Kasimerz Hardulak, known to his friends as Kazim, was born in Poland. Before the War he had studied music at the Warsaw Conservatoire, being an excellent virtuoso violinist, and soon embarked on a career as conductor of his country’s Radio Orchestra.
He fought in the German invasion of his country in 1939, was captured and spent the next 6 years as a POW. After his release by the Russians in 1945 he made his way to this country and settled with his wife and three children in Monmouth.
His decision to go into exile rather than live under the political regime imposed on his country after 1945 undoubtedly cost him that career. However, he still found outlets for his musical talents. At Monmouth School, where he started as a visiting ‘Teacher of Strings’, he went on also to teach piano and eventually rose to the position of Assistant Director of Music. During the sixties he directed many concerts as conductor of the Abergavenny Orchestral Society.