Tomasz Strahl

     Tomasz Strahl grad­u­ated from the Fry­deryk Chopin Acad­emy of Music in 1989 where he stud­ied the cello under Pro­fes­sor Kaz­imierz Micha­lik. As a holder of an Aus­trian Gov­ern­ment schol­ar­ship he com­pleted one-year post-graduate stud­ies at the Hochschule für Musik und darstel­lende in Vienna under Pro­fes­sor T. Kühn. He per­fected his cham­ber music skills under Krzysztof Jakow­icz, the out­stand­ing vio­lin­ist with whom he has been per­form­ing for many years. Tomasz Strahl has won many national and inter­na­tional com­pe­ti­tions in Poz­nań and War­saw and also won first prize at the 5th Inter­na­tional N. Music Com­pe­ti­tion in San Sebas­t­ian, Spain, in 1991. The Polish-Japanese JESC Foun­da­tion awarded him a schol­ar­ship in 1994. He has played with many con­duc­tors includ­ing M. Błaszczyk, Ł. Borow­icz, T. Bugaj, H. Czyż, A. Ducz­mal, Ph. Entremont, J. M. Florên­cio, C. Grabowski, J. Kosek, J. Maksymiuk, W. Mich­niewski, M. Nałęcz-Niesiołowski, K. Pen­derecki, M. Pijarowski, P. Przy­tocki, Z. Rychert, J. Sal­warowski, T. Stru­gała, J. Svo­boda, T. Woj­ciechowski and S. A. Wróblewski. For many years now he has been a very active per­former, play­ing with such orches­tras as: Pol­ish Radio National Sym­phony Orches­tra, the National Phil­har­monic Orches­tra, the Pol­ish Cham­ber Orches­tra, the Pol­ish Radio Cham­ber Orches­tra "Amadeus", the Pol­ish Radio Orches­tra, Sin­foni­etta Cra­covia, Con­certo Avenna and nearly all other phil­har­monic orches­tras in Poland. He also co-operates with dis­tin­guished soloists, the Sile­sian Quar­tet and the Wilanów Quartet. Tomasz Strahl’s most impor­tant con­certs include his per­for­mances at Tel Aviv Art Cen­tre, L’Auditoria Barcelona, Bruck­n­er­saal Linz, the National Phil­har­monic and the Moniuszko Audi­to­rium at Teatr Wielki — National Opera War­saw, Schaus­piel­haus Berlin, St. John’s Smith Square Lon­don and Top­pan Hall Tokio. He has com­pleted many tours in Japan, Canada and Spain (with the Sile­sian Phil­har­monic). His ren­der­ing of Witold Lutosławski’s Cello Con­certo in the composer’s pres­ence in 1993, con­ducted by M. Błaszczyk, was an impor­tant event as was his par­tic­i­pa­tion with Krzysztof Jabłoński in "Fortepi­anis­simo", a spec­ta­cle staged by Teatr Wielki — National Opera in War­saw. Tomasz Strahl gave the Pol­ish first per­for­mance of Piotr Mossa’s 2nd Cello Con­certo with the Pol­ish Radio National Sym­phony Orches­tra at the "Pre­miere" Fes­ti­val in 2005. Tomasz Strahl is a fre­quent guest at such music fes­ti­vals as: "Bravo Mae­stro", the Byd­goszcz Music Fes­ti­val, Fes­ti­vals in Gaudix (Spain) and Busko Zdrój, the F. Chopin Fes­ti­vals in Duszniki Zdrój and Antonin, the Organ Fes­ti­val in Kamień Pomorski, the Pol­ish Piano Fes­ti­val in Słupsk, "Music in Ancient Cra­cow", "War­saw Autumn" and "War­saw Music Encoun­ters". In 2006 he took part in the pres­ti­gious Inter­na­tional Cello Fes­ti­val in Cara­cas (Venezuela). Tomasz Strahl and the pianist Krzysztof Jabłoński founded the Chopin Duo. Tomasz Strahl has made many archival record­ings for Pol­ish Radio (e.g., con­cer­tos by Mak­lakiewicz and Sto­jowski with the Pol­ish Radio National Orches­tra con­ducted by Sławek A. Wróblewski and Łukasz Borow­icz) and Pol­ish Tele­vi­sion. He has also recorded for CBC Radio in Canada. His discog­ra­phy con­tains many records pub­lished by such record com­pa­nies as: Acte Préal­able, CD Accord, Gema Stereo, Pavane Records, Pol-Music, Pony Canyon and Sonny Clas­sics. His records have twice been nom­i­nated to the "Fry­deryk" Award which the artist won in 2003. Tomasz Strahl leads many mas­ter courses in Poland, Fin­land, Hol­land, Japan (Kyoto Uni­ver­sity of Arts) and Ger­many and he also teaches a cello class at the Fry­deryk Chopin Uni­ver­sity of Music in War­saw and the G. and K. Bacewicz Acad­emy of Music in Łódź. In 2005 the artist gave a series of lec­tures and sev­eral con­certs dur­ing the pres­ti­gious "Wiener­som­mer­akademie ’05". Tomasz Strahl recived his tit­u­lar pro­fes­sor­ship from the Pres­i­dent of the Repub­lic of Poland in 2001 and was awarded a Gold Cross of Merit in 2002. In 2008 he was elected deputy dean of the Depart­ment of Instru­men­tal Stud­ies at the FCUM in War­saw for term 2008–2012.

