Katarzyna Gluza, violin I
Paulina Marcisz, violin II
Karalina Orsik, viola
Edyta Słomska, cello
Founded in 2016 by female musicians from Polish and German music academies, the Ãtma Quartet first performed for two years as the New Music Quartet. He contributes to popularize chamber music, in particular, that of Polish composers.
The quartet won the 1st Prize and three special awards in the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Competition for String Quartets in Katowice (2017), an incentive award and the Bärenreiter Urtext Prize in the International Competition ‘Franz Schubert and Modern Music’ in Graz (2018), the 3rd Prize in the 1st Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition in Katowice (2018), the 3rd Prize in the ‘Gianni Bergamo Classic Music Award’ in Lugano (2019), the 2nd Prize in the ‘Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów (2019), 1st Prize in the ISCART Instrumental Music Competition in Lugano (2021), 1st Prize in the International Online Instrumental Performance Competition in Poznan (2021), 2nd Prize and ’Adolfo Betti Award’ for the best string quartet in the Chamber Music Competition ’Luigi Boccherini Award’ at the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival (2021).
The musicians have also been recipients of two scholarships awarded by the Mayor of the City of Bydgoszcz. Ãtma Quartet was also awarded a scholarship by Ministry of Culture and National Heritage ‘Young Poland’ (2018), thanks to which they accomplished a CD with Polish music. The quartet is also a beneficiary of ‘Moniuszko 2019 – Promesa’ programme, what resulted in completing two concert tours promoting Polish music in Italy and France.
The Ãtma Quartet has performed during masterclasses taught by members of such highly acclaimed chamber ensembles as the Alban Berg Quartet, the Kuss Quartet, the Jerusalem Quartet, the Ysaÿe Quartet, the Artemis Quartet, the Cuarteto Quiroga, the Vogler Quartet, the Emerson String Quartet, the Silesian String Quartet, the Zehetmair Quartet, the Apollon Musagète Quartett, the Meccore String Quartet, the Vienna Brahms Trio, the Penderecki Piano Trio, or the Herbert Piano Trio. The quartet has also worked with Eberhard Feltz, Alain Meunier, Avri Levitan and Marek Moś, and participated in the Jenuesses Musicales International Chamber Music Campus (Germany) and the Chigiana International Festival and Summer Academy (Italy).
The quartet has appeared in a number of prestigious festivals abroad, such as the Davos Festival in Switzerland, the Quatuors à Bordeaux, Festes Baroques, Festival and the Château de Lourmarin Summer Music Festival in France, the Zeist Music Days in Holland, or the Musethica concerts in Spain; as well as in Poland, in the Karol Szymanowski Music Days (Zakopane), the Emanations International Music Festival (Lusławice), the International Young Music Competition Winners Festival (Katowice) and the Urle Chamber Music Festival. The musicians have also performed at most of the local, Bydgoszcz-based artistic events, among which are the Old Waterworks Chamber Music Festival, the ‘Music in the Blumwe Villa’ project, the ‘Eye Never Sleeps’ International Contemporary Art Festival, the Fonomo Music & Film Festival and the Bydgoszcz Science Festival.
Since 2018 the Ãtma Quartet has been actively participating in the Le Dimore del Quartetto project, promoting Polish music in Italy. The ensemble has also been engaged in the French ProQuartet programme, whose aim is to foster the development of chamber music in the world. In 2020 ensemble took part in the Institute of Music and Dance programme ’Stage for Polish Music’.
