Kornel Wolak

clarinet

Kornel Wolak received his doctorate from the Paderewski Music Academy in Poznan, Poland.

He grew up in Włocławek, a small city west of Warsaw. His parents were both professional musicians and by the age of 5 Wolak was taking piano lessons and dreaming of becoming a famous musician.

At 12, Wolak took up the clarinet and became obsessed with mastering the instrument. At 16 he left home for studies at the conservatory in Poznan. At 17 he received a scholarship to Indiana University in the US.

After encountering the challenges of being an international student on a tight budget, he arrived in Toronto in 2005 for studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Canada offered him a safe harbour, a place to launch a stellar international career as a soloist and an offramp to pursue his impressive academic achievements. Today, Wolak tours widely and is on faculty at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.