 

Krystyna Makowska-Ławrynowicz

     Krystyna Makowska-Ławrynowicz began to learn the piano with Pro­fes­sor Hanna Lacher­towa at the age of six. In 1971, she grad­u­ated with hon­ours from the Szy­manowski High School of Music in War­saw (Pro­fes­sor Lachert’s class). She stud­ied the piano with Pro­fes­sor Maria Wiłkomirska at the Fry­deryk Chopin Acad­emy of Music and grad­u­ated with hon­ours in 1971. In the years 1971–1973 she was awarded artis­tic fel­low­ships from the Pol­ish and Aus­trian gov­ern­ments. She also par­tic­i­pated in inter­na­tional piano and cham­ber mas­ter courses in Switzer­land, Ger­many, and Austria. Pro­fes­sor Makowska-Ławrynowicz has received awards from sev­eral inter­na­tional piano com­pe­ti­tions such as the Robert Schu­mann Com­pe­ti­tion in Zwickau (1969), Fest­wochen in Vienna (1972), Lud­wig van Beethoven Com­pe­ti­tion in Vienna (1973) and Bay­erischer Rund­funk in Munich (1974). She has per­formed as a soloist and as a mem­ber of cham­ber ensem­bles in Aus­tria, Bul­garia, Cuba, Czech Repub­lic, Eng­land, Fin­land, France, Ger­many, Italy, The Nether­lands, Rus­sia, Swe­den, Switzer­land, Turkey, Yugoslavia, and in the USA (Carnegie Hall). She has also par­tic­i­pated in numer­ous fes­ti­vals, e.g., the George Sand Fes­ti­val in France, and the Steirischer Herbst in Austria. Pro­fes­sor Krystyna Makowska-Ławrynowicz has made numer­ous record­ings as a soloist and cham­ber musi­cian for Pol­ish and for­eign com­pa­nies, e.g., Bay­erischer Rund­funk und Fernse­hen, Öster­re­ichis­che Run­funk, Radio Cuba, Pol­ish Radio and Tele­vi­sion. She has recorded sev­eral CDs, giv­ing spe­cial atten­tion to works by Pol­ish com­posers: F. Chopin, H. Moniuszko, K. Lipiski, L. Róży­cki, J. Zaręb­ski, A. Zarzy­cki H. Wieni­awski, J. Wieni­awski, K. Szy­manowski, and H. Swolkień. Since 1973 she has been employed at the Fry­deryk Chopin Acad­emy of Music in War­saw, first at Pro­fes­sor Maria Wiłkomirska’s piano class and later at the Chair of Piano Cham­ber Music under pro­fes­sor Jerzy March­wiński. She was nom­i­nated a lec­turer in 1979 and assis­tant pro­fes­sor in 1990, when she obtained her sec­ond level degree in music. She has been an asso­ciate pro­fes­sor since Feb­ru­ary 1992. She has reviewed and super­vised many qual­i­fi­ca­tion pro­ce­dures for first and sec­ond degrees in music at Acad­e­mies of Music in Łódź, Poz­nań and War­saw, In period 1999–2005 she was a prorec­tor for Inter­na­tional Affairs of the AMFC in Warsaw. For many years, Pro­fes­sor Krystyna Makowska-Ławrynowicz has been a co-organiser of the Inter­na­tional Musi­cal Courses in Łańcut and has given lec­tures and con­certs dur­ing the courses. She has also acted as a juror at the Pol­ish Cham­ber Music Com­pe­ti­tions in Stalowa Wola, Kosza­lin, and Byd­goszcz sev­eral times. In 1995 she was appointed a Con­sul­tant to the Pol­ish Artis­tic Edu­ca­tion Sys­tem and still holds this function.


