A violinist and composer from Tucson, Ludek Wojtkowski will return to the Old Pueblo as TSO’s new associate concertmaster. “I grew up in Tucson, it’s my hometown, and when I saw the audition open, I knew I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I didn’t take it. By some twist of fate, I got the associate concertmaster position. I’m really excited to return to the sunshine and to eat good food and be closer to my family.”
For the past three years Wojtkowski has held the concertmaster position for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in Alaska. Wojtkowski studied music performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Yale University, where he earned the Broadus Erle Prize in violin. He then won a position in the New World Symphony and, while living in Miami, he joined the Lincoln Center Stage, a musical partnership between the Lincoln Center and Holland America, where he sailed around the world for two years, performing in a piano quintet.
In an ASO interview Wojtkowski described growing up in a house filled with music and a secret language. “My parents immigrated to the US from Poland and only spoke Polish at home. Having never heard Polish spoken anywhere else, I grew up thinking it was our family’s secret language. That is, until one summer when my dad took our family to Poland. We got off the plane and I was so surprised to hear people speaking our secret language! How did they know it?”
During his youth Wojtkowski frequented TSO concerts then under the baton of music director George Hanson with his family. When asked what he is most looking forward to about joining the TSO, he replied “I’m stoked to join a young vibrant ensemble. I perused this season’s schedule and every month there is something interesting happening.”
Wojtkowski is also looking forward to returning to his other Tucson favorites including La Indita restaurant on Stone and the Desert Museum. “La Indita does an amazing chicken mole, and the Desert Museum is one of my favorite destinations, I love that place. I love the drive down Gates Pass. Tucson is a friendly place, it’s especially a bike-friendly place and I can’t wait to bike down the river path again and to just be outside enjoying the natural beauty.”