prof. dr hab. Lidia Grzanka-Urbaniak

Cellist and teacher, associated with Wrocław from an early age. She graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Wrocław in the class of prof. Zdzisław Butor. She honed her musical skills with cello masters Michael Flaksman, Kazimierz Wiłkomirski, Milos Sadlo and other virtuosos of the instrument. She has participated in numerous masterclasses in Poland, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. She is a laureate of solo competitions (including 3rd prize at the D. Danczowski National Cello Competition in Poznań) and chamber music competitions, and has won prizes at competitions in Poland and abroad (includingfirst prize at the National Chamber Ensemble Competition in Włocławek, an award at the International Chamber Ensemble Competition in Colmar, France), and an award at the Jazz nad Odrą festival.

Co-founder of the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra – until 1996 she was its concertmaster. She has collaborated as cello concertmaster with many orchestras, including the Menuhin Festival Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Polish Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Helvetica, and as a guest with WOSPRiT. She is a co-founder of the Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra, where she has been working since 1996. She regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician. In 1996, she appeared at Spivey Hall in Atlanta (USA) at a gala concert celebrating Poland's accession to NATO. She has played concerts with artists such as Sir Yehudi Menuhin, James Galway, Karol Teutsch, Krystian Zimerman, Jan Stanienda, Bartosz Bryła, Janusz Olejniczak, Urszula Kryger, Ewa Pobłocka, Stefan Kamasa, PIotr Reichert, Hinrich Alpers, Andrzej Bauer, Krzysztof Śmietana and others.

She has performed many times as a soloist and chamber musician at concerts and renowned festivals in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Iraq, the USA, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. She has given numerous premieres of contemporary music and recorded for TONPRESS CD, KOS RECORDS, ZUK RECORDS, DUX, SONORIS, OPUS, CD Accord, for PR and TV and Radio France.

She is actively involved in teaching at the Instrumental Department of the Academy of Music in Wrocław, where she was also Head of the String Instruments Department from 1993 to 2005. Her students include winners of national and international competitions, graduates of master's and doctoral studies, as well as graduates of the Karol Szymanowski Primary and Secondary Music School in Wrocław. Among them are concertmasters of renowned orchestras, music school teachers and young academics.

In 2000, she was awarded the academic title of professor of music by the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski. She is currently the only female full professor of cello in Poland. She is regularly invited to serve on the jury of CEA auditions and national and international competitions. She lectures at master classes in interpretation and music workshops in Poland and abroad (Austria, USA, Canada).

She is vice-president of the WRATISLAVIA Foundation for Music Culture in Wrocław.