Biography

Bartosz graduated from music school in Gliwice, Poland and earned his master’s degree at the Academy of Music in Wrocław under Dariusz Bator. Bartosz continued his studies at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, graduating in 2015.

Bartosz began his career as a professional musician in 2008, playing with orchestras in Wrocław including Wrocław Youth Orchestra, Capitol Theatre orchestra and Sound Factory Orchestra. In 2011, Bartosz successfully auditioned to I, Culture Orchestra (ICO) established on the occasion of Polish presidency in European Union. Together with ICO, Bartosz participated in a European tour, performing in prestigious concert halls including Royal Festival Hall, Berlin Philharmonic, Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, Palais de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Teatro Real in Madrid, National Opera in Kiev and National Philharmonic in Warsaw. During this tour, Bartosz played under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner and Paweł Kotla together with soloists Arabella Steinbacher, Peter Jablonski, Anna Baeva and Agata Szymczewska.

Bartosz has recently played with Wrocław Opera and since moving to Cardiff, has performed with Welsh National Opera, Sinfonia Cymru, Welsh Sinfonia, Sinfonia Newydd, Sound Affairs and City of Cardiff Symphony Orchestra.

As a keen chamber musician, Bartosz has won awards with various ensembles, including second prize in the International Chamber Music Competition in Jawor with bassoon quartet Diabolus in Musica, and achieved the June Emerson Wind Music Launchpad Prize with Seren Winds quintet. Bartosz was awarded a Professional Pathways scholarship by Sinfonia Cymru.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

What or who inspired you to become a professional musician?
I wouldn’t say that I met one person, or that there was one moment which influenced me to become a musician. I have met many fantastic people on my educational pathway, starting from my mum, family and teachers in Poland and ending with the people I met in the UK. I owe all of these people a lot because thanks to them I developed my passion for music.

What’s on your playlist right now?
Shostakovich symphonies. There is an incredible force, sorrow and pain in his music. There are also Mieczysław Karłowicz’s Eternal Songs and Maroon 5, Sugar.

Tell us something about yourself that might surprise us
I am very passionate about tennis. When I was younger I played in the tennis club, I was also vice-champion for under-18s of my city. I am also interested in city transport, and I think that London, with one of the biggest transport systems in the world, is the perfect place for me to be .