Born in Częstochowa in 1968, he is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, where he studied the cello (with Andrzej Wróbel, diploma in 1992) and composition (with Marian Borkowski, a diploma with distinction in 1995). He also finished the School for Arts Management at the University of Poznań (1994) and the postgraduate course in choral conducting at the Music Academy in Bydgoszcz (1996). He took part in the course of computer music in Warsaw (1992), the courses for young composers in Kazimierz Dolny (1992, 1993) and the summer courses in contemporary music in Kraków (with Bogusław Schaeffer, 1993). He has been on the faculty of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music since 1996. In 2000 he gained his Ph.D. in composition (supervisor: Professor Marian Borkowski) and in 2007 he received a post-doctoral degree. He worked as a visiting professor in Chile and Argentina (2003, 2006). He gave a series of lectures in France, Germany, Spain and Norway (2010).
He has received numerous commissions from Poland and abroad (Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland) and has held many grants, including those from the Częstochowa Town Council (1991-1992), the Professor Bogdan Suchodolski Foundation (1995), the ZAiKS Authors’ and Composers’ Association (1996), the Arts Promotion Fund of the Ministry of Culture (several times) and the President of Warsaw (2010).
His honours include First Prize at the Composers’ Competition in Łomża (1988), an honourable mention at the Tadeusz Baird Composers’ Competition (1994), First Prize at the Warsaw Music Academy Competition (1994), Second Prize at the 2nd Young Composers’ Forum in Kraków (1994), Second Prize at the Adam Didur Competition in Sanok (1996), and Second Prize at the 27th International ‘Florilege Vocal de Tours’ Competition in France (1998). He won the ‘Fryderyk’ Awards of the Polish Phonographic Academy (2005, 2006), the Award of the town of St Quentin (for the best performance of a contemporary work) at the Concours Europeen de Choeurs et Maitrises de Cathedrales (2006).
He has received the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1998), the award of the Mayor of Częstochowa for outstanding compositional achievements (1995), the award of the Rector of the Music Academy in Warsaw (2005), the Saint Brother Albert Chmielowski Award for outstanding achievements in composition, conducting and organization of musical life (2006), the Gloria Artis Medal of Merit for Culture (2011) and the Award from the Primate of Poland (2011), Fryderyk Award- Artist of the Year (2013).