Artists

Sebastian Aleksandrowicz

Graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. Since 1996, principal oboist of the orchestra at the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw; from 2007–2014, principal oboist of the Wrocław Philharmonic. He has also served as principal oboist of the Polish Radio Orchestra (2001–2003) and the National Philharmonic (2005–2007). As a soloist and chamber musician, he has collaborated with ensembles including Philharmonie der Nationen Hamburg (as principal oboist and soloist), Morphing Chamber Orchestra Vienna, New Art Ensemble, Tokyo Solisten, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Sinfonia Varsovia, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Royal String Quartet, Lutosławski Quartet, and Hilliard Ensemble.

He has performed in Poland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Russia, South Korea, and Japan. Aleksandrowicz is part of the Amadeus Wind Ensemble, which brings together musicians from Poland and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded for Sony Classical, EMI, Pomaton, and DUX. Since 2019, he has been the artistic director of the Warsaw Winds Plus Festival.

One of the most distinguished cellists of her generation. She graduated with honors from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the Universität der Künste in Berlin. She has performed in prestigious concert halls such as Tonhalle Zurich, Royal Festival Hall in London, Moscow Conservatory, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and many other philharmonics in Poland and abroad. Poland’s leading composers – including Paweł Szymański, Hanna Kulenty, Aleksander Nowak, and Dariusz Przybylski – have dedicated their cello works to her. As a soloist, she has collaborated with top Polish and foreign orchestras. Bojanowicz is a laureate of the “Polityka” Passport and the winner of many awards, including First Prize at the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition in Belgrade (2015), as well as prizes at the Witold Lutosławski Competition in Warsaw, Krzysztof Penderecki Competition in Krakow, Beethoven Competition in the Czech Republic, and the Prague Spring International Music Competition.

Jakub Jakowicz

Distinguished Polish violinist who has performed since the age of eleven. He has collaborated with all major Polish orchestras as well as many European ensembles, including the Munich Philharmonic. Invited to leading music festivals worldwide, he has performed alongside prominent musicians such as Heinz Holliger, Garrick Ohlsson, Szymon Nehring, Andrzej Bauer, Marcin Zdunik, and Julius Berger. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Zehetmair Quartet, touring Europe’s most prestigious stages. From 2008-2014, he was the first violinist of the Lutosławski Quartet, with whom he premiered and recorded numerous contemporary works. He is a laureate of the “Polityka” Passport (2003), the “Orpheus” award (2007), and a two-time Fryderyk Award winner. In 2018, he received the Witold Lutosławski Centennial Medal for his contribution to popularizing Lutosławski’s music. Jakowicz is part of a piano trio with Szymon Nehring and Marcin Zdunik and teaches violin at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the Academy of Music in Katowice, where he is a professor.

Tomasz Januchta

Double bassist of the Orchestra of the Grand Theatre National Opera in Warsaw and from 2006–2022, a member of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw. Graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. He is a laureate of the Second Prize at the National Double Bass Competition in Elbląg and a distinction at the A.B. Ciechański National Double Bass Competition in Poznań. He performs as a soloist and is also an active chamber musician, collaborating with ensembles such as the Lutosławski Quartet, Chain Ensemble, Royal String Quartet, and Meccore String Quartet. In the past decade, he has participated in most of the major music festivals in Poland. He has performed in chamber music groups with eminent musicians, including Piotr Anderszewski, Michel Letiec, Jakub Jakowicz, José Gallardo, Kevin Kenner, Ingolf Wunder, Marcin Zdunik, and Tomoko Akasaka. He recorded and published online the complete Bach Cello Suites arranged by Tadeusz Pelczar.

Paavali Jumppanen

Virtuoso pianist, soloist and chamber musician. He has performed many times in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, where he has collaborated with world-renowned composers such as Boulez, Murail, Dutilleux and Penderecki, as well as with many Finnish artists. More recently, he has devoted himself to performing complete cycles of piano sonatas by Beethoven and Mozart. Paavali Jumppanen studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and then with Krystian Zimmerman at the Basel Music Academy in Switzerland, where he studied organ, piano and clavichord. For Deutsche Grammophon, he recorded, considered the best on the music market, the complete piano sonatas of Pierre Boulez and the complete cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, published by Ondine. Jumppanen spent the 2011/2012 season as a visiting professor at Harvard University.

An active curator, he serves as the artistic director of a multi arts festival Väyläfestival in Northern Scandinavia as well as the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.

Szymon Krzeszowiec

Violinist, soloist, and chamber musician. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Katowice and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He is a laureate of violin competitions in Poznań, Warsaw, and Brescia, as well as a first prize winner in chamber music competitions in Copenhagen and Sondershausen. As a soloist, he has performed with most of the Philharmonic orchestras in Poland. He has over 40 recordings to his credit for labels such as Sony Classical Poland, EMI Music Poland, Chandos, BIS, CD Accord, Naxos, ECM, and DUX. Since 2001, he has been the first violinist of the Silesian Quartet – an ensemble honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the Gramophone Award, seven Fryderyk Awards, the Coryphaeus of Polish Music, and the Gold Medal “Merit to Culture Gloria Artis.” Krzeszowiec leads the Department of String Instruments and teaches a violin class at the Academy of Music in Katowice. He is also the artistic director of the Zakopane Academy of Art and the International Violin Festival in Katowice. He regularly serves on the juries of violin competitions.

Mats Lidström

Mats Lidström is a Swedish cellist, composer, and educator. He studied in Gothenburg and at the Juilliard School in New York with Leonard Rose, also training with Pierre Fournier and Janos Starker. As a soloist, he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Dallas Symphony, collaborating with conductors such as André Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Maxim Shostakovich. He has appeared in prestigious concert halls across Europe, the USA, and Asia, and his recordings for EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, and Hyperion have earned international acclaim, including the Diapason d’Or. Since 1993, he has been a cello professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and is the author of esteemed compositions, transcriptions, and educational materials published by CelloLid.com.

