Jan Jakub Bokun

Clarinetist Jan Jakub Bokun is one of Eastern Europe's leading wind players. He is also active as a conductor. Bokun attended the Karol Lipiński Music Academy in the city of Wrocław, graduating with highest honors. He went on to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, where he studied with Guy Dangain. Moving to the U.S., he received a master's degree in conducting from the University of Southern California, studying with Larry Livingston and John Barnett. Bokun earned a grant from the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, Colorado, where he studied with the internationally prominent David Zinman, Jorma Panula, and David Robertson. Bokun took master classes in both conducting and clarinet from the likes of conductors Sergiu Celibidache and Kurt Masur and clarinetist Michael Collins. In 2001, Bokun made his recording debut on the clarinet, joining pianist Wojciech Kocyan on the album Hommage à Carlos Guastavino. He won prizes in Poland, the Netherlands, and Mount Pleasant, Michigan, in the U.S. In 2012, he rounded out his education with a post-doctoral degree at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music, where he joined the faculty and remains part of it as of the mid-2020s. Bokun has been active as both a clarinetist and a conductor, although his recording career has centered on the former. He has performed around Europe and North America, East Asia, and the United Arab Emirates. Bokun toured with pianist-conductor Krystian Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra, appearing in such prestigious halls as the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Carnegie Hall in New York. President of the Polish branch of the World Clarinet Association, he has represented Poland at international clarinet congresses. As a conductor, he has appeared with various Polish ensembles, as well as the Prague Philharmonia. Bokun has released 11 albums in Poland. He was heard in Krzysztof Penderecki's Clarinet Quartet on an album by the Meccore String Quartet, released in 2023 on the Capriccio label.
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