Roland Baldini

Solo and chamber violinist, teacher. Music studies in Vienna and Salzburg with E. Steinbauer   and J. Geise (diploma with distinction), furthered under M. Rostal in Bern and F. Gulli in Siena. Has had concert tours in most European countries, also in Russia, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Masterclasses throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. A visiting prof. of violin in Poland, Finland, Lithuania, USA and Thailand. From 1994 – 2012 prof. of violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy , Leipzig, and since 2015 a visiting   prof. of violin at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. He sits on the jury at competitions incl. the J. S. Bach Competition in Leipzig.

Michał Grabarczyk

solo and chamber violinist, teacher. Diplomas cum laude from music schools in Łódź (Z. Frieman’s class) and the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with D. Ciganov and Z. Sichmurzajewa. Prizewinner of competitions including the Wieniawski, Poznań; the Paganini, Genoa; the J. Thibaud, Paris and the Bordeaux Festival. Concertized in Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Jamaica and Cuba and made numerous recordings.
Professor of Violin at the Academies of Music in Poznań and Łódź. Master class teacher and juror at international competitions. Honoured with a Gloria Artis medal.

Wojciech Koprowski

DMA – solo violinist, chamber artist, teacher. One of the few violinists performing within one recital all sonatas for solo violin op. 27 E. Ysaye. He graduated with honours from Chopin’s Univ. of Music in Warsaw, where his teacher was K. A. Kulka. As soloist he has appeared with the Max Bruch Philharmonic Orch., Philharmonic Baden-Baden and most Polish Philharmonics. He has won 15 prestigious awards at violin and chamber mus. competitions. Since 2007 he has performed all over the world with the Meccore String Quartet. He is a violin and chamber mus. teacher at Chopin’s Univ. of Music in Warsaw and the Academy of Music in Cracow

Ewa Kowar

violinist, chamber musician and teacher. Doctor of Musical Arts. Graduated from the Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw, where she studied with prof. Z. Brzewski, prof. M. Ławrynowicz and prof. K. Makowska-Ławrynowicz. Comleted master classes in Łańcut taught by prof.” Z. Bron, E. Feltz, K. Lewin. Teaches the violin at Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin Unoiversity of Music affiliate in Białystok and the Z. Brzewski Secondary School of Music in Warsaw. Juror of competitions for children and young adults. General Secretary of ESTA Poland.

Roman Lasocki

distinguished violin virtuoso, teacher, popularizer of violin music. Studied violin with F. Jamry at the Higher School of Music, Łódź (diploma cum laude) and then with A. Gertler, H. Szeryng, T. Wroński, and S. Lewandowski. Appeared in the world’s major concert halls and many composers dedicated their works to him. Professor and Vice-Rector of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and Professor of Violin at the Academy of Music in Katowice. Juror of national and international competitions. Received numerous honours an awards.

Dorota Obijalska

violinist, chamber musician, teacher, teacher trainer. A graduate of the Music Academy in Gdańsk – violin studies with prof. Maria Suwara.Formerly a long-serving violinist with the Warmińsko-Mazurska Filharmonia in Olsztyn and a member of the Con Flauto quartet, she is the founder and conductor of the string orchestra ABSOLWENT (Alumnus) and co-author of a popular book of pieces for violin and piano Fiddling Notes, intended for the youngest player. She teaches the violin at primary and secondary music schools in Olsztyn and, since 2002, has been a Suzuki method teacher, which she studied with Tove Detrekoy. She has completed a large number of methodology courses run by outstanding pedagogues including those taught by Almita Vamos. Her students and chamber groups enjoy great success at competitions. She runs workshops for children and teachers and is a juror at violin competitions. She has received numerous awards for her pedagogical work.