Marcin Markowicz

Since 2005, artistic director of the Ensemble Festival. Founder and second violinist of the Lutosławski Quartet, and concertmaster of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw. Lecturer at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He studied in Lübeck, Warsaw, and Boston. As a soloist, he has collaborated with, among others, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, NOSPR in Katowice, and the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, as well as many other Polish philharmonics. Both as soloist and chamber musician, he has participated in festivals across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, working with musicians such as Jacek Kaspszyk, Julius Berger, Garrick Ohlsson, Piotr Anderszewski, Uri Caine. He has recorded for Naxos, CD Accord, DUX, Odradek, and Polish Radio. Markowicz is also an active composer—his works have been performed worldwide by artists like Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sol Gabetta, Agata Szymczewska, Jakub Jakowicz, Silesian Quartet, Lutosławski Quartet, and Szymanowski Quartet. He is a Jargar Strings brand ambassador.

Marcin Masecki

Outstanding pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and educator. Graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, winner of the Gold Medal at the International Jazz Pianists’ Competition in Moscow (2005). His trademark is the effortless blending of genres and crossing boundaries between high art and entertainment. He is co-founder of the Jazz Band Młynarski-Masecki – the ensemble has earned two platinum records. He also leads his own Big Band and collaborates with artists from around the world. As a classical pianist, he has released four solo albums and two recordings of piano concertos. He regularly conducts, collaborating with Capella Cracoviensis. In 2025, he recorded his Symphony No. 3 with the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw.

Masecki is also a recognized film music composer. He received the Polish Film Award “Eagle” for his music for “Powrót do tamtych dni” (“Back to Those Days”). He also contributed to the films “Cold War,” “Muse,” “Gareth Jones,” and the series “Blinded by the Lights” and “1983.”

Oskar Hamerski

Actor at the National Theatre in Warsaw. Graduate of the Ludwik Solski State Higher School of Theatre in Kraków (1999).  
In 1999-2003 he was an actor at the Teatr Nowy in Łódź, where he played the main roles in performances by, among others, Mikołaj Grabowski, Paweł Miśkiewicz, Łukasz Kos, including the title role in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” – the last performance by Kazimierz Dejmek.

He is fascinated by the idea of theatrical improvisation and instrumental theatre (Bogusław Schaeffer, MW2). In 2011 he participated in an improvisation workshop with Keith Johnston in Denmark. Since then he has become a promoter and advocate of the art of impro. Author of the book ‘Theatrical improvisation according to K. Johnstone’ and editor of the book ‘IMPRO: spontaneous world creation’ by K. Johnstone. Frank Totino’s assistant during workshops at the PWST in Krakow. Introduced impro to the Theatre Academy in Warsaw, where he taught at the department of directing and dramatic acting. Currently, he teaches at Theatre Academy in Warsaw and at the Art Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Cezary Kosiński

theatre and film actor. He has performed at many theatres in Warsaw, such as the Rozmaitości Theatre, the Dramatyczny Theatre, the Powszechny Theatre, the Polonia Theatre, the Och-Teatr, the IMKA Theatre and the Buffo Theatre, as well as in Kraków, at the National Old Theatre and in Wrocław, at the Polski Theatre in the Underground. He has taken part in over a hundred film and television productions. He has been a lecturer at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw for many years. He is currently affiliated with the National Theatre in Warsaw.

Jan Duszyński

Composer of autonomous, theatrical, and film music. Graduate of the composition department at the Warsaw University of Music in the class of Professor Stanisław Moryto, as well as The Juilliard School of Music in New York in the class of Professor Christopher Rouse. Graduated with honors. Recipient of the Kosciuszko Foundation scholarship, winner of the Witold Lutosławski scholarship, as well as the Marvin Hamlisch scholarship and the Gretchaninoff Memorial Prize. Participated in master composition courses in Aspen, Colorado, conducted by, among others, Steve Mackie and John Corigliano.

Jakub de Barbaro

He is involved in publishing graphics, identification and information systems. Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Co-founder of the Goldex Poldex cooperative. Member of STGU (Association of Applied Graphic Designers). Collaborates with, among others, the Raster Gallery, the Art Museum in Łódź, the Ha!art Corporation, the Krakow Film Festival and the W. Lutosławski National Forum of Music. He has designed for the European Conference of Promoters of New Music (Netherlands), Arnolfini (UK), Villa Reykjavik (Iceland), Villa Tokyo (Japan), WNF (Austria), Corpovia (France), among others. In 2014, he designed the visuals for the Cricoteka building in Kraków, and in 2017 (together with Kuba Sowiński) the graphic design for the Krakow Film Festival, which won a silver award at the European Design Awards in the Visual Identity Prints category. In 2019, he received the Polish Graphic Design Award in the Publishing category for the graphic design of the novel ‘Tamam Shud’. 

Chamber Music Interpretation Masterclass
Piano
Emilia Biskupska, Jakub Cetnarowski, Maria Kierzkowska

Violin
Martyna Bogunia, Antonina Borgiel, Małgorzata Kucharek, Kamila Malczyk, Wojciech Niedziółka, Nazar Plyska

Viola
Klara Chinek, Martyna Dziechciarz, Natalia Gidlewska

Cello
Tymoteusz Bączkowski, Mateusz Błaszczak, Filip Krzeszowiec, Alexandra Rosol

Jazz Masterclass
Jakub Jugo, Dimitrios Hartwich-Vrazas, Szymon Witczyński

Acting Masterclass
Monika Cieciora, Julia Grenda, Barbara Kłoczko, Franciszek Świrski