Piotr Gajewski, music director of Maryland’s National Philharmonic, was honored on November 12 with the Kosciuszko Foundation’s 2016 Pioneer Award. Gajewski received the award at the foundation’s annual gala at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Gajewski was born in Poland and emigrated to the U.S. in 1969. In addition to his role as conductor of the National Philharmonic, Gajewski is principal guest conductor of the Silesian Philharmonic (Katowice, Poland) and a frequent guest conductor at other Polish orchestras, including the Warsaw and Krakow Philharmonics. He is currently the only American serving on the jury of Poland’s Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors. The nonprofit Kosciuszko Foundation works to promote educational and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Poland and to increase American understanding of Polish culture and history. The National Philharmonic, ensemble in residence at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, performs symphonic concerts and choral concerts together with the National Philharmonic Chorale, and offers education programs including a Summer String Institute.
Posted November 21, 2016
Piotr Gajewski photo by Joshua Cogan