Gabriela Opacka-Boccadoro

Solo and chamber musician. Alumna of A.Malawski Music School in Przemyśl, studying with mgr Krzysztof Nowiński. Graduated from Academy of Music in Krakow with prof. Piotr Tarcholik, later on studied with prof. Krzysztof Smietana at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she recently completed an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance with prof. Louise Hopkins. She is a doctoral student at Warsaw Chopin University with prof. Janusz Wawrowski. As a soloist, she performed with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Southbank Sinfonia in Cadogan Hall in London, Subcarpathian Philharmonic, Academy of Music in Krakow Symphony Orchestra with Maestro Jerzy Maksymiuk and as a section leader of the International Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Carnegie Hall in New York. She regularly performs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. As part of her doctoral studies she has been teaching violin students at the Warsaw Chopin University of Music. She has been a guest teacher for the Penderecki Youth Orchestra and NOR59 Strykeinstitutt in Oslo. www.opackaboccadoro.com

Giovanni La Porta

graduated in viola in Conservatorio of Musica “C. Pollini” in Padova and in violin in Conservatorio di Musica of “J. Tomadini” in Udine, studying with m° R. Senia and D. Asciolla. Finished musical studies, and played violin and viola in several professional orchestra in Italy and abroad (Orch. Rai in Milano,  Orch. Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Orch. da Camera di Padova). He had many experiences with chamber music ensemble, particularly dedicated to music of the baroque and classical periods. As a violin teacher he has taught for over 30 years in a public secondary school. He has published a short guide for beginners in violin study titled Primo incontro con il violino (1994, Intra’s ed.). Graduated in Architecture at the IUAV in Venice (1997), subsequently obtaining a PhD in “Civil environmental engineering and architecture” at the University of Udine (2014), specializing in the field  of building and room acoustics.

Paweł Radziński

soloist, chamber artist, teacher. Pupil of M. Kujawa. Diploma cum laude from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow (V. Pikaizen’s class.). Completed master classes taught by K. Hausegger, R. Ricci and H. Szeryng. Frequent concert appearances. Founded a student chamber ensemble Academia, now Accademia dell’ Arco concertizing in many countries. He collaborates with Sinfonietta de Paris and is a fosterer of contemporary music. Professor of Violin on the faculty of Academy of Music, Bydgoszcz, teaches master classes in many European countries and at home in Łańcut and Żagań. Juror of competitions.

Magdalena Szczepanowska

She first learnt to play the violin with her father, subsequently studying with J. Jarzębska, T. Wroński, S. Kawalla, and M. Rezler. She  graduated with distinction from Warsaw’s Academy of Music, as well as attending masterclasses led by O. Krysa and by A. Gertler.  Was awarded prizes  at competitions including  Lublin, Kraków, Gorizia, Brescia and Vercella. Appears regularly in chamber music concerts e.g. performing alongside the cellist P.Hausenplas with OTTOCORDE duo, as well as the SUBITO piano trio with  L. Napierała  and appearing, since 2009, at the Baroque d’Augverne festivals in France.  Was a founder-member of a quartet partnering for years S. Wojtowicz, and a member of Nat. Philh. Cham Chamber Players led by K. Teutsch. Formerly a long-serving teacher at secondary music schools in Warsaw (primarily the Z. Brzewski School), at present Prof. of Violin at Warsaw’s Univ. of Music and at Krakow’s  Acad. of Mus., she has trained  many prizewinners. She runs music courses in Poland and Slovakia, and judges competitions such as. T. Wroński Int. Comp. Concorso Lipizer in Gorizia, Int. Jeunesses Musicales in Belgrade, Talents for Europe in Slovakia. Her contribution to music has been recognized with multiple awards including  Gloria Artis, and in 2008, won the honorific Teacher of the Year title

Agata Szymczewska

soloist, chamber artist, teacher. First Prize winner at the Int. A. Wieniawski Violin Competition (Poznań, 2006). HAs received four Frederic awards, The Passport Award (from the Polish weekly Polityka) and a London Music Masters award. Concerto appeatances with major orchestras incl. the London Philharmonic under  N. Marriner, S. Ozawa, A. Boreyko, K. Penderecki, J. Maksymiuk and M. Vengerov. Performs and records with outstanding musicians incl. K. Zimerman, M. Argerich, A-S. Mutter and Y. Bashmet. Teaches the violin at the Poznań Academy of Music and conducts master classes in Poland, Germany, Great Britain, China and South Korea. She plays a 1680 A. Stradivari violin.

