JURY

Jury

He graduated with honours from the State Higher School of Music in Łódź (viola class and the department of theory, composition and conducting). In 1972 he received a scholarship from the Italian Government and studied in Italy under Franco Ferrara. In 1975-76 he took aspirant studies at the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Leningrad Conservatory in the class of Professor Arvid Jansons. In 1976, after returning to Poland, he lectured as a contract docent at the State Higher School of Music in Gdansk. Between 1991 and 2007 he was an associate professor at the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk, where he established a class of symphonic and opera conducting at the Department of Theory, Composition and Conducting. He also established and managed Postgraduate Studies for Wind Orchestra Conductors. In 1992, he graduated from the Postgraduate Management Course at the University of Gdańsk. In October 2010 he received the nomination of Professor of Musical Arts. Since October 2013 he has been working with the Faculty of Vocal and Acting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Since 2020, he has also taught a class of conducting as part of the Postgraduate Studies in Wind Orchestra Conducting.

During his studies he started working in the orchestra of the State Philharmonic in Łódź. From 1964 he directed the choir of the Kraków Philharmonic, where he prepared the choirs for the recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s St Luke Passion (together with Henryk Czyż and Józef Suwara, he received the Grand Prix du Disque in 1967). From 1970 to 1980 he was Artistic Director of the Olsztyn Philharmonic. Since 1980 he was the music director of the Warsaw Chamber Opera, from 1982 to 1984 he was the assistant General Manager and Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, while at the same time he worked at the Academy of Music in Warsaw as a conductor of symphony orchestra. In 1984-1993 he was the Artistic Director of the Baltic Opera in Gdansk, and later of the Baltic Philharmonic. From September 1994 to June 1996 he was the Artistic Director of the National Opera in Skopje (Macedonia). In 1997-1999 he was Artistic Consultant of the Koszalin and Olsztyn Philharmonics. From September 2003 to December 2007 he was again Music Director of the Baltic Opera. From 2008 to 2011 he held the position of Artistic Director of the Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic in Olsztyn. The Feliks Nowowiejski Choir of the Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic in Olsztyn was formed by his initiative in October 2009.

He conducted the majority of the most famous operas, including Giuseppe Verdi (he produced almost all of his operas, including Ernani, The Robbers, Don Carlos, Macbeth, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida, he conducted Nabucco more than 200 times), Giacomo Puccini (e.g. Sister Angelica, Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, Manon Lescaut, Turandot), Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni). He has also conducted works by Richard Strauss and Georg Friedrich Handel. He has realized great symphonic music (e.g. symphonies and concertos by Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler) and oratorio music (e.g. Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi, Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Little Solemn Mass by Gioacchino Rossini). He has conducted ballet performances (e.g. Léo Delibes’ Coppélia, Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet).

He has performed on all major theatres and concert stages in Poland. In the years 1999-2000 he went on a European tour with the Orchestra and Ballet of the St. Petersburg Theatre, with which he still collaborates. He has also collaborated with the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Voronezh, Moscow Imperial Ballet and Lvov Philharmonic and Opera, where in 2004 he conducted the first post-war performance of Stanislaw Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor in polish langueage (the first in over 100 years). In 2010 in Olsztyn he realized the project Symphony of the Street, juxtaposing symphonic music with rap. He has made many recordings for radio, television and film.

For his artistic achievements he has received many regional, departmental and national awards and distinctions. He is also a laureate of many prestigious foreign awards and distinctions:

