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Jacek Ostaszewski
Jacek Ostaszewski was born in Cracow in 1944 in an artistic family. His father was a sculptor and a stage designer, and his mother an actress. In the sixties, he appeared on the Polish jazz scene as a double bassist, playing with the most outstanding musicians of that time: Komeda, Trzaskowski, Kurylewicz, Stańko and Makowicz. In 1970 he formed "Osjan" - an acoustic music group. This group, the pioneers of New Age music, toured all over Europe. "Osjan" has released six vinyl albums and four compact discs. The group's concerts, during which Ostaszewski plays the pipes, are highly popular both in Poland and abroad. In the eighties, he broadened his compositional palette by writing music for the theatre. He has composed music for about 80 productions (including 15 for works directed by Krystian Lupa), and ballet music arose out of his collaboration with Boston's Beth Soll Dance Company. He has also written the music for three feature films, ten shorts, and four television plays. His own holistic method of musical training - "The Path of Sound, The Path of Silence" - and his workshops are popular both in theatrical circles (he lectures at The State College of Theatrical Arts in Cracow) and among music therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and pedagogues (he has regular collaboration with the Polish Milton H. Erickson Institute and the Cultural Promotion Centre). Beside numerous workshops in Poland, he has also led intensive courses in the USA, Japan and Portugal. His characteristic flute playing can be heard in Zbigniew Preisner's film music, including Krzysztof Kieślowski's "Three Colours - Blue", where Ostaszewski also appears on the screen in a cameo role. He has also made his director's debut (Ionesco's "The Chairs" at The Contemporary Theatre in Szczecin).
