Biography

Gabriela Opacka began her musical education at the Artur Malawski School of Music in Przemysl. After graduating in 2011, she studied at the Cracow Academy of Music where she completed her master’s degree. Whilst at the Academy, she took part in the Erasmus+ Programme, allowing her to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2018, she started her doctoral studies at Warsaw Chopin University of Music with prof. Janusz Wawrowski. In 2020 Gabriela has started an Artist Diploma Course in violin performance with prof. Louise Hopkins at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Gabriela has performed in concert venues across the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Musikverein in Vienna, Beijing Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Centre, Barbican Center and Royal Festival Hall in London, Tokio International Forum, Chateâu de Versailles and Notre Dame de Paris. Gabriela’s orchestral experience includes concertmaster with the Southbank Sinfonia in London and Krakow Academy of Music Orchestra, Leader of Second Violins in the International Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in New York and tutti in London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal Château de Versailles, Sinfonia Varsovia and London Contemporary Orchestra.

In demand as a soloist, Gabriela has performed with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Warsaw Players, Podkarpacka Philharmonic Orchestra and Przemysl Chamber Orchestra. As a result of Debut with Orchestra competition she performed Glasunov Violin Concerto with Maestro Jerzy Maksymiuk. She is a prizewinner of Young Paganini International Violin Competition.

Over the past years Gabriela has approached music education from both a theoretical and practical point of view. During her time at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she attended the Teaching Skills Course. In 2016, being a member of Southbank Sinfonia enabled her to gain experience working with children, mentoring young musicians at Glyndebourne, Vaughan Memorial School and Thomas’s Battersea School. She has also graduated from Pedagogical Studies at Academy of Music in Cracow (2014), which included Psychology, Pedagogy, Didactics, Voice Projection, Violin Teaching Methods and Internship at Music School as a Violin Teacher.

Among her recent teaching experiences, in August 2019, she gave masterclasses at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music, working with musicians of the Penderecki Youth Orchestra. During the same period, she taught musicians of the NOR59 Strykeinstitutt Orchestra in Oslo. Since 2018 she has been tutoring violin students at the Warsaw Chopin University of Music as a part of her doctoral studies Recently has been selected to be an Ambassador with the Benedetti Foundation in London.

Gabriela is an enthusiastic player of chamber music. Her experience includes many projects such as Southbank Sinfonia Quartet at Royal Opera House in London, recordings for BBC Radio 3, films and documentaries. Member of London Contemporary Voices.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

What do you love about classical music?
Music generally allows you to perceive many feelings, and even to create our own world, but the most inspiring aspect of this is when you can share this world with other musicians, and further, with the audience. This is why I love chamber music so much. There are a lot of question marks in music – sometimes responses from others in the chamber group answer them, but sometimes we have to leave them unsolved. Like in real life.

Which three people, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with and why?
Neil Armstrong – I think that performing a musical piece is so close to being the first person to walk on the Moon. Particularly in contemporary music, a musician is often playing the pieces for the first time, when nobody has heard it before. The musician is then also the first person in the whole world doing it. I would like to ask Neil about his feelings about strolling on the Moon and compare it with… mine!

Nathan Milstein – I have just read a book From Russia to the West: The Musical Memoirs and Reminiscences of Nathan Milstein by himself and Solomon Volkov. I am impressed by him not only as a violinist, but also as a person – with his own sense of humour and personality. I have recently heard that we are those books we currently have on the shelf: I agree with this sentiment completely.

Steve Jobs – A few days ago I watched a movie about him. I think he is a person with a very strong personality and I wonder if while sitting at the table with him it would be possible to feel this strength.

Tell us something about yourself that might surprise us
This season I started to do winter swimming (ice swimming). And… I can recommend it to everyone. The feeling after this bath is incomparable to anything else!