  • 1967: Grand Prix du Disque award (together with Henryk Czyż and Józef Suwara) for the CD recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s St Luke Passion;
  • 1986 and 1989: German music critics’ award for the best performance of 1986 and 1989 staged and presented in Germany (La Traviata and Nabucco);
  • 1995: Order of the Emir of Kuwait;
  • 2001: Medal of the National Education Commission of Poland for special merits for education and upbringing;
  • 2006: Order of Honour for Merits to the Province of Warmia and Mazury;
  • 2006: St James’s Medal, awarded by the Mayor of Olsztyn for dissemination of musical culture of the city of Olsztyn;
  • 2007: “Gloria Artis” Silver Medal for Meritorious Culture;
  • 2007: Award of the Mayor of Gdańsk (for outstanding contribution in promoting musical culture in Pomerania and on the occasion of the jubilee of 35 years of artistic work);
  • 2010: Music Award of the Polish Phonographic Academy “Fryderyk” (for recording the album Missa Pro Pace by Feliks Nowowiejski);
  • 2010: St. James Medal, for outstanding contribution to the promotion of culture (second time);
  • 2011: Knight’s Cross of the Rebirth of Poland.

Professor Szymon Kawalla – full professor (discipline of musical arts, symphony and opera conducting, composition), Dean of the Department of Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw from 2012 to 2020. Since 1986 he has taught conducting class at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He was the Head of the Unit of Music and Literature Education at the Institute of Education, Department of Educational Studies of the Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education in Warsaw.

In 1992 he received from the President of the Republic of Poland the title of Professor of Musical Arts; he is an expert of the National Accreditation Committee and a juror at international music competitions; he also leads international masterclasses.

He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw, Departments of: Instrumental Studies – violin, diploma 1972; Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music – symphony and opera conducting, diploma 1973; composition – 1974; music studies abroad: Switzerland, Hungary, USSR; 1982 – artistic procedure of the 1st degree (now a doctoral degree in arts) at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw; 1984 – artistic procedure of the 2nd degree (now a post-doctoral degree) at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. In the period of 1972–1974 he was a lecturer at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw; between 1975 and 1980 he was a senior lecturer at the State Higher School of Music in Bydgoszcz. He also was: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Head of the Institute of Music Education, Higher School of Pedagogy in Zielona Góra (1980–1986); Full Professor, Holy Cross Academy in Kielce (1996–2001); and teacher in primary and secondary schools (1966–1979).

Professional activity as a conductor and manager: 1972–1974 – music manager and principal conductor of the Central Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army; 1974–1978 — conductor of the Pomeranian Symphony Orchestra in Bydgoszcz; 1979–1980 — head and artistic director and principal conductor of the State Chamber Orchestra in Toruń; 1980–1986 — head and artistic director and principal conductor of the State Philharmonic in Zielona Góra and the Chamber Opera Stage in Żagań; 1985–1991 — general and artistic director and principal conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of the Polish Radio and Television in Cracow; 1987–1995 — Principal Permanent Conductor of the Vienna Modern Masters CD Company, (Austria and USA); 1992–1994 — artistic consultant and principal conductor at the S. Moniuszko State Philharmonic in Koszalin; 1995–2001– general and artistic director and principal conductor at the Holy Cross Philharmonic and the Kielce Opera Stage; 2001–2006 – artistic director and principal conductor of the Orthodox Music Chamber Choir at the Warsaw Chamber Opera; 2002 – artistic director and principal conductor of the I.J. Paderewski Festival Orchestra in Warsaw; since 1995 – music manager and conductor/head of the Yeongnam Opera Company in Daegu, South Korea; since 2005 – juror and permanent conductor of finale concerts and laureates’ concerts at the International Competition for Brasswind Instruments and Percussion in Jeju, South Korea.

Szymon Kawalla has continually performed in Poland and abroad since 1966, giving over 7000 symphony, oratorio and opera performances (in such countries as: Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Iran, Iceland, Yugoslavia, Canada, South Korea, Cuba, Luxembourg, Malta, Germany, Norway, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland , Sweden, Ukraine, USA, Vatican, Hungary, Great Britain, or Italy). Of particular note are his three oratorio concerts for His Holiness Pope John Paul II, concerts commemorating the 5th and 10th anniversaries of the death of King Boduin of Belgium, attended by Queen Fabiola, and year-long festival concerts in Johann Sebastian Bach’s year (2000), opera premieres for the opening of the New Opera House (2004) in Daegu (South Korea) and opera galas for the opening of the Culture and Art Center, Keimuyng University (2008) in Daegu. He has recorded for radio, television and the cinema since 1972 and has been recording for the following record companies since 1977: Balcanton (Bulgaria), Cambria Records (USA), Centaur Records (USA), Connifer Records (United Kingdom), JIGU (South Korea), Polskie Nagrania [Polish Records], Veriton, and Vienna Modern Masters (Austria and USA).

