Maria Pomianowska

Doctor of Musical Arts, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer and pedagogue. Assistant Professor at the Academy of Music in Kraków and Director of the international Festival Skrzyżowanie Kultur. Since 1984, she has been studying the unique techniques of playing musical instruments native to India, China, Korea, Japan and the Middle East. In 1994, she co-created a reconstruction of three lost old Polish string instruments: Biłgoraj suka, Mielec suka and Płock fidela. During her five-year stay in Japan (1997-2002), the artist presented Polish folk and classical music in the largest concert halls, among others at the Japanese imperial court. She has composed works and toured with world-renowned artists like: Yo Yo Ma, Boris Griebienszczikow, Gil Goldstein, Gonzalo Rubelcaba, Ian Gilan, AMJ, Stanisław Soyka, Branford Marsalis and others.

The artist has released 23 albums. Since 2011, she has been creating unique programmes, together with Arabic, Pakistani, Senegalese, Iranian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Indian musicians in Asia and Africa, based on folk music from Mazowsze. Her major prizes and awards are: Chopin Passport, Gloria Artis Medal of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2010), Award of the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Province (2011), Silver Cross of Merit awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland (2011), Nomination for the Norwid Award (2014), Award of the Marshal of the Lubelskie Province (2016).

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