International Music Course in Opole

- Violin
- Piano
- Viola
- Cello
- Double bass
- Concomitant workshops

VIOLIN

Tomasz Tomaszewski (5.08-12.08)
Violin

Alumnus of Music School in Opole, the pupil of D. Sujata. He studied at the Warsaw Music Academy under Professor Wronski. After graduating with distinction he continued his studies at the Leningrad Conservatory under Professor Gutnikov as well as in Freiburg under Professor Marschner and attended master courses under the supervision of Druzhnin, Krysa, Fournier, Liebermann, Hiller and Szerny. With the Polish String Quartet he went on extensive concert tours across Europe and Australia. As a soloist of the Polish Camber Orchestra he also gave concerts in many different countries. Tomasz Tomaszewski has won numerous international competitions, has been first concert master of the Orchestra of the German Opera Berlin since 1982 and held a teaching position at the University of the Arts Berlin (Hochschule der Künste) since 1983. Tomaszewski is the founder and director of the chamber orchestra Chamber Soloists of the German Opera Berlin which has been very busy giving concerts since 1988. He has also been in charge of the music summer courses in Głuchołazy supported by the Polish Ministry for Cultural Affairs since 1988 He is a much sought-after soloist with concerts in many European countries, Japan, China and the USA and his many recordings for radio and on compact disc show his great talent, ability and versatility. Since 2001 he has been a professor at the University of the Arts Berlin (Universität der Künste).

Włodzimierz Promiński (5.08-16.08)
Violin, chamber music

Włodzimierz Promiński was born in Opole in 1958. He completed his primary and secondary music education with honours in Karol Reiman's violin class. He studied under Franciszek Jurys at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (now the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) in Warsaw and graduated with honours in 1983. He has participated in numerous master courses led, e.g., by Oleg Krysa, Zakhar Bron, Robert Masters and Vladimir Avramov. After his graduation from the FCAM in Warsaw he went on to study chamber music at Hochschule für Musik in Cologne in the Amadeus Quartet class and later in Berlin with Professor Eberhard Feltz and at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold with Professor Ernst Mayer-Schierning. In 1984 he founded the Camerata Quartet where he is principle violinist. As a chamber musician he has been the laureate of several international music competitions, e.g. in Tokyo (1989), Munich (1990) and Paris (1990, first prize). He has played with his ensemble in many renowned music centres in Europe, Asia, USA and Japan and at international music festivals. His performances and recordings have won him the acclaim of critics in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Monde de la Musique, Le Soir and The Strad. He is Professor at the Department of Instrumental and Educational Studies in Białystok of the FCUM where he was deputy dean in 2004-2008. In 2008 he was elected dean of the department for term 2008-2012. He is a member of the executive committee of the Phonographic Academy Council, the rector's proxy for concerts at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and president of the Polish Chamber Music Association.

Krzysztof Polonek (5.08-11.08)
Violin

Born in Kraków, initially studied as a young student at the Julius-Stern-Institute, University of the Arts, Berlin with Prof. Tomasz Tomaszewski before he obtained his degree at this university. He played his concert exam (Konzertexamen) under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Brandis at the Lübeck University of Music. Furthermore he has attended masterclasses with the professors R. Kussmaul, K. Węgrzyn, K. Sassmannshaus, I. Gitlis and Z. Bron.

Krzysztof has performed as soloist with the Lübeck Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Orchestra at Frankfurt (Oder), the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. As a chamber musician and soloist he has been invited to renowned festivals like the “Music in old Cracow” festival, the Hubermann Violin Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and the Max-Reger Tage at Weiden.

Up to 2009 he taught at the Music Academy in Breslau, where he successfully finished his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Jarosław Pietrzak. Krzysztof was the concertmaster of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Presently he is the concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker. www.berlinpianotrio.com