 

Andrzej Gębski

     A violin soloist and chamber music performer. He completed his violin studies in the Warsaw Music Academy in Prof. Miroslaw Lawrynowicz’s class with distinction. Prizewinner of international music competition in Lodz, Krakow and Paris. Since 1997 he has been a member of the Polish Music Ensemble ‘Camerata Vistula’, conducted by Andrzej Wrobel; since 2002 as the first violinist. As a soloist and chamber music performer Andrzej Gebski has taken part in many music spectacles performing in England, Germany, France, Switzerland, Turkistan, China and Venezuela. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras such as: Lodz Philharmonic, AMFC Symphony Orchestra, Zielonogorska Philharmonic Orchestra, Rzeszow Philharmonic, Olsztyn Philharmonic, Koszalin Philharmonic, Hanover Kammre Orchester, Polish Military Chopin Academy and others. He promotes Polish music; he has recorded many Polish contemporary compositions for Polish radio and television and has also recorded 13 CDs of Polish music (10 for Acte Prealable) which are phonographic premieres. Andrzej Gebski began teaching in 1998 and since 2008 has been lecturing at Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw. Since 2000 he has been leading a violin class in the elite secondary school of music Z. Brzewski in Warsaw. Since 2002 he has been the leader of a string orchestra he started in the school called the Zenon Brzewski String Orchestra of Warsaw. He also teaches at the International Music Course in Lancut, the String Academy in Goch in Germany and also on music courses run by the Polish Foundation for Children for the most talented children in the country. Andrzej Gebski at present plays a violin made in 2005 by a Polish violin maker Wojciech Topa.


 

Soyeon Lim

     She completed Gimcheon High School of Arts in the class of Prof. Myeong-Hee Lee. She graduated from Keimyung University of Music in Korea in the class of Prof. Jung Yeon Kim and Prof. Andrzej Dutkiewicz and also from the F. Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in the class of Prof. G. Sterczyński. She also completed post graduate studies in chamber music in Prof. K. Makowska – Lawrynowicz’s class. Participated in master music courses in Zamość in the class of Prof. E. Wolanin. In 2009 she won the Grand Prix prize in the 6th Edition "Polish Forgotten Music" organized by the producers Acte Prelable. Winner of 2nd prize and special award for the best performance at ‘XII International Competition of Contemporary Music’ in Kraków (2008). Winner of 2nd prize in a Korean piano competition in Daeg (South Korea). At the age of 16 years she performed as a soloist the 5th piano concerto by Beethoven with the Gimcheon High School of Arts orchestra. In 2006 she worked as a pianist and accompanist with ‘Opera na Zamku’ in Szczecin preparing for the musical ‘My Fair Lady’ in Schwedt (Germany). Since 2007 she has worked as a pianist, chamber musician and accompanist with the national philharmonic, giving a series of concerts for young people throughout Poland. In 2006 she recorded the music for the new theatre play ‘Romans z Czechowem’ in Łódź. She played music for the international theatre – musical performances of ‘Łasztownia-Lastadie’ (2006) and ‘Recycling’ (2009) created by Kana Theatre in Szczecin. As a soloist and a chamber musician she participated in many festivals, for example. International Festival for Contemporary Music in Daeg (2005), 10th International W. Lutosławski Festival of Contemporary Music in Szczecin (2007), 4th and 5th International Chamber Music Festivals in Wałbrzych (2007, 2008), 4th Summer Festival ‘W Krainie Chopina’ in Warsaw (2008), 4th Autumn Festival ‘Sacrum et Musica’ in Łomża (2008), Polish Music Festival ‘Swego nie Znacie’ in Koszalin (2009). Since 2009 she has worked as a pianist at the international Music Courses in Łańcut in the classes of Prof Helen Brunner and Prof. Dariusz Smolarski.


