Employees

Magdalena Szczepanowska was born in Warsaw in a family of musicians. Her father was her first violin teacher. She continued her studies under Janina Jarzębska, Tadeusz Wroński and then Professor Wroński’s former students, Stanisław Kawalla and Magdalena Rezler, and graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Warsaw in 1983. She also worked under Oleg Krysa and André Gertler during master courses in interpretation in Weimar. She is a prize-winner of many violin and chamber music competitions in Poland and abroad, e.g., in Lublin (The Young Violinists Competition), Cracow (The Contemporary Music Competition), Gorizia (The Lipizer Competition), and Brescia and (Città di Brescia).

She performs as a chamber musician in Poland and abroad. She was a co-founder of a string quartet which in the period of 1986–2004 gave concert with the soprano singer Stefania Woytowicz. She cooperated with the National Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble under Karol Teutsch, the Warsaw Chamber Opera (recitals, chamber concerts), The Warsaw Music Society and the Polish Composers’ Association. As representative of the Ministry of Culture she has represented Polish violin and chamber music at many concerts and festivals abroad.

For a number of years she has been cooperating with cellist Piotr Hausenplas in a string duo called OTTOCORDE.  She performs with Edward Wolanin and Grzegorz Gorczyca (pianists), Lech Napierała, and her former violin student Bartosz Cajler. Together with Bogumiła Gizbert-Studnicka (harpsichord) and Natalia Reichert (viola) she has performed in Ensemble St. Stanislas since 2009.

Since 1983 she has been connected with the Romuald Traugutt Philharmonic, a group of artists founded by Tadeusz Kaczyński presenting programmes of patriotic content which used to be forbidden. For her special merits she was awarded the Traugutt Philharmonic Golden Medal in 1993.

Magdalena Szczepanowska is professor of the violin class at the Department of Instrumental Studies of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw where she was offered the position of assistant when she was still a student. She also teaches the violin and chamber music at the State Music School Complex in Warsaw, Miodowa Street. Her former students (e.g. Bartosz Cajler, Aleksandra Kuls, Aleksandra Bucholc, Quartetto Qualità, Trio Concọrdia) have won top prizes at many competitions in Poland and abroad.

From 1996 on professor Magdalena Szczepanowska has also taught at summer and winter master courses: in Nowy Sącz, Bałoszyce, Kudowa Zdrój, Łańcut and Kołobrzeg. She is invited to give lectures, workshops and consultations for music school teachers from different Polish cities.

She also runs editorial activity, she is an author of the edition of Georg Philipp Telemann’s Fantasies for Solo Violin and a publication entitled Scales, Passages and Double Stops for Violin; currently she has been working on the edition of violin and piano pieces by Emil Młynarski, together with Lech Napierała.

Magdalena Szczepanowska has sat on the juries of many violin and chamber competitions, many of which she has co-organised herself. She holds the functions of Consultant at the Artistic Education Centre and Expert for Professional Advancement.

For her teaching activity she has received awards such as:

• Badge “For Merits as a Culture Activist”
• Medal Gloria Artis (2003)
• Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2007, 2010 2012)
• Diploma of the Minister of Culture (2004)
• Medal of the National Education Committee (2007)
• Award of the Director of the Artistic Education Centre (1993, 2001, 2004)
• Award of the Rector of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw (2002).

After the success of her students at the 12^th International Competition TALENTS FOR EUROPE Competition 2008 in Dolný Kubín, Slovakia (four first places in four categories, two Grand Prix awards) she was honoured with the title of Teacher of the Year.

Since January 2012 she has also been professor at the Academy of Music in Cracow.