Employees

dr hab.

Katarzyna Makal-Żmuda

prof. UMFC

piano

Pianist and educator. At the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music – Białystok Branch, she teaches piano and chamber music; she serves as head of the Piano, Harpsichord, and Organ Department and director of the English-language Postgraduate Studies program. From 2020 to 2022, she served as associate dean, and from 2022 to 2024 as dean of the Faculty of Instrumental and Pedagogical Studies, Music Education, and Vocal Studies.

She studied at the Music Academies in Katowice and Łódź, training under the guidance of distinguished pedagogues: Joanna Domańska, Regina Michalak, Marek Toporowski, Marek Drewnowski, and Maria Gozdecka. She honed her piano skills and artistic artistry during postgraduate studies in the class of Prof. Jerzy Godziszewski and with Dominique Merlet in Paris. She is a laureate of the 4th Józef Hoffman International Piano Festival and the award for best pianist-accompanist at the Antanas Kučingis International Vocal Competition in Vilnius, as well as numerous distinctions for chamber music collaboration.

For years, she has maintained an active concert career, performing at numerous music venues in Poland and abroad—including cultural centers in Vilnius and Grodno, as well as the Polish Cultural Institute in Rome. As a soloist, she has performed at the Podlasie Philharmonic and the Artur Malawski Podkarpackie Philharmonic in Rzeszów. A special place in her artistic career is held by her performance at the 70th anniversary celebration of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic (2025), where, under the baton of Maestro Jerzy Maksymiuk and alongside Robert Marat, she performed Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra,

Her discography includes piano parts in choral recordings conducted by Violetta Bielecka, as well as albums featuring works by Zbigniew Popielski, Jerzy Maksymiuk, and Piotr Grinholc (Acte Prealable). She has also recorded selected works by Brahms, Ravel, and Shostakovich, and for TVP2 she recorded Józef Koffler’s piano pieces for the documentary film *Portrait from Memory*. Together with Włodzimierz Promiński, she recorded chamber sonatas by Władysław Żeleński and Zygmunt Noskowski for Polskie Nagrania—this album was nominated for the 2012 Fryderyk Award.

The main focus of her research interests is 19th-century Polish chamber and piano music. She is the author of a monograph devoted to the sonatas of Władysław Żeleński and Zygmunt Noskowski, which, alongside the album, forms the core of her habilitation thesis. Currently, a special focus of her work is on reviving the memory of forgotten Polish composers. As a music editor, she collaborates with the Eufonium publishing house, where she has published the first editions of piano works by Antoni Rutkowski, Ignacy Krzyżanowski, Feliks Ostrowski, and Jan Milan. She is currently working with Chopin University Press to prepare a collection of selected chamber works by Antoni Rutkowski for publication. Her scholarly output also includes numerous articles published in national and international academic journals, including those in Odessa and Kyiv. A major research achievement of the artist was identifying the authorship of the song “Z dawna Polski Tyś Królową” as a work by Antoni Rutkowski, published in a 19th-century first edition under the title “Modlitwa Uciemiężonych.”She has also made the world’s first recording of the composer’s complete piano and chamber works (a 3-CD album is in preparation at Chopin University Press). She is also the author of significant publications devoted to the work of Zbigniew Popielski, for which she was honored with prestigious awards in the “Muzyczne Orły” International Competition: the Bronze Diploma (2024) and the Silver Diploma (2025). These works will be complemented by a planned recording of three song cycles by this composer.

An equally important aspect of her work is pedagogy. She has trained over 30 winners of piano and chamber music competitions at all levels of music education—from elementary and secondary school through to the academic level. She shares her experience during masterclasses and lectures, and is also invited to serve on the juries of piano competitions. As a promoter of musical life, she initiated and for many years directed the International Piano Duet Competition in Ełk. On behalf of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, she participated in a Polish-Norwegian artistic project in Trondheim. She served as coordinator of the 7th International Piano Duet Competition in Białystok and the accompanying “In Memoriam Prof. Witalis Raczkiewicz” Festival.

For her outstanding achievements, she was honored with the “Meritorious for Polish Culture” badge, the Medal of Merit for the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, and the Silver Medal for Long Service. She is also the recipient of the Rector’s Award, letters of recognition, and many other distinctions for her successes in artistic and pedagogical work.