Krzysztof Polesiński is a Polish sound engineer with many amazing experiences in his back catalogue. From redesigning the sound systems for major Polish theatres, to mixing front of house for some of Poland’s most popular artists, Polesiński has spent his career pushing the boundaries of what is possible, working with many of Poland’s premier venues and companies, most recently including the Mazowsze Song and Dance Ensemble Auditorium with DiGiCo distributors, Polsound. Throughout that time, DiGiCo has always been his tool of choice, offering the flexibility and power required to enable him to think on his feet and create without limitation.
Polesiński made a name for himself early in his career. Renowned for his attention to detail and ability to mix his creative and technical skills, Polesiński started in theatre sound, mixing and then moving onto collaborating with theatres to design their sound systems, memorably designing the sound system in ROMA Musical Theatre, one of the country’s largest and best-known theatres. More recently he designed the sound system for the Mazowsze Auditorium, designing a fully immersive system with an L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound system. The audio system includes two DiGiCo Quantum 852-T, one at the front of house position, one at the monitor position, plus two further DiGiCo Quantum 338-T for touring, all supplied for the project by Polsound, DiGiCo’s Polish Distributor. Keen to exploit the latest technologies, Polesiński purchased his own equipment so he could direct his clients in the best way possible to choose the equipment that was optimal for their application.
“I have my own technology, including immersive processors,” Polesiński explained. “I’m designing for my clients, but I also want to stay up to date with all the news! I’m always following the latest information, so I can increase the quality of my work.”
It was through this love of broadening his knowledge that he met the DiGiCo team, benefitting from training in the theatre specific T software very early in its conception, even meeting Autograph’s Andrew Bruce during the session. Bruce is a world-famous theatrical sound designer, responsible for the original soundscapes for many classic performances, including Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia, and many more.
“My journey with DiGiCo began many years ago,” Polesiński recalls. “The T software blew my mind because it felt so new, it was so creative. I was designing a system for ROMA at the time, and I found that it was the best choice for their theatre productions, so we should just go for it. Since then, I have always used T software because it’s so much quicker. I remember the words Andrew said to me all those years ago ‘No one should wait for sound’. I always think of that and make sure everyone is always fully prepared. The features of T software help to speed up workflow, the difference that it makes is amazing.”
Many of Polish theatres are now using audio systems designed by Polesiński. For ROMA, he began with the PA, swapping out the existing system for a Meyer Sound PA. A few years later, the consoles were updated to DiGiCo SD7 and Quantum 7, along with upgraded networking powered by Optocore and additional SD Racks. A few years after this came the theatre’s first immersive PA system, the Meyer D-Mitri audio platform. This was a pivotal moment in Polesiński’s career as it showcased his ability to curate a totally immersive systems for theatrical performance and this side of his practice really took off.
“After the ROMA immersive system design, people began to recognise that this was something I could do really well,” Polesiński explains. “From that moment on, I was asked by other cultural centres to design systems for them, too. To complete these systems, DiGiCo is a must. On some shows, such as the musical The Addams Family in the Poznan Musical Theatre there were over 440 cues. Only a DiGiCo can keep up with that pace.”
In his recent sound design for the Mazowsze Ensemble, he not only utilised the two Quantum 852, with theatre software, he also specified a two Quantum 338-T for touring use. For all these applications, the theatre software is indispensable, enabling him and his team to react to changes in super quick time and remain flexible.
In addition to working in theatre, Polesiński also mixes front of house for bands. His fondest memories are of the band Obywatele Republiki, and his trusted DiGiCo joined him for the gigs. Once again, the sound was noted as a highlight and caught the attention of the musical director, Leszek Biolik. The pair ended up working together on other immersive projects, which led Polesiński to Dubai for the 2020 Expo, which was delayed due to the pandemic until 2021/22. At the same time, due to the Russia/Ukraine conflict, many of the venues in Poland were closed and repurposed as emergency temporary-accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. This caused many events and performances to be cancelled. Luckily for Polesiński, a team from Italian hire company AgorA were also in Dubai. His sudden availability enabled him to start a job with them, which he still does every year.
“The summer season was completely cancelled, so I had time to spare. Now I spend every summer touring Italy, which is fantastic,” he said. “Of course, I don’t work alone and we are lucky to have built some amazing teams, which are the key to success. If everyone is working properly and can trust each other, that is magical.”
As Polesiński approaches 50, he can sit back and reflect on the work he has done so far. He has been involved in some truly memorable performances, pioneering techniques and working with fantastic people and brilliant tools. He now shares that knowledge with the next generation, teaching and training them across a wide range of industry devices and techniques. The constant throughout his career has been his trusted DiGiCo consoles, and the option to control his entire system from one spot has been a highlight, as he concludes.
“Whether I’m mixing a theatre performance, an immersive experience or live music show, DiGiCo gives me the ability to balance every element; microphones, instruments, timecode, MIDI, or OSC,” he says. “For me, DiGiCo is the only console that can directly control everything with the best possible sound quality! That is great, and as an operator it means I can keep everything condensed in one place, without distraction or moving around. Redundancy is important, but the fact that I have one console that I can easily programme is amazing. I love DiGiCo for that.”
