Wieslaw Rentowski

The music of Wieslaw Rentowski has been performed at hundreds of international festivals, concerts, and conferences in Europe, Russia, Asia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada. In 1988, Rentowski was awarded the 1st Prize in the National Competition for Young Composers in Warsaw, Poland. He has received several composition prizes for his orchestra, chamber, and solo works from the Polish Composers’ Union, the Fr. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, the City of Elblag (750th anniversary), Louisiana Music Teachers Association (1st Prize in 1990 & 1998, LMTA All State Competition). He is the recipient of grants and awards from the Polish Ministry of Culture, Lodz State Academy of Music-Musica Moderna Festival, Mayor of Lodz, Darmstadt International Institute of New Music in Germany, Bayreuth International Music Festival in Germany, Banff Centre School of Fine Arts in Canada, Kosciuszko Foundation in New York, New Orleans Dance Council, Arts Council of New Orleans, Louisiana Arts Council in Baton Rouge, American Music Center in New York, ASCAP, Richardson Arts Commission in Texas, DeSoto Arts Commission in Texas, and City of Dallas Arts Commission in Texas.

Rentowski’s orchestra, chamber, and solo music was commissioned by the National Museum for the Arts in Warsaw, Arthur Rubinsztajn  Philharmonic Society in Lodz, K. Szymanowski Music Society Cracow-Zakopane, National Arts Center for Children in Poznan, Legnica International Festival of Contemporary Organ Music in Poland, Baton Rouge International Heritage Festival in Louisiana, Louisiana State University New Music Ensemble (Carnegie Hall performance), Louisiana Sinfonietta, Zelanian New Music Ensemble in New Zealand and by many other institutions and individual artists in Europe, Russia, and North America. Most recently, Rentowski’s Sanctus for solo voices, organ, and orchestra (2020) received its world premiere in Poland (EU International Concert honoring Saint John Paul II 100 birthday, broadcast by The Polish National TV Corporation).

His music has been published and recorded numerous times in Europe, Russia, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand (scores are available from several publishers and are distributed by J.W. Pepper in the United States). He holds advanced degrees in music from Louisiana State University (D.M.A. in Composition, 1996), the Fr. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw (M.M. in Composition), the Lodz State Music Academy (M.M. in Organ Performance), and the University of Lodz in Poland (M.A.). Rentowski (also a virtuoso organist and conductor) was a guest composer/performer/lecturer with many international festivals and conferences of contemporary music in Poland, Germany, and North America (including residencies as Composer in Residence with The Banff Center School of Fine Arts, Alberta, Canada and Composer in Residence with the Louisiana State University School of Music Contemporary Music Festival). From 2013 – 2018 Rentowski was an Artistic Director of the 4 Seasons Concert Series (DeSoto/Dallas TX) and now serves as an Artistic Director of the Dallas New Music Virtual Festival.

He taught at the Lodz State Academy of Music, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Tulane University/New Orleans and Dallas College in Texas. He is a founding member of NACUSA Texas Chapter (The National Association of Composers USA). Rentowski currently serves as NACUSA TX President and NACUSA National Vice President. His music has been discussed numerous times in articles and books in English, Polish, and German (most recently the book by Prof. Marta Szoka published in Poland includes a chapter “Wieslaw Rentowski’s organ music as a postmodern ‘style-taming,’” Lodz, Poland, 2021).