Kornel Wolak

Kornel Wolak, clarinette

Highly acclaimed for his musical imagination and astonishing versatility—“Control, and a smooth, elegant expressivity… are what make Wolak shine.” (John Terauds, the Toronto Star)—Kornel Wolak frequently performs in recitals, as a soloist with American and European orchestras, and as a chamber musician. A nominee for a Fryderyk, Poland’s annual music award, he is a regular fixture on CBC, Classical 96.3 FM, Public Radio International, and on NPR in the USA. He continues to give master classes and lectures in Europe, Asia, and both the Americas. His newly published book Articulation Types on Clarinet (and Saxophone) has become a bestseller world-wide among the woodwind community.

Since 2015 together with Drs. A. Slis, A. Namasivayam and P. van Lieshout, Dr. Wolak has been using 3D Electromagnetic Articulography (AG501) to measure tongue movements when playing various articulation types on the clarinet. The current study is focused on analyzing tongue action in single-, double-, and side-to-side staccato articulation.

He is the founder of Music Mind Inc., an initiative that promotes music education through research and understanding.

Since 2018 Dr. Wolak is an Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Queen’s University, Canada.

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