Paweł GUSNAR

Paweł Gusnar is a saxophonist, chamber musician, educator, and habilitated professor.

He studied saxophone at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

Since 2003, he has been teaching saxophone at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (UMFC) and the Kiejstut and Grażyna Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź.

He has held key positions, including Vice-Dean of the Instrumental Faculty (2011–2016) and Vice-Rector for International Affairs at UMFC (2016–2024).

A versatile artist, he combines classical music, jazz, and popular music.

An engaged promoter of contemporary creation, he has collaborated on over 80 original works composed for him, including 16 saxophone concertos with orchestra.

His publications include the Paweł Gusnar Collection and the Orchestral Studies for Saxophone (2018).

He performs with major Polish and international philharmonics, such as the National Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester), Orchestre Valentiana (France), and the National Music Academy of Kyiv.

He has worked with prestigious conductors such as Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Valery Gergiev, Ennio Morricone, and Maria Schneider.

In jazz and popular music, he collaborates with top Polish big bands and artists such as Adam Sztaba, Tomasz Szymuś, Krzysztof Herdzin, as well as international figures like Michael Bolton, Katie Melua, Lemar, and Chris Botti.

He is also a session musician for television and radio productions.

Invited to prestigious festivals including the World Saxophone Congress, SaxFest Vienna, Esterhazy Festival, Hi Seoul Festival, and the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, he is also sought after as a jury member and teaches international masterclasses in South Korea, China, UAE, Europe, and the USA.

With over 60 recordings, including nearly 20 solo or co-signed albums, he is a four-time Fryderyk Prize winner, recipient of the Armatka Kultury (2019), CEA Director’s Prize (2018), and Pizzicato Supersonic Award (2009).

He has been nominated for the Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej, International Classical Music Awards 2020, and the Wrocław Music Prize.

Founder and conductor of the Warsaw Saxophone Orchestra, he actively promotes the saxophone, musical culture, and education, notably through the II Polish Saxophone Congress (2018) and the Adolphe Sax Conference celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth (2014).

He is an official artist for YAMAHA, D’Addario, and BG Franck Bichon.