Aleksander Gref
Aleksander Gref was born in Poznań. He studied at the Academy of Music in Poznań in the symphony conducting class of prof. Renard Czajkowski and opera in the class of prof. Antoni Gref. He graduated with honors in 1999.
Currently, he works at the Academy of Music in Poznań as an assistant professor, where he conducts classes at the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, Vocal Studies, Music Theory and Artistic Education.
In 1998 he was the laureate of the 2nd Review of Young Conductors in Białystok. He also received two extra-statutory prizes:
for the most interesting personality and a show of masterful conducting.
As the only Pole, he qualified for the 4th International Competition for Conducting in Saint Petersburg (April 2003), where he reached the semi-finals.
In the years 2006-2009 he was the head of the orchestra at the Grand Theater in Poznań.
His artistic achievements include over 300 conducted opera, operetta and musical performances and over 100 symphonic and chamber concerts.
He’s a very active conductor at home and abroad (Germany, Austria, Russia, Switzerland, Spain and France).
In 2001, he inaugurated the newly opened opera house "Kleist Forum" in Frankfurt with the play "Carmen" by G. Bizet.
He has performed with most polish philharmonics (Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Częstochowa, Gdańsk, Jelenia Góra, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Koszalin, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Opole, Poznań, Szczecin, Toruń, Wałbrzych, Zamość, Zielona Góra) as well as with the Philharmonic National in Warsaw, Wrocław Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, L`Ensamble orchestral de Paris, Symphonic Orchestra Academic Capella of St. Petersburg and the Symphonic Orchestra of the Theater of Opera and Ballet St. Petersburg Conservatory. He has also performed with chamber orchestras, incl. Capella Bydgostiensis, Radom Chamber Orchestra.
He has performed at many music festivals: Poznań Spring - premiere of works by young polish composers, the Viennese Music Festival in Jelenia Góra, the Hoffmann Festival in Poznań, the Poznań Mozart Festival, the Bydgoszcz Music Festival, the 1st Chamber Music Festival in Buk, Animi Music Festival in Warsaw.
Since 1999 he has been cooperating - as a conductor - with the Grand Theater in Poznań. During this time, he helped to prepare over 30 operas, for example:
G. Puccini - "Madame Butterfly", "Tosca", "La Bohème", "Gianni Schicchi"
G. Verdi - "Aida", "Macbeth", "Othello", "Don Carlos", "Rigoletto"
R. Wagner - "Parsifal"
W. A. Mozart - "The Magic Flute"
G. Donizetti - "Don Pasquale"
J. F. Halévy - "La Juive"
M. Yeston - "The Phantom of the Opera"
and others
and others
As a music director, he prepared:
G. Bizet - "Carmen", "Les Pêcheurs de perles"
L. Minkus - "Don Quixote"
L. Różycki - "Mr. Twardowski"
St. Moniuszko - "The Haunted Manor"
W. A. Mozart – „The Marriage of Figaro”, „La finta giardiniera”, „Don Giovanni”
R. Wagner, J. S. Bach, W. Kilar - "Drzewiecki's Ballets"
G. Verdi - "Ernani"
L. van Beethoven - "Fidelio"
S. Prokofiew - "Romeo and Juliet", "Peter and the Wolf"
J. Bock - "Fiddler on the Roof"
H. Krasa - "Brundibar" (Polish premiere)
G. Kaczmarek - "Troy" (world premiere)
Since 2002, he has been cooperating with the Musical Theater in Poznań, he has prepared the premieres there:
F. Lehár - "The Merry Widow", "The Land of Smile"
J. Kander - "Zorba"
O. Nicolai - "Merry Wives of Windsor" (cooperation with the Academy of Music in Poznań).
J. Bock - "Fiddler on the Roof"
In 2002, he also received the Artistic Scholarship of the City of Poznań for his achievements in the field of opera and symphonic music.
Since 2004, he has been the conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the University of A. Mickiewicz in Poznań, with whom he recorded, among others music video for the song "Masz dar" for the Dar Szpiku Foundation. He collaborates in the artistic field with other university centers from Germany, Norway and Sweden.
In 2012, invited by "Stołeczna Estrada", he took part in the multimedia project "Water Symphony". Within a year, the show was watched by about 700,000 people in Warsaw. viewers.
During his artistic career, he had the opportunity to work with such artists as: Małgorzata Walewska, Joanna Woś, Grażyna Brodzińska, Maryla Rodowicz, Natalia Kukulska, Ania Dąbrowska, Hanna Banaszak, Katarzyna Skrzynecka, Maria Sadowska, Franco Bonisolli, Antonello Palombi, Waldemar Malicki, Wojciech Drabowicz, Marek Torzewski, Jacek Wójcicki, Andrzej Krzywy, Muniek Staszczyk, Marcin Wyrostek, MoCarta Group, Kuba Badach, Piotr Cugowski, Charles Aznavour, Roger Waters and others.
He is also the author of music for many documentaries (including about Mrs. Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka, about Mrs. Dr. Wanda Błeńska) advertising and a TV program broadcast on TVP 1. He was also awarded the Main Prize at the National Competition for Composers "Piosenka o Poznaniu" (November 2008).
In 2021, he composed the music for the film "Murder in the East End" directed by Mateusz Ciemniecki.