Christian Danowicz (5.08-12.08)
Violin

Christian Danowicz graduated with honors from the Music Conservatory in Toulouse (France), in the violin class of Prof. Gilles Colliard. In 2010 he received a Master’s Degree from the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, in the violin class of Professors Julia and Krzysztof Jakowicz. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in the opera and symphonic conducting class of Prof. Antoni Wit and Tomasz Bugaj. In 2014 he received a doctoral degree from the K. Lipinski Academy of Music in Wroclaw, under the guidance of Prof. J. Pietrzak. Christian Danowicz is a laureate of the T. Wronski International Solo Violin Competition in Warsaw in 2009 (3rd prize where he also received a diploma for the most interesting artistic personality and for the best student of the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2010 he received the 1st prize in the Chamber Music Competition at the Duxbury Music Festival in the U.S.A. Since 2010 Christian Danowicz has held the concertmaster position of the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra in Wroclaw, with which he regularly performs as a soloist and conductor. As a member of the Leopoldinum Soloists Trio, he received a one-year scholarship to study at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sophia in Madrid, in the chamber class of G. Pichler. The artist has performed in the U.S.A., Argentina, Venezuela, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, where he performed (as a soloist) with the Symphonic Orchestra in Plock, the Philharmonic Orchestra in Lublin, the Philharmonic Orchestra in Koszalin, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Philharmonic in Wroclaw, the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra, the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.

PIANO

Hubert Rutkowski (5.08-16.08)
Piano

Hubert Rutkowski’s musical interpretations are influenced by his thorough study of the particular ‘piano school’ aesthetic attributed to the late 19th century. Therefore, it is the pianistic tradition of Frederyk Chopin, Theodor Leschetizky, and subsequently influenced pianists such as Karol Mikuli, Moritz Rosenthal, Raul Koczalski and Artur Schnabel, that forms the basis of his artistic identitiy.
He won the International Chopin Piano Competition in Hannover (2007). He also received the “Medalla per Unanimitat” distinction at the International Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona (2006). In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Berenberg Cultural Prize in Hamburg.
The pianist is a graduate of the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, the class of professor Anna Jastrzębska-Quinn. In 2005-2010 he completed postgraduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, in the class of professor Evgeni Koroliov.
For quite some time Hubert Rutkowski has been passionate about historical pianos from the 19th century. Both in his capacity of a pianist and a piano teacher he has been working with the collection of historical pianos at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg. In 2013 he recorded the early piano works of Debussy on the 1880 Erard piano for Piano Classics (CD). The 1847 Pleyel piano recording of Chopin‘s piano works followed in 2018.
Another significant moment in Hubert Rutkowski’s career was the recording of piano works by Julian Fontana, Chopin’s friend and pupil, as well as of piano pieces by Theodor Leschetizky for Acte Préalable Label (2007, 2008). In the Chopin Year 2010, he released an album “Pupils of Chopin“ on the Naxos Label, featuring with piano works composed by Chopin’s students. Since then, he has been performing in Europe, Asia, Latin American and the USA, including at festivals such as the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, Piano Festival in Husum Castle, Mozart Festival in Warsaw, Ars Longa Festival in Moscow, Paderewski Festival in Los Angeles, Artur Rubinstein Festival in Łódź, and at the Paderewski International Music Festival in Warsaw.
He has also performed with eminent soloists and conductors, including Lilya Zilberstein, Alexei Lubimov, Łukasz Borowicz, Martin Haselböck, Jamie Phillips and José Maria Florêncio.
Hubert Rutkowski is the artistic director of the Chopin Festival in Hamburg, as well as the director of the Leschetizky International Piano Competition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg.
He has been a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg as one of the youngest professors in Germany since 2010, and he became the head of its piano department in January 2014.

Katarzyna Ewa Sokołowska (5.08-16.08)
Piano, chamber music

She is graduate of Music School in Opole and the Music Academy in Warsaw, having studied with C. Heller, J. Ekier, A. Paleta-Bugaj and M. Nosowska. In 2003 she finished her postgraduate course at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, where in 2005 she also completed the Konzertexam as a student of H.-P. Stenzl and V. Stenzl. As a member of Ravel Piano Duo (together with Agnieszka Kozlo), she has won many prizes at various international competitions and has performed extensively throughout Poland, Europe and Asia. In addition to her career as a performer, she has been teaching piano and chamber music at the State School of Music in Warsaw. As a pianist she is also a lecturer of the Vocal Department of F. Chopin Music University in Warsaw. In 2018 she was awarded a Post Doctoral Degree in Music. www.ravelduo.pl