Janusz Wawrowski

solo violinist, chamber artist, teacher. One of the most outstanding Polish violinists of the younger generation. Gratuated with diploma cum laude from the Frederic Chopin University of Music, Warsaw, where his teacher was Mirosław Ławrynowicz. Further studies with Yair Kless in Gratz and Salvatore Accado in Cremona. Prizewinner of many competitions, he concertizes and records in Poland and abroad. Famed for his recitals of the complete 24 N. Paganini Capricci. From 2012 a contract with EMI for 4 solo discs, the first of which was released in April 2013. A violin teacher on the faculty of the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and artistic director of the Music Spaces festival.

Edward Zienkowski

world-famous virtuoso, teacher. Pupil of O. Ruppel and S. Herman in Gdańsk and A. Gertler in Hannover and Brussels. Top prize-winner in the Wieniawski Competition, Poznań; the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Berlin; the Paganini, Genoa and the Shigeti, Budapest. Concert tours and recordings worldwide. Professor of Violin (master class) at the Universitat für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna and on music courses in Poland, Germany, Austria and Japan. Juror of international competitions.

Katarzyna Budnik

soloist, chamber musician. A Chopin Univ. of Music graduate, she studied the violin with M. Ławrynowicz, A. Gębski, and the viola with P. Reichert. Prize-winner at int. competitions incl.: the L. van Beethoven Comp. (Hradec, 1^st prize), the J. Brahms Comp. (Pörtschach, 1^st prize), the M. Rostal Comp. (Berlin, 2^nd prize), the M. Reger Chamber Music Comp. (Sonder-shausen, 2^nd prize and special award), the M. Spisak Comp. (Dąbrowa Górn., Poland, 2 ^nd prize) and the J. Rakowski Viola Comp. (Poznań, 1^st prize). Concertized in Poland, the Czech Rep., Austria, Germany, France and Russia. A Min. of Culture grant holder, she also won a Young Poland scholarship. Teacher at the Chopin Univ. of Music Warsaw.

Ewa Guzowska

soloist, chamber artist, teacher – PhD, Ass.Prof. at the Academy of Music, Poznań. She graduated with dis-tinction from the Music Academy in Poznań and the Universyty der Kunst in Berlin, where she also completed her post-graduate studies. A soloist with numerous orchestras, she has received many prizes and honourable mentions. She entered and won a competi-tion for a grant and practice with the Deutsche Symphony Orches-tra. Komische Oper and Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Ewa Guzowska conducts masterclasses at home and abroad, is a juror of viola competitions, and has recorded the works of J.S.Bach, R. Clerke, D. Shostakovich, J.M. Papaja as well as the soundtrack for “LYNCH”. Many contemporary composers dedicate their works to her. She has received a merit award for promoting music education.

Ewa Maria Groblewska

solo and chamber musician, teacher. Cello studies with R. Hoffmann at the Z. Brzewski Mus. Sch. and prof. A. Zieliński and P. Hausenplas at the F. Chopin Mus. Academy Warsaw. Perfected her musicianship on courses under Aldo Parisot, with Tokio Quartet, Amadeus Quartet and Medici Quartet. With the string Quartet Le Stadioni she has had concerts throughout Poland and in Sweden, Great Britain and the US. Collaborated with Camerata Quartet and Polish Radio Orchestra. A cello teacher at two primary music schools in Warsaw. She is a certified Suzuki Method teacher. On Łańcut Courses she will be teaching a cello class for children.

Zdzisław Łapiński

diploma with distinction from the State High Mus. S. in Kraków (cello studies with H. Zarzycki and then with A. Parisot at Yale Univ.) Cellist with a quartet – 1^st prize at Chamber Mus. Comp. in Łódź (1977) and 3^rd prize at String Quartet Comp. in Evian, France (1978). 3^rd prize winner at Cello Comp. in Poznań (1978). Member of Trio Jagiellońskie awarded at the Chamber Mus. Comp. in Florence (1979). Numerous recordings for Polish Radio and TV and Radio France. Concerts in Europe, US, Brazil, Japan, Lebanon and Malta. Principal cellist with Capella Cracoviensis (1979-81), concertmaster with PRTV Orchestra in Kraków (1981-89), concertmaster with NOSPR in Katowice. Professor of cello and Rector of the Music Academy, Kraków.

