I started studying the organ at the age of 17 in Warsaw, Poland. I am a graduate of the Józef Elsner Public School of Music in Warsaw in the organ class of Dr Roman Szlaużys and organ improvisation in the class of Prof. Marian Sawa. I had been studying organ performance as part of an artistic internship at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in Prof. Andrzej Chorosiński’s class, as well as organ improvisation at the Pontificio Istituto Ambrosiano di Musica Sacra in Milan (Italy) in Maestro Davide Paleari’s class. I participated in master classes on the subject matter of organ works (Ullrich Böhme, Andrew Dewar, Pieter van Dijk, François Espinasse, Bernhard Gfrerer, François-Henri Houbart, Oliver Penin, Louis Robilliard, Daniel Roth, Jean-Claude Zehnder and others), organ improvisation (Frédéric Blanc, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, Thierry Escaich, Gaétan Jarry, Samuel Liégeon, Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard, Wolfgang Seifen, Sietze de Vries and others) and liturgical music (Roman Catholic and Anglican).
In February 2019, I obtained a degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the field of 'Instrumental Studies’ in the discipline of 'Organ Performance’ based on the CD and the dissertation „Organ, as a source of inspiration in the art of improvisation and performance practice” written under the direction of Prof. Andrzej Chorosiński and defended at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.
I am an international concert organist, and I have the pleasure of performing regular solo recitals in countries of Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Africa, i.e.: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Monaco, Nigeria, Panama, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Vatican, and the USA.
I conduct international (Nigeria, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine) didactic activities in organ improvisation and practice of interpretation of organ literature from different periods, among others, in cooperation with The Royal School of Church Music. I participate in international academic conferences on organ and sacred music (Belgium, Nigeria, Poland, Ukraine). My organological publications are issued regularly by prestigious organ magazines: British „The Organ”, Canadian „Organ Canada”, Czech „Varhaník”, as well as American „The Diapason” and „The Vox Humana”.
Since 2013, I have been a member of The Royal College of Organists, based in London, and since 2014 (as the first Pole), I have had a certificate (certRCO) from this organization. Since 2017, I have been a member of The American Guild of Organists, based in New York City, USA, and since 2018, I have been a member of The Organ Historical Society based in the USA.
In the years 2002-2011, I was the Principal Organist at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Warsaw; I wrote a monograph on the history of the organ (J.G. Meinert, 1782) of this church, and I recorded a CD (organ literature and improvisations), which is the only record of the sound of this instrument which no longer exists. At that time, I co-authored a series of broadcasts on “Radio Warszawa 106.2” about organs in the Warsaw-Prague Diocese.
In the years 2011-2018, I held the position of Music Director and the Principal Organist at the Shrine of the Virgin Mary in Lichen Stary, where I played the largest organ in Poland (Zych, 157, 6M+P) located in the Basilica in Licheń Stary (the largest church in Poland). In 2017, I wrote the book „The Lichen Organ in Relation to the Largest Instruments in Poland, Europe and the World” and recorded a CD, “Ave Regina Caelorum”, with improvisations (can be bought on eBay). In 2018, I recorded a second CD in the Basilica in Licheń Stary, Poland, with French literature and improvisations, „French Inspirations: 2nd half of the 19th century” (eBay).
In addition, I have completed Master’s and PhD studies in management and marketing at the Leon Kozminski Academy in Warsaw. As an Associate Professor, between 2019 and 2023, I worked at the University of Social Sciences in Warsaw. Since October 2023, I have been the head of the Institute for Management Research at Collegium Civitas, where I conduct interdisciplinary research at the intersection of management, aesthetics, and art (international publications in prestigious publishing houses, including Routledge and Palgrave MacMillan). I conduct extensive didactic activity on MBA, MA, and BA programs at universities in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania in the field of finance (international finance, corporate finance, financial analysis, financial accounting, management accounting) and in the field of humanistic management, management aesthetics and art management. In April 2024, I obtained a degree of Doctor habilitated in management. Since May 2024, I have been an Associate Professor at Collegium Civitas, and since June 2024, the Vice-Rector for Scientific Research.
For over 20 years, I have been a business practitioner (management positions) in capital groups in an international environment – mainly in the commercial and industrial sectors – cooperating with corporations from the USA, Canada, EU and South Korea. I have experience in the field of financial and organizational optimization of business processes and entire enterprises, preparation and handling of mergers, divisions, separation of organized parts of enterprises and acquisition activities of capital companies, partnerships, and private business activities, as well as the implementation and maintenance of quality management systems.
I was also the founder and (between 2014 and 2023) the president of the Jan Drzewoski Foundation, which dealt with various organ issues.
For more detailed information, please visit www.michalszostak.org
Dr hab. Michał Szostak, Associate Professor (DMA, DSc)
„The Vox Humana Journal” on September 30, 2018, published my article „The largest organs in the world” about the methodology of comparison organs according to their size. Additionally, the article includes three rankings: the largest organs in Europe, the largest organs in the world, and the largest organs in sacral buildings in the world.
You can read it here.