Most important compositions: Divertimento for Strings and Percussion (1966), oratorio Pater Kolbe (1969), cantata Wit Stwosz (1970), Stabat Mater (1990), Cantata in Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II (1991); Fantasy for solo violin (2002), two Arabic Impressions for solo violin (2006), Holy Cross Caprice for solo violin (2006), Babice Dumka with variations for solo violin (2006), Giovanile for symphony orchestra (2006), Love Lyrics (2007), American Threnodies (2007), oratorio Totus Tuus (2008), cantata The Polish Pope, cantata Tear (2008), Lament and Mazovian Toccata for violin and piano or orchestra (2009), Missa Solemnis (2010), music fairy tale Pyza on the Polish Paths (2011), Fantasy AZ for solo violin (2012), Missa Solemnis Sti Joannis Paulus II (2014), Korean Triptych for violin, percussion and brass orchestra (2016), Poem – Waltz Danube and Thames waves for soprano, violin and orchestra (poem by A. Andrych) (2017), Lemento di St. Andrea Kim for violin, percussion and brass orchestra (2019), Hymn The Safe Youth (poem by K.C. Buszman) (2019);

Most important elaborations: K. Kurpiński — symphony The Battle of Mozajsk (1982), M. Kamieński — opera Destitution Made Happy (1983); M. Kamieński — Cantata Commemorating the Centenary of the Relief of Besieged Vienna (1984), W. Żeleński — Cantata Commemorating the Bicentenary of the Relief of Besieged Vienna (1986), K. Jezierski — cantata Casimire terris mirae (1986). Szymon Kawalla co-organized 7 International Scholarly Conferences at the Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education in Warsaw (2008–2013). He co-edited three scholarly monographs (2010–2012).

Awards: Silver Cross of Merit (1985), Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland (1996), Officer’s Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland (2004), decoration Meritorious Polish Culture Activist; K. Szymanowski Medal, K. Kurpiński Medal, Award of the Minister of Culture and Art of the second degree; awards of the first degree of Their Magnificences Rectors of the Higher School of Pedagogy in Zielona Góra, the F. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and the J. Kochanowski Holy Cross Academy in Kielce. Szymon Kawalla is a winner of several regional and creative community awards – Award for Young Creators, Zielona Góra, 1985; Grand Prix du disque Accademie Charles Cross — Paris, 1991; Nike – Award of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts, 2001; Bene Meritum Award of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts, 2006; Grand Prix at the International Opera Festival in Daegu, 2010; co-winner of award for best opera production of the year in South Korea, 2010; The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music Medal, 2016; Gloria Artis Medal of Merit for Culture, 2017; Plaque of Appreciation No. 108 0f Governor Jeju Special Self-Governing Province South Korea, 2018.

Conductor and composer, assistant professor and director of bands at Denison University (USA). He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Oklahoma and the Master of Music in Wind Conducting from the Meadows School of the Arts (Southern Methodist University).

An award-winning conductor, Dr. Westover has conducted wind ensembles and orchestras nationally and internationally. He was awarded First Prize by the jury of the 2019 Warsaw Wind Ensemble Conducting Competition. Dr. Westover’s work has been described as elegant, bold, vibrant, inspiring and centered by Augusta Read Thomas.

Prior to his current appointment as assistant professor of music at Denison, Dr. Westover led wind ensembles, orchestras and operatic performances at Bethel College (KS), the University of Oklahoma, and the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. He has received acclaim for his performances with educational and professional ensembles.