Paweł Zawadzki (11.08-16.08)
Piano

Paweł Zawadzki, PhD, Dsc, ProfTit - pianist and educator, laureate and juror of piano competitions. He graduated with distinctions from the Karol Lipiński Music Academy in Wrocław under the supervision of professor Grzegorz Kurzyński. The artist has appeared on the stages of music halls around the world, performing piano concerts under the baton of renowned conductors such as Tadeusz Strugała, Marek Pijarowski, Jacek Kaspszyk, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Szymon Makowski, Wojciech Rodek, Eugene Tzigane, Giancarlo de Lorenzo, Kai Baumann, Lee Hong-Jin, Alexiei Vasiliev, Massimiliano Caldi, Juan Cantarell. He gave concerts in Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Turkey, Finland, Denmark, Scotland, Bulgaria, Russia, Belarus, South Korea and Australia. He has made multiple recordings for both the radio and the television and, in the phonographic field, he recorded albums of Frederic Chopin's and Ferenc Liszt's musical composition for the Selene recoding studio. As a consultant of the Artistic Education Centre, he teaches numerous piano classes. Additionally, he is a lecturer of the piano master courses in Krynica-Zdrój and Łańcut. He is very active in the educational field and his students and pupils have received various awards in prominent competitions worldwide. They are scholars of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Młoda Polska scholarship programme, Prime Minister, Mayor of Wrocław and the National Children's Fund. In 2011, the pianist initiated the Lower Silesian Frederic Chopin Association and he was its chairman until 2020. His artistic and educational accomplishments were acknowledged by the President of the Artistic Education Centre in Warsaw as he was presented with an award for his significant contribution to the development of the artistic education in Poland. By the order of the President of Poland, he was decorated with the Silver Cross of Merit. In 2022, for his outstanding achievements in the pedagogical and artistic fields, he received the Annual Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in the field of Artistic Education. At present, he is the Head of the Piano Department of the Karol Lipiński Music Academy in Wrocław.

Volker Stenzl (11.08-16.08)
Piano, piano duo

The German pianist Volker Stenzl studied in Stuttgart and at the Royal Academy of Music in London (a.o. with S. Kovacevich) where he was also a guest professor from 1990-2000.
He has specialized in playing piano duo together with his brother Hans-Peter, and since winning the prestigious Munich ARD competition in 1986, the Stenzls have played in nearly all European countries, in West Africa as well as in North and South America, in Japan, China and Hong Kong. In January 2009, Gustavo Dudamel invited them to Caracas to perform Mendelssohn´s E major Double Concerto with him and his Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, and in December 2010 the two brothers made their first Russian tour.
With their broad repertoire, ranging from Bach to first performances of contemporary compositions and which-unlike most other piano duos-they always play from memory, Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl are welcome guests in many concert halls and at major festivals including Salzburg, the Piano festival Ruhr, the Schleswig-Holstein, the Miami and the Reding-Piette festivals. Numerous radio and TV productions (e.g. BBC, ITV, ARD, ZDF, RAI, and ORF) as well as highly acclaimed CD and DVD recordings testify to the wide artistic range of the Stenzls.
Volker Stenzl is a highly-respected jury member at national and international competitions and professor at the Hochschule für Musik Theater in Rostock/Germany, conducting a special class for piano duo and professor for piano and piano duo at the Musikhochschule Trossingen.

Katarzyna Drogosz (10.08-16.08)
Historical piano

Katarzyna Drogosz was born in Warsaw, Poland. Her field of expertise is performance on historical instruments. Besides interpretation, she is interested in the history and construction of early keyboard instruments. She was a finalist of the Musica Antiqua competition 2007 in Bruges. As well as solo recitals, Katarzyna Drogosz performs in chamber and orchestral music. She is a member of Trio Lafamme and the Arte dei Suonatori Piano Quartet. She also forms a fortepiano duet with Geoffrey Govier. As a soloist, she has appeared with Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense, Capella Cracoviensis, and the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra. Her recordings include chamber music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Fryderyk Chopin, Carl Czerny, Carl Maria von Weber, and Friedrich Kuhlau, on the CD Accord/ NFM, Fryderyk Chopin Institute and Coviello Classics labels. Recently she has published a solo CD of piano works by Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (CD Accord, 2019). Katarzyna Drogosz studied piano with Aleksandra Kowalik and Teresa Manasterska at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, fortepiano with Stanley Hoogland at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and harpsichord with Robert Hill at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Masterclasses with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Andreas Staier and Władysław Kłosiewicz were also important turning points in her musical development. Since 2010 she has taught fortepiano and historical performance practice at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, from which she received her PhD degree in January 2017. She lectures also at the Academy of Music in Kraków and since 2018 she has taught a fortepiano class there together with Petra Matejova.

