Artists

Sebastian Aleksandrowicz

Since 1996, soloist of the orchestra of the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw. Former oboist of the Gruppo di Tempera. He is a musician of the Amadeus Wind Ensemble, an ensemble bringing together musicians from Poland and the London Symphony Orchestra. As of 2019, he is the artistic director of the Warsaw Winds Plus Festival. Graduate of the F. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. From 2007 to 2014 he was the first oboist of the Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also the first oboist of the Polish Radio Orchestra (2001-2003) and the National Philharmonic Orchestra (2005-2007). As a soloist and chamber musician, he has collaborated with such orchestras and ensembles as Opus Ensemble Seoul, Philharmonie der Nationen Hamburg, Morphing Chamber Orchestra Vienna, New Art Ensemble, Tokyo Solisten, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Sinfonia Varsovia, NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, NFM Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Iuventus, Royal String Quartet, Lutoslawski Quartet, Hilliard Ensemble. He has performed in Poland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Russia, South Korea, Japan and Mexico.

Mateusz Dębski

Composer and pianist. He completed his composition studies with Prof. Marcin Błażewicz at the F. Chopin Academy of Music (now the University of Music) in Warsaw. In 2014, during the Transatlantyk Festival, he won the main prize in the international competition of instant composition and improvisation for film – the Transatlantyk Instant Composition Contest – receiving the title of Transatlantyk Instant Composer 2014. He writes primarily theatre music, but also symphonic, chamber and choral works and songs. He is the winner of several composition competitions: for ‘Crux fidelis for mixed choir a cappella’, he was awarded 1st prize in the 2nd National Composition Competition for Choral Passion Song in Bydgoszcz, while his song to words by Tadeusz Różewicz ‘Jak dobrze’ for baritone, viola and piano was awarded 2nd prize in the National Composition Competition in Gliwice. As a composer and pianist, he collaborates with Warsaw theatres, including the National, Ateneum, Dramatyczny, Contemporary, Polish, Studio, Collegium Nobilium and Baj, as well as the Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk, the Silesian Theatre in Katowice and the L. Solski Theatre in Tarnów. Since 2011, he has been a lecturer at the Acting Department of the A. Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw.

In 2021, he composed music for his diploma performance “Prawiek i inne czasy” (“Primeval and Other Times”) based on the prose of Olga Tokarczuk, directed by Anna Sroka-Hryń.

José Gallardo

One of the most sought-after chamber music pianists in the world. Since 2008 he has been teaching at Leopold Mozart Centre, University of Augsburg. Together with Andreas Ottensamer, he is artistic director of the chamber music festival “Bürgenstock Festival” in Lucerne. 

He began to take piano lessons at the Conservatory in Buenos Aires. Later, he continued his studies with Prof. Poldi Mildner at the Department of Music, University of Mainz, Germany.

He has won many national and international awards, resulting in invitations to tour and major festivals. From 1998 to 2008 he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Music of the University of Mainz.

As a pianist, he is co-author of two solo albums by Janusz Wawrowski: “Aurora” (2013) and “Hidden Violin” (2018).

Alexander Gebert

Since 2010 he has been professor and pro-rector of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold. He studied in Helsinki, Warsaw, Paris and Stuttgart. In 1997 he won 2nd prize in the W. Lutoslawski Competition in Warsaw, and in 2000 he won 3rd prize in the A. Janigra Competition in Zagreb, 2nd prize and the audience prize in the International Cello Competition in Geneva and 1st prize in the V. Bucchi Competition in Rome.

He has performed both as soloist and chamber musician at many prestigious festivals, including Kuhmon Kamarimusiikki, Oleg-Kagan-Musikfest, Festival de Deauville, Ravinia Festival, Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, West Cork Music and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw.

Jakub Jakowicz

Leading Polish soloist and chamber musician. Graduate of the F. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. As a soloist he has cooperated with such orchestras as the Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic in Prague, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Dresden Philharmonic, Orchestra de la Suisse Romanse in Geneva, Orquesta Nacional in Madrid, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, NOSPR, National Philharmonic and Sinfonia Varsovia. He is a winner of many international competitions, e.g. in Lublin, Wattrelos, Takasaki, Bratislava, as well as a laureate of the Polish-Japanese Foundation prize for the best promising Polish violinist of the young generation (2002). He is the winner of the “Polityka” Passport for 2003 and was the first violinist of the Lutosławski Quartet from 2009 to 2014. Since 2006 he has been associated with the Zehetmair Quartet, with which he received the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année award for best recording. Since 2004 he has been a lecturer at the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. 

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 collaborated 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 works 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.

Szymon Krzeszowiec

He is a highly regarded violinist, soloist and chamber musician. He graduated from the K. Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He is a laureate of violin competitions in Poznań, Warsaw and Brescia and winner of first prizes at chamber music competitions in Copenhagen and Sondershausen. As a soloist, he has performed with leading Polish orchestras such as the NOSPR, Sinfonia Varsovia and most̨ philharmonic orchestras in the country. Since 2001, he has been the primarius of the Silesian Quartet, with which he regularly performs around the world. The ensemble has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Gramophone Award for its recording of Grażyna Bacewicz’s complete string quartets (2017), seven Fryderyk Awards, as well as the Coryphaeus of Polish Music (2019) and the Gold Medal for ‘Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis’.
Szymon Krzeszowiec heads the String Instruments Department and teaches the violin̨ class at his alma mater. He exercises artistic supervision over the Zakopane Academy of Art and the International Violin Festival in Katowice.

