Bartosz Koziak – cello

Bartosz Koziak was born in 1980 in Zakopane. In 2003 he graduated with Magna Cum Laude Academy of Music in Warsaw where he studied with professor Kazimierz Michalik and Andrzej Bauer. In 1988 he won First Prize at the National Cello Competition in Elbląg and an award of the Polish Journalists' Association in the Competition for the Musical Personality of the City of Cracow. He has also held a grant from the Ministry of Culture and Art. Last year he collected the top accolades at the 3rd Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition (First Prize and the Special Prize of Polish Radio 2). In June 2002 he was awarded for the best performance of contemporary piece at 12th International Thaikovsky Competition in Mosow. He has been invited a few times to perform Concerto grosso by Krzysztof Penderecki under the baton of the composer. In 2003 together with Andrzej Bauer and Rafał Kwiatkowski he was invited to record a CD for the Polish Radio (with NOSPR and Krzysztof Penderecki). In May 2003 he was awarded the special prize of Polish Culture Foundation. In 2003 he got Japan Music Foundation Scholarship, in 2004 – French government scholarship, and in 2005 – he became the scholar of Young Poland program of National Cultural Centre. In June 2005 he was invited to Los Angeles to attend a cello symposium named after Gregor Piatigorski. Bartosz Koziak often performs as a soloist at many festivals, such as Warsaw Autumn and Young Euro Classic in Berlin. He gives concerts in Poland and abroad with such orchestras as: National Philharmonic Orchestra, NOSPR, Sinfonia Varsovia, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Amadeus, Aukso under the baton of such conductors as Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki, Jan Krenz, Antoni Wit, Gabriel Chmura, Wojciech Michniewski, Missimilliano Caldi.