Dr hab. Witosława Frankowska – chamber musician, ethnomusicologist, teacher in the Music Academy of Gdańsk. She was brought up in a family with many years of Kashubian and musical tradition, she combines artistic and scholarly activity with the popularization of early music and regional music.
As a valued performer of basso continuo, she has played in concerts all over Europe. She works with many outstanding soloists, as well as with the Polish Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of Sopot, the Polish Chamber Choir, the Chamber Orchestra “Progress”, the Elbląg Chamber Orchestra and the Arte dei Suonatori ensemble.
She is a composer and develops folk and regional compositions, she is the author of the monographs Kolędowanie na Kaszubach: Dzieje kolęd na Pomorzu od XVI do XXI wieku [Christmas Carol Singing in Kashubia: Carols in Pomerania from the 16th Century to the 21st Century (2015) and Spotkania z muzyką Kaszub [Meetings with Kashubian Music] (2021). She edited the lexicon Muzyka Kaszub: Materiały encyklopedyczne [The Music of Kashubia: An Encyclopaedia] (2005), the series Biblioteka Orkiestrowa Kaszub, Kociewia i Powiśla [The Orchestral Library of Kashubia, Kociewie and Powiśle] (2014-2016), Kaszubski śpiewnik domowy [The Kashubian Domestic Song Book] (2014), Kaszubski śpiewnik bożonarodzeniowy [The Kashubian Christmas Song Book] (2015), Kaszubski śpiewnik szkolny [The Kashubian School Song Book] (2016). She co-authored Gniazdo Gryfa: Słownik kaszubskich symboli, pamięci i tradycji kultury [The Griffin’s Nest: Dictionary of Kashubian Symbols, Memory and Cultural Traditions] (2020). She published a series of articles connected with the subject of regional music in Poland and abroad. She has been a member of the Kashubian Institute since 2013.
She lives in Wejherowo where, since 2002, she has organized a cycle of concerts entitled Spotkania z muzyką Kaszub [Meetings with Kashubian Music] in the Museum of Kashubian-Pomeranian Literature and Music.
She has sought out many distinguished interpreters of Pomeranian creativity, she has made archival recordings for radio and television, and has been involved in publishing records in the field of early music, including TACET’s The Four Seasons (2008), Navigare (2018), and regional music: Mòrze [The Sea] (2004), Ptôszkòwie na lëpie [Birds on a Linden] (2006), Gdze mòja chëcz [Where My Cottage Is] (2006) and Kaszuby w pieśni artystycznej [Kashubia in Artistic Songs] (2013).
She is a laureate of the Stolem Medal (2006) and the Remus Award (2014).
She is the mother of Jan (an analyst in the Institute of Structural Research in Warsaw), Zofia (a graphic designer in Warsaw) and Jerzy (an economics student at the Gdańsk University of Technology).
