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Piotr Marcin (Peter) Gajewski (born January 12, 1959) is a Polish-American former politician, conductor, and founder and former music director of the National Philharmonic, currently in residence at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, in the United States. It is a successor ensemble to the National Chamber Orchestra.

He served on the Rockville City Council in Maryland from 2007 to 2011.

In addition to his appearances with the National Philharmonic, Maestro Gajewski is in much demand as a guest conductor. In recent years, he has appeared with most of the major orchestras in his native Poland, as well as the Buffalo Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in England, the Karlovy Vary Symphony in the Czech Republic, the Okanagan Symphony in Canada and numerous orchestras in the United States. Gajewski made his opera debut in 1994 with Washington's Summer Opera Theatre.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Piotr Gajewski began studying piano at the age of four. After emigrating to the United States in 1969, he continued his studies at the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division, Carleton College and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where he earned B.M. and M.M. degrees in Orchestral Conducting.

Upon completing his formal education, Gajewski continued refining his conducting skills at the 1983 Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, where he was awarded a Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship and where his teachers included Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Gunther Schuller, Gustav Meier and Maurice Abravanel.

Maestro Gajewski has conducted many important world premieres, including works by Steven Gerber, Joel Hoffman, Andreas Makris, Gerhard Samuel, Burnett Thompson, and Peter Ware. In 2000, his recording with the National Philharmonic (then the National Chamber Orchestra) of Steven Gerber’s Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, and Serenade for String Orchestra on the Koch International label was released to enthusiastic reviews. Gajewski is also a winner of many prizes and awards, among them a prize at New York's prestigious Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition.

References

1. "Government index". 18 October 2007. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
2. "Marcuccio, Gajewski Reflect on the Mayoral Race". Rockville, MD Patch. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
3. "Mayor and Council". 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
4. "Piotr Gajewski - Avvo". Retrieved 27 June 2023.
5. ^ Massachusetts, United States Naturalization Records, 1871-1991
6. "Piotr (Peter) Gajewski, Councilmember". 2 March 2009. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
7. Krzywicki, Paul (March 2016). From Paderewski to Penderecki: The Polish Musician in Philadelphia. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 309. ISBN 9781483442679.
8. "Montgomery County Going Out Guide: May 20–26". The Washington Post. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
9. "LinkedIn Profile". Retrieved 27 June 2023.
10. Krzywicki, Paul (March 2016). From Paderewski to Penderecki: The Polish Musician in Philadelphia. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 309. ISBN 9781483442679.

• 1959 births
• Living people
• Polish male conductors (music)
• Musicians from Rockville, Maryland
• Polish emigrants to the United States
• Maryland Democrats
• Maryland city council members
• Carleton College alumni
• University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni
• Columbus School of Law alumni
• 21st-century Polish conductors (music)
• 21st-century American male musicians