Piotr Szumieł

Piotr Szumieł, born in 1977 in Warsaw, belongs to the group of the most versatile violists of his generation. He is also a viola professor and a sought-after juror and lecturer at master classes.

Already at a young age he was the recipient of numerous prestigious prizes at international competitions, including winning the Jan Rakowski Viola Competition in Poznan in 1998, the special prize at the 36th International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen in 2001, a 2nd prize at the 9th International Johannes Brahms Competition in 2002 in Pörtschach (Austria) and 3rd prize at the Vienna International Viola Competition in 2004.

Between 2002 and 2008 Piotr Szumieł was a member and principal violist of the Dresden Philharmonic and the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. He has also been conducting very intensive educational work for many years - he is a lecturer for viola and chamber music at the College of Music „Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden (since 2005), between 2013-2018 he was a lecturer at the "Karol Szymanowski" Academy of Music in Katowice and from October 2019 Piotr Szumieł is a professor of viola and head of the string department at the University of Music and Drama in Rostock.

In addition to his solo and teaching activities, he is intensively involved in the "Apollon Musagète Quartet", founded in 2006. Over the two years of its existence, the ensemble has gained not only outstanding recognition from critics, but also among jurors of the most prestigious chamber music competitions. After winning international music competitions in Vienna and Florence, the quartet quickly established itself on the European music scene, winning the first prize and almost all special prizes at the 57th ARD International Music Competition.

Piotr Szumieł is the recipient of the "Young Poland" scholarship program of the Minister for Culture and National Heritage and the "Burletti Buitoni Trust Award" (2014) for outstanding artistic achievements with the "Apollon Musagete Quartet".

The artist conducted workshops and master classes in Austria, Germany, Hongkong, Poland and China. He took part in the work of the jury at international viola and chamber music competitions in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Katowice and Meissen.