Dr. Westover has presented his scholarship on Vincent Persichetti and Beethoven at Hong Kong Baptist University and the conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik. He has conducted across the United States and in the People’s Republic of China and Poland.

Since 2017 he has been a frequent winner of the American Prize for Conducting in the choral, orchestral, and wind ensemble divisions.

Manataka Shibaoka is a native of Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. Born in 1969 in Osaka. Studied Tuba at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Faculty of Music from 1987 to 1990. Studied conducting studies again from 2012, and completed conducting special course of Musashino Academia Musicae in 2014. Since 2016, he continues to study conducting as an special student of Tokyo college of Music. Studied Tuba under former NHK Symphony Orchestra Ikumitsu Tado and former Gürzenich-Orchester Köln Eiichi Inagawa. He has studied conducting under Mr. Yasufumi Tokito, Professor Junichi Hirokami and Professor Toshifumi Tashiro of Tokyo college of Music. Currently, while studying at Tokyo college of Music, he has also studied under Mr. Tatsuya Shimono, Music Director of the Hiroshima Wind Orchestra. 

Laureate of the second place in the Warsaw Wind Ensemble Conducting Competition 2019.

For many years he was associated with the Gen. Józef Wybicki Polish Army Representative Orchestra in Warsaw, initially as an instrumentalist and later as its conductor. He is a graduate of the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan at the Faculty of Choral Conducting and the Academy of Music in Gdansk in the field of wind orchestra conducting in the class of prof. Janusz Przybylski. He also completed postgraduate studies at the F. Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz (choirmaster) and postgraduate studies for Cultural Managers at the Warsaw School of Economics. In 2014 he completed his doctoral degree at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the artistic discipline of conducting.

As of August 2019, he is the Head of the Concert Orchestra of the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army Forces. Since 2020, he teaches conducting as part of the Postgraduate Studies in Wind Orchestra Conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

In 2001 he graduated with honours the Faculty of Vocal Performance and Acting of the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz in the vocal class of Professor Maciej Witkiewicz. In 2008, he graduated the Faculty of Conducting, Composition and Theory of Music, Academy of Music in Gdansk in the conducting class of Prof. Rafał Jacek Delekta. In addition, in 2017 he graduated a degree in Cultural Management in the Polish Army at the Faculty of Management and Command, Academy of Military Art in Warsaw. From 2005 to 2007 he has held the duties of Kapellmeister in the Representative Orchestra of the Pomeranian Military District in Bydgoszcz, then until 2010 in the Representative Orchestra of the Land Forces in Warsaw. From 2011 to 2015, he was the bandmaster of the Military Orchestra in Toruń.

Currently he is the Kapellmeister of the Military Orchestra in Bydgoszcz, as well as a lecturer at the Faculty of Conducting, Jazz and Music Education at the F. Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.

A graduate of the Academy of Music named after I. J. Paderewski in Poznań in the trumpet class of prof. Roman Gryń in 2000 and the Academy of Music named after S. Moniuszko in Gdańsk in the conducting class of prof. Henryk Gostomski in 2001. He has been professionally associated with wind orchestras since 1987, initially as a student of the Garrison Orchestra in Ostrów Wielkopolski (1987-1994), then a musician-soloist of the Military Orchestra in Wrocław (1994-1995) and a musician-concertmaster of the Air Force and Air Defense Representative Orchestra in Poznań. In 2002 he became the bandmaster of the Representative Orchestra of the Air Force in Poznań, which he has been managing to date. Since 2008, he has been running the Youth Brass Band of the Tarnowo Podgórne Commune, and since 2011 he has been teaching the trumpet in the same town at the Self-governmental Music School of the 1st degree.

The Representative Orchestra of the Air Force under his command consistently raises its artistic level, enriches its repertoire and achieves success in Poland and abroad. The band has performed in almost all European countries, and has also performed in Russia, China and the USA.

