Ursula The Cellist Award winning cellist

Ursula The Cellist (Urszula Krukowska-Byzdra) is a multiple prize winner of cello competitions. She has performed all over Europe and taken part in numerous festivals. One of the cellist’s most notable concerts was before the King of Saudi Arabia. Ursula’s image continuously represents her alma mater, Academy of Music in Lodz, both in Poland and South Korea, as well as in other countries. The year 2013 marked the establishment of her own Cellotree Management and Academy. At the moment Ursula is a soloist and manager of the Joy of Strings orchestra from Seoul (South Korea). She plays the Nicolas Charotte cello from 1830.

Ursula has given concerts in Poland, France, Sweden, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, and United Kingdom. She has taken part in Aurora Chamber Music Festival, Musica Moderna, Musica Viva Festival, Stage of Youth, Festival of Science, Art and Technology, Concert for the Victims of Holocaust in Lublin, Music in Chester Festival, ”Soloist in Performance:” evening with Eva Warren’s Musical Protégés in Frodsham Art & Music Club, Memorial Concerts for Eva Warren, and others. She has made recordings for Radio Lodz and Polish Television in her home town, Lublin.

Ursula’s musical achievements include: 1st place as Personality of the Month in 2009, 1st place as Musical Personality of the International Master Class in Kudowa Zdroj in 2008 (the prize from Maxim Vengerov’s manager, Jefim Stinerman), 1st place in the Lodz Conservatory String Instruments Competition (which gave Ursula an opportunity to represent her conservatory in the Yamaha Competition), semi-final in the Jozef Drohomirecki Cello Solo Competition in 2008, and 1st place in Zamosc in 1993 and 1994. Her other accomplishments include, among others: 2nd place in International Chamber Music Competition in Lodz in 2004, special prize for the best performance of the F. Mendelssohn piano trio d-minor, 3rd place in Wroclaw in 1995, 2nd place in Lublin in 1994, and 2nd place in Stalowa Wola in 1993. She has also been the grant holder of President of the City of Lublin.

Ursula also studied at Royal Conservatory in Brussels (Belgium). Her teachers included S. Firlej, T. Strahl, D. Polonski, J. Reuling, and O. Leka. She wrote an MA thesis titled “Personality, imagination and spirituality as the core message conveyed by the artist to the recipient of art.”

The cellist cooperated with Eva Warren in 2012/2013. Now she cooperates with Giuseppe Chiaramonte (Milano Italy), Piotr Switon (Germany/Poland), Dirk Verelst (Antwerp, Belgium), Raewyn Bailey, and Brian Heald (United Kingdom).

Ursula has written pieces for cello solo and made improvisations inspired by both Masaru Emoto’s philosophy as well as folk music from the mountains. One of the pieces is dedicated to Eva Warren.

Margarita Zelenaia (composer from USA):
"When I was listening to your magnificent playing I was literally blown away! You have a quite rare ability to decode the music of different styles so deeply, going right to its core!"

Reviews:

Concert in Tŷ Pawb, Market St, Wrexham LL13 8BB, UK

"On behalf of us all in Live Music Showcase thank you so much for your recital on Thursday as we launched the Autumn series of lunchtime concerts. The audience response said it all… it was a wonderful and varied programme of music brought to a brilliant close with your rendition of ‘The Swan’ from The Carnival of the Animals. Such graceful beauty in music. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future."
With kind regards Derek Jones

Concert in St.John's the Baptist Church Chester:
"Dear Urszula Thank you very much for a lovely performance of the Dvorak. It is a gorgeous cello concerto and I did so enjoy it. I thought you played it extremely well, very poetic especially in those bars towards the end of the last movement. So glad that Dvorak did not allow his cello mentor to put a cadenza here!"
Best wishes Alan Lees Conductor.

Concert in St John The Baptist Church, Chester, UK:
"Thank you ever so much Ursula. I really enjoyed yesterday and congratulations on your fantastic performance. I hope to work with you again in the near future too!"
Mark Lansom Conductor

Concert held at the beautiful ‘church in the hollow’, St. David’s Catholic Church Pantasaph on June 1st 2019.:
Fr. John Cavanagh OFM. Cap (parish priest)| commented:
‘We were very pleased at the fairly modest ‘turn out’ of our countryside neighbours from a number of surrounding villages who had responded to our invitation to what was quite a new venture for us at the friary church. We judged this fund raising event for the church renovation fund to be a very worthwhile one.
Not only that, but thanks to the wonderful expertise of the two artistes, Urszula Krukowska-Byzdra and Tim Stuart, we were treated to a veritable musical feast, comprising works from well known composers such as J.S. Bach, Faure, Vivaldi, and Jenkins.
I experienced a magnificent performance by Ursula our local talented cellist, for the very first time, leaving me very impressed indeed.
I was pleasantly astonished too by and marvelled at Tim’s ‘magical touch’ on our (ancient) organ which suddenly took on a whole new exciting life of its own.
A big ‘thank you’ then to our artistes and to those who supported our new venture."