Tomasz Ritter (5.08-11.08)
Historical piano

Winner of the 1st International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments in Warsaw (2018) and the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges (2024). He is also a laureate of numerous other competitions, including the 9th International Competition for Young Pianists "Arthur Rubinstein in Memoriam" in Bydgoszcz. In 2018, he was nominated for the *Polityka's Passports* award, followed by a nomination for the *Coryphaeus of Polish Music* in 2019, and the *C.K. Norwid Award* in 2024. He is a two- time recipient of the “Young Poland” scholarship (2019, 2023).

He began his musical education in his hometown of Lublin with B. Bechta-Krzemińska. In 2008, he became a student of I. Rumianceva-Dąbrowska at the ZPSM No. 4 in Warsaw. During that time, meetings with W. Mierżanow and T. Szebanowa were of great significance to him. At the same time, he gained experience with historical instruments through collaboration with P. Šefl and participation in masterclasses led by A. Lubimov, M. Bilson, A. Steier, T. Koch, and T. Beghin. His interests led him to pursue studies at the Faculty of Historical and Contemporary Performance at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, from which he graduated with honors in 2019. He studied under A. Lubimov (modern and historical piano), M. Voskresensky (piano), and M. Uspenskaya (harpsichord). From 2019 to 2021, he completed postgraduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg under H. Rutkowski, graduating with distinction. He has performed in numerous European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada, and Japan. He has taken part in many music festivals, appearing as a soloist, chamber musician, and with orchestra. He has collaborated with ensembles such as the Orchestra of the 18th Century, {oh} Historical Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, Sinfonia Varsovia, and the Polish Radio Amadeus Chamber Orchestra under the batons of conductors including M. Suzuki, J. Maksymiuk, V. Luks, A. Duczmal, M. Moś, Ł. Borowicz, and G. Nowak.

His first album was released in 2014: *Tomasz Ritter, piano: Bach/Beethoven/Szymanowski/Ginastera* (Polskie Nagrania). In 2019, a live album featuring works by F. Chopin and K. Kurpiński performed on Buchholtz, Pleyel, and Erard pianos was released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. His most recent album, released in 2023 by NIFC, includes compositions by Haydn, Lessel, Beethoven, Voříšek, and Chopin, played on an 1819 Graf piano. Apart from his concert activity, Tomasz Ritter has also been active for several years as a pedagogue, giving masterclasses and lectures both in Poland and abroad.

A significant part of his teaching is devoted to historical performance. Since 2024, he has been leading the historical piano class at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.

VIOLA

Michał Micker (5.08-16.08)
Viola

Michal Micker was born in 1977 in Opole. He graduated with First Class Honours from the Academy of Music in Wroclaw where he studied with prof. Zbigniew Czarnota and continued his studies at the University of Arts in Berlin with prof. H. Rohde He has taken part in masterclasses with such prominent artists as T. Tomaszewski, K. Wegrzyn, D. Stabrawa, C. Lelong, H. Beyerle. Michal Micker enjoys a busy life as a solois and a chamber musician both in Poland and abroad. He is also an active orchestra member and has worked with, amongst others, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Sinfonia Helvetica. He teaches viola at the Academy of Music in Wroclaw and has been awarded the Doctor of Arts degree in 2004.

CELLO

Katarzyna Polonek (5.08-11.08)
Cello

Katarzyna Polonek is first prize winner and laureate of major international cello competitions in Poland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. She was educated by eminent professors such as Markus Nyikos, Angelica May, Philipp Müller, Wolfgang Boettcher, Wolfgang Aichinger, Mstislav Rostropovich, Markus Becker, Ferenc Rados and Anner Bylsma. She is a co-founder of the Berlin Piano Trio, which, after multiple international competition victories, is considered one of the leading piano trios. Playing as a guest cellist in the Berliner Philharmoniker and Staatskapelle Berlin orchestras, she collaborated with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Bernhard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Ivan Fischer and Sir Simon Rattle.