 

Warsaw Wind Ensamble

     The Warsaw Wind Ensemble is a group which popularizes music played on wind instruments. It is made up of musicians of the Warsaw Philharmonic, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera. The mission of the WWE is to present the possibilities of the wind instruments ensembles, from a reed trio to a nonet, and familiarize the listeners with their sound and expression. The ensemble started originally as a student quintet, which was awarded, among others, at the Polish Chamber Wind Ensembles Competition in Warsaw (2000), where it won 1st prize and the special prize of the Polish Radio 2. In the same year the ensemble was invited to take part in the prestigious Fishoff National Chamber Music Competition in South-Bend (the US), where it reached the final. The group’s successes were followed by the idea to expand into an octet or even a nonet in order to be fully able to present the possibilities of a wind ensemble. The first concerts met with enthusiastic reception of the audience. The Reed Trio WWE will perform during the Artelier Festival with the following musicians:

Urszula Januchta - oboe,
Krystyna Sakowska - clarinet,
Katarzyna Piotrowska - bassoon

 

Chopin-Harmonia Soloist Ensamble

     
     The Chopin & Harmonia Soloists Choir consists of ten vocalists and three pianists studying at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. The Chopin & Harmonia Soloists Choir was established in March 2010 out of love and respect for Polish music. The artists hope that their activities will help to strengthen the friendly ties between Poland and South Korea.

Gustaw Ciężarek

     Was born in Poland. Graduated from the State Music School in Szczecin where he studied with Prof. Roman Wolf, and the Feliks Nowowiejski Secondary Music School where he studied with Prof. Michał Cebrij. Continued his studies at the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw with Prof. Mirosław Ławrynowicz, Prof. Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Prof. Roman Lasocki and Dr. Andrzej Gębski. For many years participated in Master Classes of String Instruments in Łańcut, Zakopane and Frombork, mastering his skills with Marina Yashvili, Wolfgang Marschner, Roland Baldini, Robert Szreder, Helen Brunner. Awared a scholarship for Masterclasses in Goch in Germany (twice). A prizewinner of violin competitions in Poznań and Elbląg (Poland). In 2009 has been laureate of Grand Prix in 6th International "Forgotten Polish Music" Competition organized by Acte Prealable label. In 2008 has been laureate of 2nd prize and special prize for best performing netherland composer's work in "12th International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition". Performed Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski and Mendelsohn’s violin concertos as a soloist with the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra, Szczecin Opera House Orchestra and International Youth Orchestra Pomerania. Awarded scholarships by the Major of Szczecin and "TPS - Friends of Szczecin Society". From 2008 is Concertmaster of Lomza Philharmonic.

 

Grzegorz Berniak

     Born in 1976 in Krakow. He graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warssaw in the symphony-opera conducting class directed by prof. Ryszard Dudek. In 1999 he took part in lessons in the Nikolaj Rymski-Korsakov Music Conservatoire in St.Petersburg, Prof. Ilii Musin’s class. His work with the Great Theatre-National Opera started in 2004 with the preparation of Richard Strauss SALOME. From 2004 to 2006 he worked with Jack Kasprzyk as his assistant preparing operas: Puccini`s Tosca, Verdi`s Aida, Giordano`s Chenier, Penderecki`s Ubu Rex and Berg`s Wozzeck. With the Great Theatre and Jack Kasprzyk he toured Japan, Spain and Norway (as an assistant conductor). He was commissioned by Bergen Opera Vest to prepare the premiere of the opera ‘Salome’, cooperating with the Bergen Symphony Orchestra. In the National Opera he directed performances: Via Sancta (2007), Pan Twardowski(2008) and Swan Lake (2009).


 

Gwidon Ciężarek

     A secondary school student at OSM II degree in Szczecin in the class of Prof. Malgorzata Makulec. Former pupil of PPSM in Szczecin in the class of Michal Cebrij. Participant in many of the International Music Courses in Łańcut where he has workjed with Prof. Helen Brunner, Prof. Mirosław Ławrynowicz, Prof. Andrzej Gębski, Prof. George Michel. Participant in music courses in Szczecin where he worked with Prof. Wanda Wiłkomirska, Prof. Joe Wawrowski, Prof. Michal Grabarczyk, Prof. Bartosz Bryla, Prof. Marcin Baranowcki, Prof. Jan Stanięda. Prize winner in Polish and international violin competitions:
- O. Rieding Polish Violin Competition in Warsaw – distinction (2004)
- Young Polish violinists in Plock – distinction (2006)
- 1st competition ‘Violin for Best’ in Szczecin - 3rd place (2007)
- 2nd competition ‘Violin for Best’ in Szczecin – distinction (2008)
- M. Lawrynowicz International competition in Plock – distinction (2009)
- Ph. Telemann International contest in Poznań – Finalist (2010)
- Tadeusz Wroński Polish Violin Competition in Tomaszow Mazowiecki – 2nd (2010)
President of Szczecin Scholarship, Friends of Szczecin Society and Children Fund Scholarships.