PAUL WITKIEWICZ – began to study conducting at the age of thirteen under the guidance of his piano teacher Michael Ward. His talent was soon recognised and within eighteen months he was invited to work with the Orchestra of the Mill under the guidance of Adrian Leaper. His studies continued under George Hurst, Robert Houlihan, Jonathon Tilbrook and Adrian Brown. Paul has conducted various orchestras and choirs around the country and also in France, Belgium, Italy and the Czech Republic. In 1999 he won the British Reserve Insurance Conducting Prize in London and has also been awarded the Salveson Baton from the National Association of Youth Orchestras. His love of working with Youth
Orchestras continued for many years and he was Musical Director of the Trafford Youth Philharmonic Orchestra from May 2000 until December 2018.
Paul has been a member of Bolton Symphony Orchestra since 1998 and can normally be seen in the 1stViolin Section. He first conducted the orchestra in 2001, has been their librarian since 2002, and regular conductor since 2018 which has involved collaborating with local choirs directing Mozart’s Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana.  Paul’s experience of working with a choir goes back to 1996 when he became Musical Director of Standish Choral Society. This involved preparing and performing a range of works from Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir,Haydn’s Creation, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and Elgar’s Music Makers. This experience expanded in
2008 when he began conducting Opera 74 in Bolton in performances of La Traviata, The Pearl Fishers, The Elixir of Love, and Carmen. In October 2012 Paul was asked to become Music Director of the Parkside Colliery Male Voice Choir. Since taking on the role he has introduced new repertoire and refreshed the old! Together they have givenmany concerts around the North-West but the highlight is the annual concert in Llandudno. It was aprivilege in 2015 to direct the choir along with the Pemberton Old Wigan Band in front of 20,000 WiganWarriors fans before they played the Brisbane Broncos at the DW Stadium. More recently they featuredas part of a report to mark the 40th Anniversary of the miners strike on BBC Northwest NewsI