Katarzyna Polonek is an associate professor at the Poznań Academy of Music where she leads her cello class. Additionally she holds a doctorate and habilitation. Her students are winners of international cello and chamber music competitions. She also gives master classes. www.berlinpianotrio.com

Bartosz Koziak (5.08-16.08)
Cello

Bartosz Koziak is the winner of the 3rd Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in 2001 in Warsaw, Poland, a winner of the 2nd prize at the International Cello Competition in Tongyeong (Korea) in 2006 (Isang Yun in memoriam), winner of the 2nd prize at the Mikola Lysenko Competition in Kiev in 2007 as well as winner of the International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition in Kraków, a laureate and a winner of a special prize at the Prague Spring Music Festival in 2006. Bartosz Koziak also received prizes at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2002 and the ARD competition in Münich in 2005. In 2003, he received a special prize of the Polish Cultural Foundation awarded by Ewa Podleś. Bartosz Koziak is a holder of a scholarship granted by the French government and a participant in the programme of the Polish Ministry of Culture Młoda Polska. He performed at Konzerthaus in Berlin, Rudolfinum in Prague, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Teatro Politeama in Palermo, Studio of Witold Lutoslawski and the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall. As a soloist, Bartosz Koziak collaborated with the Polish National Philharmonic Orchestra , the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Sinfonia Varsovia, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Münchener Kammerorchester, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, radio orchestras in Warsaw and Budapest, as well as a majority of philharmonic halls in Poland conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki, Jan Krenz, Antoni Wit, Gabriel Chmura, Jacek Kaspszyk, Tan Dun and Massimiliano Caldi. Since 2007 he plays in piano trio with the violinist Kaja Danczowska and the pianist Justyna Danczowska. He is invited to renowned festivals, such as Warsaw Autumn, L. van Beethoven Easter Festival, Mecklemburg Vorpommen, Young Euro Classic in Berlin, Chopin and his Europe. In the recent years Bartosz Koziak has been regularly invited for participation at concert projects of Krzysztof Penderecki. He participated in the first recording of Concerto Grosso conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki and made several recordings for Polish Radio. Bartosz Koziak graduated in the class of Prof. Kazimierz Michalik and Andrzej Bauer at the Fryderyk Chopin University in Warsaw, receiving a Magna cum Laude distinction and completed Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris in the class of Philippe Muller. Thanks to the kindness of Kaja Danczowska he plays on a 19th c. copy of J.B. Guadagnini's instrument, previously used by the outstanding Polish cellist Dezyderiusz Danczowski during his concerts. Bartosz Koziak is represented by Ludwig van Beethoven Association. In 2013 he received doctoral degree in Music Arts. www.bartoszkoziak.com

DOUBLE BASS

Leszek Sokołowski (5.08-16.08)
Double bass

Leszek Sokołowski learned to play double bass at the State Music School of the Second Degree in Białystok, in the class of Ryszard Kukiełka. He continued music studies at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (currently the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) at the academy's department in Białystok, in the class of Michał Stadnicki. He received his diploma under professor Andrzej Mysiński in 1985. He then fine-tuned his abilities at masterclasses in Salzburg in the class of prof. Klaus Stoll, first bassist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Presently he is a full professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, and leads double bass class at the Białystok-based Department of Instrumental and Educational Studies. He also teaches at the Complex of Music Schools in Białystok and plays double bass (first) at the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic. He performs as a soloist, with chamber and symphonic ensembles, collaborates with the CAMERATA Quartet, the Polish Chamber Orchestra in Sopot, the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw. He is a manager and founder of the chamber orchestra "Sinfonia Academica". Between 1996-2012 he filled the function of dean and deputy dean at the Department of Instrumental and Educational Studies in Białystok. In April 2009 he received the title of Professor of Music conferred by the President of the Republic of Poland.

