Calisia-Arts

Calisia Arts Foundation

PhD Łukasz Byrdy

PhD Katarzyna Piątkowska-Pinczewska MBA

Filip Pinczewski MA

Łukasz Byrdy is one of the most outstanding pianists of the younger generation, who during his concert career spanning over 10 years, has performed several hundred times in most European countries, as well as in the USA, Canada, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Born in Katowice, he is a laureate of over 20 international piano competitions, including winning top prizes at the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Beijing and at the International Piano Competition in Hanover. He has also been awarded at competitions in Switzerland, Italy, Malta, and Poland. Following enthusiastically received performances at the 17th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, his career noticeably gained momentum. Łukasz Byrdy is also one of the ten semifinalists of the prestigious Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary (2022) and a recipient of numerous scholarships and artistic awards, including multiple scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the "Young Poland" award given to the most outstanding artists of the young generation. The pianist has been frequently invited as a soloist and chamber musician to music festivals in Vilnius (Christopher Festival in the Bernardine Park), Paris („Chopin au jardin” and „Chopin a Paris” at the Orangery in the Bagatelle Park), Aspen (Music Festival and School) and Moscow (Polish-Russian Music Festival). He has performed in Warsaw at the „Chopin and His Europe” festival and the Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Festival, the "Chopin in the Colors of Autumn" festival in Ostrów Wielkopolski, the "Silesian Quartet and its Guests" Chamber Music Festival in Katowice, the International Fryderyk Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdrój and the Jerzy Waldorff Festival in Radziejowice. The artist has performed in the world's major music centers, presenting his interpretations on prestigious stages such as Harris Concert Hall in Aspen (USA), Bella Concert Hall and Rozsa Centre in Calgary (Canada), Orangery in the Bagatelle Park in Paris (France), Aula of the Sapienza University in Rome (Italy), Pushkin Museum and Scriabin Museum in Moscow (Russia), concert halls of music conservatories in Beijing and Chengdu (China) and Tianfu Center in Chengdu (China). In Poland he has performed in numerous philharmonic halls, as well as in the Concert Hall of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice, the Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw, the European Music Center in Lusławice, the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw, the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw, the Birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the Royal Theater and the Palace on the Isle in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw. Łukasz Byrdy graduated from the Universität der Künste in Berlin and the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań and is currently a faculty in the piano department of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. He conducts numerous courses and masterclasses in Poland and abroad, collaborating with, among others: Mount Royal University in Calgary, the University of Agder in Kristiansand, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater in Tallinn and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu. In his pedagogical career, he has been invited several times to conduct masterclasses on Morningside Music Bridge - one of the most prestigious music summer programs for the most talented young musicians from around the world, that takes place annually at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Łukasz Byrdy has made numerous recordings for radio and television. His performances have been broadcast by Polish Radio, Polish Television, Lithuanian National Radio and Television, Central Chinese Television CCTV, and Sichuan Radio and Television. In 2017, with support of the Piotr Kler Foundation, his debut album with piano concertos by F. Chopin and W. A. Mozart was released.

Katarzyna Piątkowska-Pinczewska – Doctor of Humanities, MBA ZSW UAM UEP, music theorist, musicologist, and education manager. A native of Kalisz, she is a graduate of Adam Asnyk High School No. 1 and the Henryk Melcer State Music School of the 1st and 2nd degree. She completed her studies with distinction at the Faculty of Composition, Music Theory, and Conducting at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. Since 1991, she has been working at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, at the Faculty of Pedagogy and Arts in Kalisz. For many years, she served as Vice-Dean for Student Affairs and Education and was a member of the University Senate for four terms. From 2007 to 2012, she was the Director of the Henryk Melcer State Music School in Kalisz. Katarzyna Piątkowska-Pinczewska is actively engaged in academic research – she presents papers at scientific conferences in Poland and abroad, has published dozens of articles in academic journals and volumes, and is the author of encyclopedia entries as well as the first monograph in the history of Polish music on H. Melcer (a native of Kalisz), titled “Henryk Melcer–Szczawiński. Life and Work.” She has supervised dozens of bachelor's and master’s theses in the field of music. She also teaches at the University of the Third Age “Calisia.” A significant part of her work involves the organization and promotion of music, especially Polish music. For many years, she has been organizing organ and chamber music concerts in Kalisz and the Southern Greater Poland region. She prepares and gives lectures accompanying these concerts. She is a co-founder of the Kaliskie Forum Organowe – the International Festival of Organ and Chamber Music – and the Viva Calisia International Vocal Competition. She cooperates with the Warsaw-based Foundation “Ave” in promoting the work and legacy of Henryk Melcer. She has also collaborated with the piano duo Joanna Kaczmarska-Bieżyńska and Robert Adamczak as a concert presenter. She is a Board Member and Secretary of the Stowarzyszenie „Wszystko dla Kalisza” im. prof. Jerzego Rubińskiego (“All for Kalisz” Association named after Prof. Jerzy Rubiński), co-founder of the Fundacja Ewy Iżykowskiej „Arte Eva” (Ewa Iżykowska “Arte Eva” Foundation), co-founder of the Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Wydziału Pedagogiczno-Artystycznego UAM „Artem Docendi” (“Artem Docendi” Association for the Faculty of Pedagogy and Arts of Adam Mickiewicz University), and co-founder of the Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Państwowej Szkoły Muzycznej I i II st. w Kaliszu „Tryton” (“Tryton” Association for the State Music School in Kalisz). Since April 2021, she has been a member of the Kalisz Women’s Council, currently serving as its Vice-Chair. She has been awarded the Medal of the National Education Commission, the Medal “For Merits to the Greater Poland Voivodeship,” and the Gold Medal for Long Service.

Filip Pinczewski (born in 1993 in Kalisz, Poland) is a graduate of the Jadwiga Kaliszewska Music School in Poznań, where he studied piano with Professor Waldemar Andrzejewski. He continued his education at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, earning a diploma with distinction in piano under Professor Manfred Wagner-Artzt and in composition under Professor Martin Lichtfuss. He is a prizewinner of international piano and composition competitions. As a performer and composer, he has appeared in numerous European countries, including Norway, Iceland, Malta, Latvia, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2018, his debut solo album featuring works by Johann Sebastian Bach was released. The recording was made possible with the support of the Piotr Kler Foundation, of which he has been a scholarship holder since 2017. Pinczewski is actively engaged in promoting culture. He is the co-organizer of several concert series, including Let’s Open Up to New Music and Student Musical Quarters, both held in the Greater Poland region. He is also a co-founder of the international composition competition Over the Rainbow. Compositions for Human Rights and the festival Eine Stimme steht im Dunkel in Vienna. From 2020 to 2025, he served as a student parliament member and Representative for Equality at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. Since 2021, he has been working as a piano teacher and accompanist at Musikschule Kreuzenstein, and since 2023, he has also held a teaching position at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the same university, at the Institut für musikpädagogische Forschung und Praxis. His dissertation, supervised by Professor Michael Göllner, focuses on the application of creative practices in instrumental pedagogy. He is also involved in research projects conducted by the institute in cooperation with other national and international academic institutions.

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