harpist; born March 27, 1924, Repty in Segieta (currently a district of Tarnowskie Góry); died April 25, 2008, Ruda Śląska - Nowy Bytom. She comes from a family with musical traditions: her father, Wiktor Kostorz, graduated (1911-14) from the Music School in Skwierzyna (Landkreismusikschule Schwerin a/Warthe) in the tenor saxophone and bassoon classes and was a musician (1919-22) with the Symphony Orchestra in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Sinfonieorchester Landsberg a/Warthe); her sister, