PhD Olivia Kaczyńska

Choir Conductor and Pedagogue Graduate of the Faculty of Music Education (specialization: Conducting Vocal and Vocal-Instrumental Ensembles) at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. She continued her education at the Carl Orff Music Education Studio in Warsaw and at Kodály Seminars in Poland and Hungary. She lectured in music subjects at the Faculty of Humanities of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. Since 2006 she has been working as a choir conductor and music teacher at the John Paul II Primary School in Łazy, where she conducts music classes based on the Kodály and Orff concepts.

She obtained her doctoral degree by defending a dissertation under the supervision of Professor Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, D.M.A., at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, where she also currently lectures.

She has cooperated with the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences on publications devoted to folk music. In addition, she is the author of the educational program Music of the Sources and co-author of the music textbook Nuty, smyki i patyki (Notes, Strings, and Sticks).

She is very active as a choir conductor. She is the founder and conductor of the Children’s Choir ANIMATO at the John Paul II Primary School in Łazy, which participates in the program Choral Academy – Singing Poland. With this ensemble she has won numerous prizes at choral competitions and performed at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw (2016 and 2018), the Łódź Philharmonic (2017), the Wrocław Philharmonic (2018), and the National Forum of Music in Wrocław (2016).

At the same school in Łazy she also conducts the younger Children’s Choir PRIMUS, which prepares the youngest pupils for later singing in Animato. In 2022 and 2023 this choir won the Gold Band at the Choral Academy competition, of which it is also a member. For many years she has also been the conductor of the EFFATHA choir at St. Stephen’s Parish in Raszyn.

She has cooperated with the mixed choir CANTO and the chamber vocal ensemble Passionate at the Municipal Cultural Center in Piastów, the children’s choir DOMINANTA at the Natolin Cultural Center in Warsaw, as well as the youth choir Sempre and the senior choir MROKOWIACY at the Community Cultural Center in Lesznowola.

As a cultural animator, she organizes concerts, conducts numerous workshops for choirs, conductors, and teachers, and promotes the arts. For her activities, she was honored in 2018 with the Award of the Minister of National Education.