prof. dr hab. Marcin Misiak

He began studying cello at the age of six at the Primary Music School in Przemyśl. He completed his secondary education in the class of Prof. Stanisław Firlej at the Henryk Wieniawski General Primary and Secondary Music School in Łódź. After graduating with distinction from high school, he began his studies at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, continuing to study under the supervision of Prof. Stanisław Firlej and Prof. Urszula Marciniec-Mazur.

In 2002, he received an invitation to a one-year scholarship in the class of Prof. Eleonore Schoenfeld at the Thornton School of Music – University of Southern California. During his stay, he played two recitals at the United University Church and collaborated with orchestras such as the USC Thornton Chamber and Symphony Orchestra, and the Debut Symphony Orchestra. He also participated in chamber music master classes led by Menahem Pressler with a piano trio.

After returning to Poland, he continued his studies at the Academy of Music in Wrocław and developed his artistic career by establishing collaborations with the Lower Silesian Wrocław Opera and the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra. In 2004-2005, he guest-performed in Berlin with the German orchestra Barock Orchester Berlin. During this time, he significantly expanded his solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire.

As a fourth-year Master's student, he qualified for the second stage of the 1st International Cello Solo Competition in Katowice. He has also performed as a soloist in numerous recitals, including in Łódź, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, and at the Academy of Music in Wrocław. As part of his first graduation recital, he performed with the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Wrocław, performing Camille Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto, Op. 33.

Marcin Misiak won second prize in the 1st Michał Spisak National Music Competition in Dąbrowa Górnicza and second prize in the Small Instrumental Forms Competition at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. His chamber music achievements include winning a first-class distinction at the 9th International Chamber Ensemble Festival in Jawor in 2007. He has participated in master classes led by, among others, Prof. Lynn Harrell (USA), Prof. Menahem Pressler (USA), Prof. Stefan Popov (Bulgaria), and Prof. Kazimierz Michalik (Poland).

He actively collaborates with numerous orchestras throughout Poland, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Examples of this activity include solo concerts with the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra, the Legnica Symphony Orchestra, and the Przemyśl Chamber Orchestra, as well as cello recitals with, among others, the Chopin Chamber Orchestra and the Warsaw Chamber Orchestra. He has performed at the Universities of Ostrava, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Poznań, and Łódź, at the Zenon Brzeski International Music Course in Łańcut, the Musica Moderna Festival of Contemporary Music in Łódź, and the 8th Lower Silesian Science Festival in Wrocław (opening concert).

He currently collaborates with the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra as cello leader, performing solo and basso parts in works including A. Corelli's Cocerti Grossi, A. Vivadi's The Four Seasons, G. Rossini's Sonatas, J. Haydn's Stabat Mater, and G.F. Handel's Salve Regina. As a musician with the orchestra, he has performed in concerts in Poland and abroad: Germany, Austria, Norway, France, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, as well as in radio, television, and CD recordings.

In 2009, he completed his part-time third-cycle studies and received a Doctor of Arts degree. He is currently employed as a lecturer at the Instrumental Department of the Academy of Music in Wrocław.