Extraordinary Professor of the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań and an artistic violin maker. Born on the 22nd of December 1948 in Myślenice.
He learnt violin-making at the Technical School of Violin-Making in Nowy Targ in 1962 – 1967 under the supervision of Franciszek Marduła, Andrzej Janik and Józef Bartoszek. In 1972 he graduated from the Faculty of Wood Technology at the Academy of Agriculture in Poznań. His M.A. Thesis on the acoustics of violin bridge was written under the supervision of Prof. Helena Harajda. In 1977 - 1982 he worked as a teacher of violin-making and a conservator of music instruments at the M. Karłowicz Secondary Music School in Poznań. Between 1982 – 1991 he was the head of the conservation workshop at the Museum of Music Instruments in Poznań. He started working at the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań in 1979 as a teacher of violin-making and instrument conservation. He has built about 60 instruments (violins, violas, cellos, lute, pochette) and has worked on many complex conservations of music instruments.
In his research he focuses on the acoustics of instruments, history of violin-making and ethical, aesthetical and technical problems of instrument conservation.
Most important publications include: Akustyczne zagadnienia lutnictwa, cz.I: Dobór drewna (1997), cz. II: Elementy przekaźnikowe (2002, with H.Harajda) ((Acoustic problems of violin-making, vol. 1: Selection of Wood, vol. 2: Transmission Elements).
He presents the results of his research on national and international violin-making seminars.
Prof. Łapa won the Z. Szulc 1st National Violin-Making Competition in Poznań in 1979. Numerous times he participated in the works of national violin-making competitions (in 1984, 1987, 1999 as the chairman) as well as international competitions (Nachod – 1997, Poznań – 2001, the chairman of the H. Wieniawski 10th Violin-Making Competition).
Since 1977 he has been a member of the Polish Artistic Violin-Makers Association and he takes active part in the works of the statutory commission and the board (since 1993 – a vice president of the board). He is also a board member of the H. Wieniawski Music Association in Poznań (since 1984).
At the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music he was a deputy dean of the Faculty of Instruments (1997 – 2002), the dean of the Faculty of Instruments (2002 – 2005) and on the 11th of April 2005 he was elected vice Rector for Students Affairs for 2005 – 2008 term of office.