Since 2005, he has combined artistic work with charity, giving concerts for institutions such as: Home Hospice, Palium Hospice, Mam Marzenie Foundation, Redemptoris Missio Foundation, “Na Tak”Association. Juror of many festivals and competitions of brass bands. Lecturer at conducting workshops for bandmasters of brass bands organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of National Defense and local government cultural centers.

Currently, he is the Head of the Conducting Department of Brass Orchestras at the Conducting Institute at the Academy of Music in Poznań.

Conductor – a graduate of the Karol Kurpiński Military Music Secondary School in Gdańsk and the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in the class of wind orchestra conducting. In 1998 he completed postgraduate studies in choirmasterhood at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, and in 2000 he completed postgraduate studies in voice emission at the same university. Since 1987 he has been associated with the Concert Orchestra of the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Armed Forces, initially as an instrumentalist, and then as a conductor. From 2004 to 2008 he was the Commander – Captain of the General Józef Wybicki Representative Orchestra of the Polish Armed Forces.

He is the author of nearly 100 transcriptions and musical arrangements for wind orchestra. He has made many recordings as an instrumentalist and conductor, and is frequently invited to participate in the works of the jury of festivals and competitions of wind orchestras, as well as a lecturer of workshops for conductors and drum-majors. For several years he has been a member of the board (and President since 2015) of the Polish branch of the Society of Military Music Enthusiasts. Since 2009, he has been the conductor of the Youth Brass Orchestra at the Volunteer Fire Brigade in Kaski, with which he has won the highest prizes at festivals and competitions for amateur music bands.

Since 2020, he teaches wind band instrumentation and instrument studies as part of the Postgraduate Studies in Wind Orchestra Conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

Born in 1976 in Żerków (Wielkopolskie Voivodeship). In 1996 he graduated from the Military High School of Music in Gdańsk, then in 2002 he became a graduate of the Jan Długosz Academy in Częstochowa in the faculty: Artistic education in the field of music art. In July 2013 he graduated from the Academy of Music in Poznan (specialization – conducting of wind orchestras).

In 1996-2002 he held the position of drum-major of the Kraków Military District Representative Orchestra, with which he performed at many festivals and concerts in Poland and Europe. From 2007 to 2011 he was the drum-major of the Arcelor Mittal Poland Orchestra. In August 2012 he was awarded the honorary badge of “Distinguished for Polish Culture” – granted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. Currently he works as a musician in the Military Orchestra in Kraków. Jarosław Ignaszak devotes most of his energy to conducting, to which he subordinated the development of his musical career. For many years he has been taking part in workshops for wind orchestra drum majors as an instructor of the art of ruling a marching regiment. He leads various non-professional brass bands. In 1997-2008 he commanded the brass band “Sygnał” from Radziszów, which, under his baton, won leading places at the Małopolska wind orchestra festivals. Since 2004 he has been conducting the dynamically developing Wieniawa Orchestra from Raciborowice near Kraków. They have given concerts in many European cities, and even in an audience with Pope Benedict. They won first place in the 13th Malopolska Wind Orchestras Festival, in 2008 he recorded a CD with the orchestra. Since 2009, he has also successfully conducted the “Kosynierzy” Brass Orchestra from Luborzyca.

Jarosław Ignaszak focuses his conducting career on youth work. Although in many cases he works with amateur musicians, thanks to his great commitment, perseverance and appropriate approach, the conducted ensembles and orchestras develop quickly and achieve success. He has developed a unique style of work that is characterised by freedom, directness and a sense of humour. For his pupils he is not only a conductor and teacher, shaping their technique and musical sensitivity, but also a colleague and friend of the ensemble.

Conductor, composer, instrumentalist, pedagogue, popularizer of knowledge about music, university lecturer. He graduated the Faculty of Composition, Conducting and Music Theory (major: symphonic and opera conducting) at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He earned his bachelor’s degree in the class of Professor Marek Pijarowski and his master’s degree in the class of Professor Szymon Kawalla. He honed his skills at international conducting courses conducted by such baton masters as Douglas Bostock, Frank Cramer, Colin Metters and Johannes Stert. In 2017, he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the artistic discipline of conducting at his alma mater.

