Calisia-Arts

Calisia Arts Foundation

PhD Łukasz Byrdy

PhD Katarzyna Piątkowska-Pinczewska MBA

Filip Pinczewski MA

Łukasz Byrdy is one of the most distinctive pianists of the young generation – a laureate of over 20 international piano competitions, performing for more than a decade on the most important stages across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Born in Katowice, he has won top prizes at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Beijing and the International Piano Competition in Hanover, and has also been awarded in Switzerland, Italy, Malta, and Poland. Following his participation in the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, his career gained momentum, and his interpretations were acclaimed by audiences from Paris to Beijing. In 2022, he was selected as one of the ten semifinalists of the prestigious Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary (Canada). He is also the recipient of numerous scholarships and artistic awards, including multiple distinctions from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the prestigious “Młoda Polska” (Young Poland) scholarship, one of the highest honors awarded to outstanding young Polish artists.

Byrdy regularly appears at international music festivals, including:
– Chopin and His Europe and the Paderewski International Festival in Warsaw,
– Chopin in the Colors of Autumn Festival in Ostrów Wielkopolski,
– Jerzy Waldorff Festival in Radziejowice,
– Christopher Festival in Vilnius,
– Chopin au Jardin and Chopin à Paris at the Orangery of Bagatelle Park in Paris,
– Aspen Music Festival and School (USA),
– The Polish-Russian Music Festival in Moscow.

He has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including: Harris Concert Hall (Aspen), Bella Concert Hall and Rozsa Centre (Calgary), Orangery of Bagatelle Park (Paris), Sapienza University Hall (Rome), Pushkin Museum and Scriabin Museum (Moscow), as well as concert halls of music conservatories in Beijing and Chengdu, and the Tianfu Center in Chengdu.

In Poland, he has performed with leading philharmonic orchestras and in renowned venues such as:
– NOSPR Concert Hall in Katowice,
– Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw,
– Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice,
– Mirror Hall of Pszczyna Castle,
– and numerous landmark venues in Warsaw, including the Holy Cross Church, Royal Castle,
Fryderyk Chopin Museum, Chopin’s Birthplace in Żelazowa Wola, Royal Theatre, Palace on
the Isle, and the City Hall Hall of the Palace of Culture and Science.

He graduated from the Universität der Künste in Berlin and the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, where he now serves as a professor in the Department of Piano. An active pedagogue, Byrdy regularly gives masterclasses both in Poland and abroad – including at the Mount Royal University in Calgary, University of Agder in Kristiansand, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu. He has also been invited on multiple occasions to teach at the prestigious Morningside Music Bridge program at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, working with some of the most talented young pianists from around the globe. He has made numerous radio and television recordings, and his performances have been broadcast by Polish Radio, Polish Television (TVP), Lithuanian National Radio and Television, China Central Television (CCTV), and regional stations in Sichuan. In 2017, with the support of the Piotr Kler Foundation, he released his debut album featuring piano concertos by Fryderyk Chopin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

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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