Classical Guitar, Harp
The Guitar and Harp Department at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music prepares young musicians for careers as soloists, chamber musicians and pedagogues.
We offer studies under the guidance of recognised specialists in our field.
We place great emphasis on the versatility of education. Students have the opportunity to participate in classes broadening their knowledge and artistic horizons, such as: chamber music, arrangements for guitar ensembles, guitar literature, improvisation, jazz improvisation, recording practice, methodology, or early music performance practice.
Students can also consult a music psychology specialist.
The aim of the Harp programme is to show the broad range of performance possibilities of this instrument. Working on solo repertoire and on the knowledge of the widest possible orchestral repertoire is at the centre of those activities. Those wishing to develop their skills on the level harp have the opportunity to play the newest harp purchased by our Academy, the Camac Excalibur. We welcome the summer by organizing the Krakow Harp Workshops together with Fryderyk Chopin Secondary State School of Music in Krakow.
The Guitar and Harp Department cooperates on a regular basis with recognized specialists:
– Tatiana Stachak, who conducts classes in guitar methodology,
– Jakub Nedoborek, who conducts classes in the introduction to flamenco music,
– Since the academic year 2021/2022, an eminent guitarist and pedagogue Carlo Marchione, professor at the Royal Conservatory in Maastricht, has been the visiting professor.
– Professor Florence Sitruk, who gives lectures and open lessons for harpists.
In the next academic year, a lot of attention will be given to harp improvisation and arrangements under the guidance of our UK and Italian guests Eleanor Turner and Paola Devoti.
– The Guitar and Harp Department organizes cyclic events, concerts, auditions, seminars and master classes with eminent artists of our speciality (in the current academic year they have included, among others:
Hopkinson Smith, Leszek Potasinski, Claudio Maccari Paolo Pugliese, Ewa Jabłczyńska, Dariusz Kupiński).
The Department’s artistic and scientific activities have their annual culmination in the form of the Bobrowicz Days, which feature performances by renowned soloists and ensembles, lectures, open lessons, meetings with violin makers, exhibitions of instruments and musical publications. This year’s Bobrowicz Days are scheduled for 20-22 May.
The Guitarists’ Research Group (Koło Naukowe Gitarzystów) operating at the Department is very active, organising meetings with violin makers, physiotherapy workshops, concerts and auditions. It also participates in organizing student exchange concerts with other music schools, e.g. the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the K. Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
The Department has copies of baroque and romantic guitars, which are used to work on historical repertoire.
Students of the Department have access to accompanists (piano, pianoforte, harpsichord).
They also have the opportunity to take part in the Academy competition entitled “I play with an orchestra” (“Gram z orkiestrą”), the winners of which perform as soloists with orchestras of Polish philharmonics.
For whom:
- for those who want to play music and constantly discover its beauty
- for creative minds that generate crazy ideas
- for individuals who demonstrate independent thinking
- for the lovers of centuries-old musical traditions
- for music visionaries
You will learn to:
- look deeper into your soul and explore what is there
- make better use of all the secret tools from the instrumental “toolkit”
- create your own artistic projects
- cooperate with other performers in various ensembles, from chamber to orchestral ones
- cooperate with other artists and institutions
After completing the programme, you can:
- live as a free artist in any part of the world
- perform classical and experimental, solo and chamber music
- benefit from creative scholarships, artistic residencies
- win competitions for instrumentalists and develop your career
- work in cultural institutions
- teach at schools of all levels of art education
- teach at a higher education institution
- teach and encourage young people to be open to modern approach, experimentation, discovering new musical territories
- invent and carry out your own artistic projects, performances, organise festivals