Marta Nowaczyk-Łapińska

Cello studies with prof. Z. Łapiński at the Music Academy Cracow, furthered at numerous masterclasses included those taught by I. Monighetti, J.Berger, C. Bohorquez, and U. Tischbirk. A cellist with Cracow’s Polish Radio and TV Orchestra and Capella Cracoviensis, she achieves notable success in her teaching career, which is evidenced by the prizes won by her pupils at national and international competitions (Liezen, Dolny Kubin, Wrocław, Warszawa, Poznań, Kłodzko, Kraków, Stalowa Wola). Since 2002 – Director of the B. Rutkowski Primary and Secondary School of Music in Cracow. Juror of national and international competitions. Honoured with many prizes incl. the Award of the Mayor of Krakow, the Medal of the National Education Commission and Honoris Gratia.

Leszek Sokołowski

He first studied double-bass at secondary music school in Białystok and then at Warsaw’s Acad. of  Mus. studying with M. Stadnicki and prof. A. Mysiński and continuing at masterclasses led by Klaus Stoll – principal double-bassist of Berlin Philharmonic. At present, he is Professor of Double-Bass at  University of Music in Warsaw and Academy of Music in Gdańsk, also a principal double-bassist with the Podlaska Opera and Philharmonic. He collaborates with Camerata  quartet and Deutsche Oper Berlin Polish Quartet. He founded and now leads the chamber orchestra Sinfonia Academica.  A recipient of Gloria Artis medal.

Mateusz Kowalski

is one of the most outstanding young guitarists around –‘spectacular’, according to Classical Guitar Magazine. He performs repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary times with remarkable expertise, a sense of style and great musical culture. He has performed at major venues including the Musikverein in Vienna and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Budapest and London. In 2019 he played the popular Concierto de Aranjuez with the Warsaw Philharmonic in the Polish capital. He has won prestigious competitions in Antony (Paris) and London (2nd EuroStrings International Competition, 2019). In 2019 his debut CD was released by CD Accord, featuring works by Bach, Giuliani, Tarrega, Barrios, Piazzolla, Ponce, Assad and Schubert. In 2021 he recorded his second CD – Polish Romantic Guitar with music of Bobrowicz, Szczepanowski, Sokołowski and Horecki.Mateusz Kowalski

Janusz Smolarski

violinist, solo and chamber musician, teacher. Graduate of the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, the first student of Professor M. Ławrynowicz to become an assistant in his class. Prizewinner at international competitions, concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra in Płock. Teaches the violin  at the music school in Płock and the Zenon Brzewski Secondary School of General Education and Music, Warsaw. Organizer of the M. Ławrynowicz International Meetings of Young Violinists in Płock.

Maksym Dondalski

solo and chamber violinist, conductor,teacher. He graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, where he first studied the violin with Jadwiga Kalisze-wska and Marcin Baranowski, and, two years later, orchestra con-ducting under Zygmunt Rychert and Piotr Sułkowski. Award-win-ner at many violin competitions, he is an active concert violinist and orchestral conductor, performing at home and abroad. Until 2016 he was first violin leader/ concertmaster with the Gorzów Philharmon-ic, Poland. For two years now he has been a faculty member of the Academy of Arts in Szczecin, teaching the violin and chamber music, as well as collaborating, since 2016, with Sinfonia Varsovia

Danuta Dobrowolska-Marucha

music theorist, prof. of musical arts, founder of modern aural training methods, author
of innovative aural training materials including coursebooks for different levels of teaching. Degree cum laude from Warsaw’s Chopin Academy of Music. Postgraduate studies with N. Boulanger in Paris. Professor of Aural Training on the faculties of the F. Chopin Univ. of Mus. in Warsaw and the Mus. Acad. in Bydgoszcz, Head of the Intercollegiate Aural Training Chair, Postgrad. Aural Tr. Studies and Intercollegiate Aural Training Unit. A Min. of. Culture consultant, a Min. of Education expert, juror of Solfege competitions and international music courses tutor. Honoured with a Gloria Artis medal.