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. From 2007 to 2019 concertmaster of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. He is a member of the Młynarski-Masecki Jazzband. He is also a lecturer at the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the Zakopane Academy of Art.

He studied in Lübeck, Warsaw and Boston. As a soloist, he has collaborated with, among others, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, the NOSPR in Katowice, the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the Gdańsk Philharmonic, the Sinfonia Iuventus and Amadeus Chamber Orchestra.

As a soloist and chamber musician, he has participated in festivals in many countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. He is also a composer. His works have been performed all over the world by performers such as Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sol Gabetta, Agata Szymczewska, Jakub Jakowicz, the Silesian Quartet, the Lutoslawski Quartet and the Szymanowski Quartet.
He has recorded for Naxos, CD Accord, DUX, NFM, Odradek and for the Polish Radio.

Marcin Masecki

Pianist, composer, conductor, activist. He is a leader or member of many diverse projects. His trademark is a virtuosic fusion of stylistically disparate genres and crossing the boundaries between so-called high art and entertainment. He studied jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is a gold medal winner at the International Jazz Competition in Moscow. 

He has recorded, among others, with Tomasz Stańko, Michał Urbaniak and Andrzej Jagodziński. He is also co-founder, together with Jan Emil Młynarski, the Młynarski-Masecki Jazzband. Masecki also performs frequently in duo with drummer Jerzy Rogiewicz, performing ragtime music from the second decade of the 20th century. 

For the past few years, Masecki has been an active contributor to the summer programme of Plac Defilad, Warsaw’s cultural backyard by the Studio Theatre. Together with Marcin Markowicz, he has hosted the series ‘Composers’ Birthday’ at Warsaw’s Studio Theatre. 

Maciej Młodawski

Cello concertmaster of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic and member of the Lutosławski Quartet. Graduate of the F. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in the cello class of Prof. Tomasz Strahl and Prof. Andrzej Bauer (diploma with honours). He also studied as a guest student at the Hochschule für Musik Augsburg under Julius Berger and Sebastian Hess.

He is a laureate of the D. Danczowski Cello Competition in Poznań and the Chamber Music Competition in Łódź. As a soloist, he has performed with the Wrocław Philharmonic, e.g. inaugurating the 2008/2009 season under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk, and was one of two soloists (alongside Garrick Ohlsson) on the orchestra’s three-week tour of the USA. He also performed the Polish premiere of Ståle Kleiberg’s work Dopo for cello and string orchestra. 

He gives concerts in Poland and abroad as a member of the Lutosławski Quartet, as well as in duo with the pianist Agnieszka Przemyk-Bryła. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has taken part in such festivals as Wratislavia Cantans, Ensemble, Music on the Peaks, Chain, Lutosławski Forum, Hong Kong Arts Festival and Klara Festival in Brussels. 

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.

Zbigniew Zamachowski

Film and theatre actor. Graduate of the National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź (1985). Lecturer at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Actor in Warsaw theatres: National, Studio, Scena Prezentacje, Rampa, Dramatyczny, Ateneum, Syrena, Na Woli, Polonia, Roma. He also cooperated with the Studyjny Theatre’83 in Łódź and the KTO Theatre in Kraków.

Honoured with individual theatre awards: at the 3rd National Review of Theatre School Diploma Performances in Łódź; S. Wyspiański Award of the 1st degree for acting achievements in theatre, film and on stage; A. Zelwerowicz Award; Metronome. Zelwerowicz Award; Metronome Award; “Sztandar Młodych” Award; Prof. A. Bardini Award at the 18th Review of Actor Songs in Wrocław; honorable mention at the Festival of Polish Radio Theatre and Polish Television Theatre “Two Theatres” in Sopot.

Awarded with the Golden Badge in the “Golden Five” plebiscite of “TeleRzeczpospolita” (1995) and the Golden Laurel of “Przekrój” (1995).

Winner of film awards: at the Festival of Young Polish Cinema in Gdańsk; Z. Cybulski Award; awards for leading male roles at the Festival of Polish Feature Films in Gdynia; two-time winner of the Eagle Polish Film Award; honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th Camerimage Festival in Opole; three-time winner of the Wiktor Award; two-time winner of the “Golden Duck” award of the “Film” magazine. Honoured with the Golden Cross of Merit (2005), the Silver Medal “Gloria Artis” (2015) and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2017).

Eva Maria Richter

After her high school graduation she started studying piano, but then decided to combine her studies in music and media. During this period she worked intensively with photography and image studies. Today, Eva Maria Richter works exclusively as a photographer, combining her passion for both fields – music and photography. Fine art photography is the main focus of her photographic work. Here she mainly immortalizes classical musicians in portraits that are as sensitive as they are expressive, but also on stage and during rehearsals. In Germany, Eva Maria Richter regularly photographs concerts, festivals and master classes. In addition to classical music, her special love is architectural photography.

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
Michał Dziewior, Izabela Wilga

Violin
Olivia Bujnowicz, Marta Dettlaff, Alicja Pustuła, Wojciech Sojka, Julia Stompór, Sławomira Wilga

Viola
Wiktoria Dettlaff, Zuzanna Mańka, , Tomasz Rosiński

Cello
Wojciech Bafeltowski, Michał Bień, Urszula Markowska, Filip Sporniak

Acting Masterclass
Monika Daukszo, Katarzyna Anna Dominiak, Karina Maria Giemza, Anna Grochowska

Jazz Masterclass
Dimitrios Hartwich-Vrazas (saxophone), Jakub Jugo (drums), Mateusz Sobiechowski (piano)