Marta Kowalczuk
Marta Kowalczuk is a composer and instrumentalist specializing in the baroque violin. In her work, the artist explores shifting sound states and multilayered textures, often employing structural fragments, theatrical gestures, and the impression of sonic permeability. She is active in the fields of opera and musical theater, instrumental and choral music, as well as live scores for silent films.
Kowalczuk studied composition under Michael Obst in Weimar, Gordon Kampe in Hamburg, and Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil in Wrocław, as well as baroque violin under Zbigniew Pilch in the same city. She currently works as an independent composer and violinist. Her works have been performed by such renowned ensembles as the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Weimar, Göttinger Symphonieorchester, Ensemble Resonanz, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, ensemble via nova, Ensemble Garage, the Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburger Ratsmusik, and the I Solisti ensemble from Antwerp. She has collaborated with distinguished conductors, including Kent Nagano, Holly Hyun Choe, Dennis Russell Davies, and Frank Strobel. Her compositions have been presented at major venues such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, as well as at festivals across Germany, Europe, South Korea, and the United States.
In recent years, the artist has received commissions from the Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra (an orchestral work for the Hafenstädte – Tore zur Welt competition, 2025) and for a performance project at the Schlosskonzerte Oranienburg (2024). She has held several artistic residencies: a three-month residency (Zvjezdane Staze) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2024), at the Fleetstreet Theater in Hamburg (2023), and a six-month residency at Künstlerhof Schreyahn (2022/23). She is the recipient of the ad libitum composition prize from the Winfried Böhler Foundation (2024/25), an honorable mention in the Flute New Music Consortium (FNMC) competition in the USA, and the German Film Music Award in the “Rising Star” category (2022).
