The Summer Music Academy was established in 1999 by the then Dean of the Academy of Music in Kraków, Prof. Andrzej Pikul, PhD, who has been its Artistic Director ever since. The idea behind the project was to start summer holiday music master classes in Kraków, following the example of Accademia Muciale Chigiana in Sienna or Mozarteum in Salzburg. The classes comprise all the instruments, vocal performance, composition and conducting.
The twenty-five editions held so far included over 4000 participants from almost all over the world, including Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, the USA, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and almost all the countries in Europe. A lot of the Summer Academy participants have won awards in international performance competitions.
The classes have been taught by the most eminent members of the faculty of the Academy of Music in Kraków, including Kaja Danczowska, Ryszard Karczykowski, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, Elżbieta Stefańska, Barbara Świątek-Żelazna, as well as such world-renowned artists as Paul Badura-Skoda, Carlos Cebro, Konstanze Eickhorst, Peter Lukas Graf, Adam Harasiewicz, Eric Heidsiec, Kevin Kenner, Yair Kless, Charlotte Lehmann, Solomon Mikowsky, Alison Pearce, Regina Smendzianka, Dina Yoffe, Aquiles delle Vigne and others.
The previous editions of the Summer Music Academy have proved there is a great need for its continuation. The prestige of the classes and concerts, which has been growing by the year, has placed the Summer Academy among the major artistic summer events in our country and in Europe.
The twenty-sixth Summer Music Academy will be held from the 26th August to the 1st September 2024.
The concerts of the best participants will be held in our beautiful Florianka Concert Hall. Similarly to the preceding years, we expect a large group of participants, who will be able to perfect their art under the guidance of outstanding artists and also enjoy the beauty of our city. Owing to Kraków’s unique atmosphere conducive to artistic creation, both the masters and the students come here with the same enthusiasm to inspire each other and share the beauty of music that we all love.