CONCOMITANT WORKSHOPS

Martyna Pastuszka
Historical violin

Martyna Pastuszka was born in 1980 in Upper Silesia. Raised in a musical family, she received traditional music education: she studied violin performance at the Academy of Music in Katowice, which she graduated from in 2004. In 2017, she defended her doctoral thesis and currently serves as lecturer at her alma mater.
Martyna’s early interest in historically informed performance practices led to a long-standing cooperation with Arte Dei Suonatori, one of Poland’s leading early music ensembles. Thanks to this Poznań-based powerhouse led by Ewa and Aureliusz Goliński, she was able to learn the secrets of early music and shape her musical personality.
For over a decade now, Martyna has cooperated with many ensembles, who invite her to participate in their concerts as chamber musician, soloist or guest concertmaster. These include: Hofkapelle München, Le Concert de la Loge (Paris), Collegium Marianum (Prague), Diletto (Białystok), Collegium 1704 (Prague), Le Cercle de l’Harmonie (Paris).
In 2012, together with the manager Artur Malke, she established and leads the Katowice-based {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna. The performances of the ensemble, as well as Martyna’s herself, have been hailed by critics as “the biggest discovery of recent years!!” (Adam Rozlach, Polish Radio). www.martyna-pastuszka.com

Jadwiga Śmieszchalska
Music physiology

Jadwiga Śmieszchalska is a recognized expert in the physical and mental preparation of musicians. She specializes in optimizing musical gestures, preventing and recovering from performance-related neuromusculoskeletal disorders, and preparing for competitions and tours. She supports musicians of all specialties related to classical and improvised music. She graduated from the Poznań Academy of Music (organ) and the Paris Institut Médicine des Arts, where she received a diploma with a Special Jury Award, granted for the first time in the Institute's history. She employs numerous therapeutic methods that engage the body and stimulate subcortical processes in the brain, allowing musicians to free themselves from experiences that limit their musical performance. She is the author of the first academic course in Poland on the Physiology of Music, which she created and taught from 2012 to 2022 at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Since 2022, she has been teaching the Physiology of Music at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. From 2013 to 2016, she supervised psychophysical condition training for musicians at the National Center for Education of Art School Teachers (CENSA) in Warsaw. Since 2012, she has co-run the Musicians' Health Office in Warsaw with Mathieu Spencer, DC, a chiropractor and specialist in musicians' health. She is the author and co-author of research papers in the field of performing arts medicine, presented and published in Belgium, France, Canada, and the USA. She gives lectures and workshops at the invitation of leading orchestras, schools, universities, and music institutions in Poland and abroad, such as the NFM Orchestral Academy, Sinfonia Varsovia Academy, I,CULTURE Orchestra, Fryderyk Chopin National Institute, Polish Radio Orchestra, Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, Polish Musical Publishing House (PWM Edition), Association of Polish Chamber Musicians, and Wieland Welzel’s Paukenkurs. Mother of two, she is an enthusiast of unschooling, Nonviolent Communication, local cooperative initiatives, natural movement, and minimalism.

Tomasz Pokrzywiński
Baroque cello, improvisation

The cellist, sound director, co-creator of festivals, and animator. A graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Music and London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He specializes in historical performance, collaborating with leading European early music ensembles (Academy of Ancient Music, Holland Baroque, Arte dei Suonatori, OH Historical Orchestra) and recording for top labels (Harmonia Mundi, Channel Classics, BIS). As a chamber musician, he works with artists such as Rachel Podger, Marcin Świątkiewicz, and Marcin Masecki. He initiates and co-creates initiatives such as: Smykofonia, the Strefa Ciszy festival, the 3×3 Festival, the Transcriptions series, and Classical Jams. He teaches baroque cello at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. Born into a family with musical traditions, he began learning to play the cello at the age of seven. Over time, he gradually expanded his musical interests, which is why today he is not only a cellist but also a sound director, arranger, and animator. He collaborates with leading European early music ensembles - he is the principal cellist in the Arte dei Suonatori and Holland Baroque Society orchestras and a guest principal cellist in the Academy of Ancient Music. He also collaborates as a chamber musician with, among others: Rachel Podger, Marcin Świątkiewicz, and Marcin Masecki. He records for Harmonia Mundi, Channel Classics, BBC, Alpha, and BIS. In addition to playing the cello, he is also involved in innovative musical and educational activities (vice-president of the Music is for Everyone foundation and co-creator of Smykofonia) and management (musical director of the Strefa Ciszy Festival and manager of the Arte dei Suonatori orchestra). Since 2016, he has been leading a faculty of baroque cello at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.