Katarzyna Budnik-Gałązka

A graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where she studied violin with professors Mirosław Ławrynowicz, Andrzej Gębski and Janusz Wawrowski, and viola with Professor Piotr Reichert. She works as a viola assistant professor at her alma mater. Since February 2014, she has held the post of principal viola of Sinfonia Varsovia.

In September 2013, she received 3rd Prize at the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich. She was also successful in numerous national and international competitions, such as the 47th International Ludwig van Beethoven Competition in Hradec, the 15th International Johannes Brahms Competition in Poertschach, the 8th Polish National Jan Rakowski Viola Competition, the International Max Rostal Competition in Berlin, the International Max Reger Chamber Music Competition in Sondershausen, and the 4th International Michał Spisak Competition.

As a soloist, Budnik-Gałązka has performed with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestras of Munich and Potsdam, the Symphony Orchestra of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic and the Oskar Kolberg Świętokrzyska Philharmonic in Kielce.

In 2010, she participated in the project Chamber Music Connects the World, organised by the Kronberg Academy, where she played with the most outstanding musicians, including Gidon Kremer, Tatiana Grindenko, Yuri Bashmet and Frans Helmerson.

She has been invited to renowned festivals, such as the Music Festival in Łańcut, the Music on the Heights International Chamber Music Festival in Zakopane, Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, and the BBC Proms.

In November 2013, her solo album Viola Recital was released, for which she received a Fryderyk Award in 2014.

She is a recipient of a scholarship for outstanding achievements from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, and from the Young Poland programme. In 2013, she was nominated for the Polityka magazine’s “Passport” Award.