About us

Festivals, awards and courses

Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble is among Poland’s most dynamic ensembles specialising in the performance of contemporary music. The musicians have graced renowned festivals such as MaerzMusik in Berlin, the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, AFEKT Festival in Estonia, the Warsaw Autumn Festival of Contemporary Music, Sacrum Profanum, Audio Art, Unsound, Musica Moderna, NeoArte — The Art Synthesizer, the Festival of Musical Tradition and Avant-Garde “KODY,” Musica Polonica Nova, and the Młodzi Muzycy Młodemu Miastu 2.0 festival in Stalowa Wola.

Their most noteworthy accoladeincludes the prestigious Ensemble Prize awarded by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, as well as nominations for the Coryphaeus of Polish Music and the 2022 Fryderyk awards in the Contemporary Music Album of the Year category.

The ensemble has had the privilege of participating in the Ensemble-Akademie Freiburg masterclasses for ensembles led by ensemble recherche, and selection, as one of only four ensembles, for the Young Ensemble Academy, where they worked with the legendary Ensemble Modern.

Krakow

Spółdzielnia Muzyczna is strongly connected with its home city of Kraków, where for years it has been developing a number of recurring initiatives, such as INTERACTIONS – concerts combined with open conversations between creators, performers, and audiences; PLAYGROUND: call for collaborations – a project with selected artists culminating in the performance of jointly developed compositions; OPEN SPACE – workshops on new instrumental techniques for composers; and OPEN YOUR EARS, OPEN YOUR EYES – educational and interdisciplinary events that introduce wide audiences to new sounds.

Polish artists and repertoire

In its programs, the ensemble tries to combine the classics of the 20th century with the music of theyoung generation, giving a special place to Polish artists such as: Zygmunt Krauze, Paweł Mykietyn,Agata Zubel, Andrzej Kwieciński, Artur Zagajewski, Piotr Peszat, Monika Szpyrka, PiotrTabakiernik, Anna Sowa, Nina Fukuoka, Martyna Kosecka, Marta Śniady, Paweł Malinowski,Jacek Sotomski, Aleksander Nowak and Cezary Duchnowski.

Spółdzielnia Muzyczna repertoirealso includes compositions by Alex Mincek, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Malin Bång, Marco Ciciliani,Alex Paxton, Joanna Bailie, Oscar Escudero, David Fennessy, Johannes Kreidler, Ricardo Eizirik,Matthew Shlomowitz, Trondem Reinholdtsen, Gerard Grisey, Franco Donatoni, Giacinto Scelsi,Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Morton Feldman, George Crumb, GeorgesAperghis and Salvatore Sciarrino.

Ensemble members

Małgorzata Mikulska

Flutes

Born in 1987 in Limanowa, she began her musical education at the age of ten at the F. Chopin State Music School in Nowy Sącz, in the flute class. She is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków in the class of Prof. Barbara Świątek-Żelazny. She further honed her skills at the Hochschule für Musik in Mainz under Prof. Dejan Gavriĉ as part of the Erasmus-Socrates programme, and later during her studies at the University of Agder in Kristiansand in the class of Prof. Jørn Eivind Schau and Prof. Lars Asbjørnsen.

Tomasz Sowa

Clarinets

He graduated with distinction from the Wanda Kossakowa State Music School I and II degree in Sanok in the class of Wiesław Brudek, and completed his master’s studies in the class of Prof. Andrzej Godek at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. He is currently a doctoral student under the supervision of Prof. Janusz Antonik, at his home institution.

Krzysztof Guńka

Saxophones

Born in 1990 in Cieszyn. In 2009, he completed his studies at the I. J. Paderewski State Music School I and II degree in Cieszyn, in the saxophone class of Tomasz Gmyrek. In 2014, he graduated with distinction from his second-cycle studies in the saxophone class of Prof. Andrzej Rzymkowski, at the Academy of Music in Kraków. In 2015, he completed postgraduate studies in the class of Univ.-Prof. Lars Mlekusch at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität. In 2018, he obtained the title of Doctor of Arts at the Academy of Music in Kraków.

Barbara Mglej

Violin, Viola

A violinist, chamber musician, and performer of contemporary music. She is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków, which she completed with distinction in the class of Prof. Kaja Danczowska. She refined her skills at masterclasses with Jan Stanienda, Grigori Zhislin, and Krzysztof Jakowicz. From 2014 to 2017, together with the Antarja Quartet, she studied chamber music at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien under the guidance of Prof. Johannes Meissl and Vida Vujic.

Paulina Woś

Violin, Viola

She graduated from the Academy of Music in Kraków. She performs on modern and baroque violins as well as on the viola. In her artistic work, she focuses on chamber music — both early and contemporary.

Jakub Gucik

Cello

A graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków (2013). He focuses primarily on chamber music performance. He is the cellist of several ensembles: Spółdzielnia Muzyczna contemporary ensemble, PerDuo Vnc, and IPT Wójciński/Bańdur/Gucik, with which he performs in Poland and abroad. He is also affiliated with several Kraków theatre groups, including Teatr Szczęście, Teatr Odwrócony, and Teatr Bez Scenografii. He is the author of theatre, electroacoustic, and electronic music. As a member of a string quartet, he won 4th place (2006) and 1st place (2007) at the Talents for Europe competition in Dolný Kubín, Slovakia, also receiving in 2007 the special award funded by the Moyzes Quartet.

Aleksander Wnuk

Percussion, Electronics

Multi-percussionist, performer, improviser, sound artist and postdoc degree in Arts, based in Krakow, Poland. He specializes in performing Contemporary, Newand Experimental Music, as a soloist and chamber musician. His interests mostly revolve around multi-percussion and intermedia genres. His repertoir covers newly comissioned works, pieces of the last two decades, as well as classical and modern literature. He often focuses on post-instrumental issues, working with objects and on the corporeality of the performance. Aleksander is interested in braking traditional/academic practices and the experiment itself. He creates his own music combining musical genres–Lupnik, Komentarz eufemistyczny, Seeking Mother.

Aleksandra Płaczek

Piano, Keyboards, Electronics

A soloist and chamber musician specializing in contemporary music performance. In 2019, she graduated with distinction from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, completing her master’s studies in the piano class of Prof. Elżbieta Tarnawska and in the piano chamber music class of Prof. Katarzyna Jankowska-Borzykowska.

Piotr Peszat

Composer, Electronics

Composer and sound artist based in Cracow. His artistic activity combines elements of instrumental and electronic music as well as multimedia and performance. One of his most professional experiences is the first prize at the Roche Young Commissions competition after which, Jury members commissioned him an orchestra piece, which was performed during the 77th Lucerne Festival.

Emilia Stefańska

Coordination

A music theorist and graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków, where she also completed studies in Church Music. She currently works as a teacher of ear training and coordinates projects for Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, providing organizational and substantive support. She has collaborated with the online journal and foundation MEAKULTURA, co-authoring the publication “A Hundred Years of Musical Emigration: Polish Composers Abroad (1918–2018)”, as well as with the Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art, for which she created the educational programme “Introduction to Life in Culture: The Life of Instruments.” She is a participant in the Music Editing Seminar organized by PWM.

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

SPÓŁDZIELNIA MUZYCZNA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE