award for the youngest contestant, 2001), Coupe Mondiale International Accordion Music Competition in Copenhagen (1st Prize for chamber ensembles, 2002), Andrzej Krzanowski International Accordion Competition in Czechowice-Dziedzice (1st Prize and Special Award, 2002), and International Accordion Competition in Pula, Croatia (1st Prize for chamber ensembles, 2007). He has received the Young Poland scholarship (2009) and was four times awarded a scholarship from the Polish Minister of Culture.

Since 2005 he has been assistant professor at the Grażyna & Kiejstut Bacewicz Music Academy in Łódź.