Since 2011 he has been an educational concert speaker at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and since 2014 he has been working as a conductor-educator at the State Music School No. 1 in Warsaw. Since 2017 he has been a lecturer at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where he teaches at the Symphonic and Opera Conducting Department and organizes numerous scientific and artistic conferences. Since 2020 he has been the Head of Postgraduate Studies in Wind Orchestra Conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

As a conductor, he collaborates with the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, the Oskar Kolberg Świętokrzyska Philharmonic in Kielce, the Witold Lutosławski Chamber Philharmonic in Łódz. He has worked with the Witold Lutosławski Philharmonic in Łomża, the Szafranek Brothers Philharmonic in Rybnik, the Elbląg Chamber Orchestra, the Radom Chamber Orchestra, the Płock Symphony Orchestra, the Arte Creatura Musical Theatre, the Proscenium Musical Theatre and the Rozmaitości Theater in Warsaw. With the youth orchestras he leads, the artist has performed at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdansk, the Czestochowa Philharmonic, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, as well as at music festivals in Greece, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary. An important part of his conducting activity is also premiering contemporary music pieces and popularizing forgotten works of Polish music of classical and Romanticism (overtures Queen Jadwiga and Jan III Sobieski, Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major by Wojciech Sowiński, Adagio et Allegro Concertans by Franciszek Mirecki, Piano Concerto in B minor by Józef Krogulski). The artist is a juror of international conducting and composition competitions.

Laureate of the following awards and distinctions:

  • 2011 – finalist in the international piano improvisation competition Transatlantyk Instant Composition Contest;
  • 2014 – finalist of the second edition of the Warsaw Chamber Opera Young Stage program, as part of which he conducted the premieres of operas by contemporary composers: Dariusz Przybylski’s Wasserstimmen, Nikolet Burzyńska’s Labyrinth of Orpheus, and Ryan Latimer’s Three Tall Tales of Doctor Monsieur Façade;
  • 2015 – finalist in the third edition of the Warsaw Chamber Opera’s Young Stage program, where he conducted the premiere of Eunho Chang’s contemporary opera Sacred Emily, based on a text by Gertrude Stein;
  • 2016 – two Fryderyk Award nominations and Les Orphées d’Or award, for participation in the recording of soprano Joanna Freszel’s Real Life Song, on which the artist conducts the world premieres of works by Miłosz Bembinow and Katarzyna Szwed;
  • 2017 – Scholarship recipient of the fund for young scientists and participants in doctoral studies of the Minister of Science and Higher Education;
  • 2018 – Man of the Year title (in the Culture category) in the poll of the Echo Dnia magazine;
  • 2020 – Creative Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland;
  • 2021 – Artistic Scholarship of the City of Warsaw.
Sources of the photo and biographies:
header photo: sheet-music-music-piano-instrument by Pixabay, public domain / exerpt from the original Źródła fotografii i opisów:
Janusz Przybylski: biography: UMFC w Warszawie / photo: Janusz Przybylski website
Szymon Kawalla: photo and biography: UMFC w Warszawie
Chris David Westover: photo and biography: Denison University
Marcin Ślązak: biography: UMFC Warszawa / photo: Marcin Ślązak Facebook page
Paweł Joks: biography: Akademia Muzyczna w Poznaniu / photo: Orkiestra Reprezentacyjna Sił Powietrznych
Dominik Sierzputowski: biography: Akademia Muzyczna w Bydgoszczy / photo: PZChiO Bydgoszcz
Adam Czajkowski: photo: RZAWP / biography: materiały organizatora
Jarosław Ignaszak: photo and biography: Orkiestra Wieniawa
Jarosław Praszczałek: photo: Mateusz Żaboklicki / biography: Jarosław Praszczałek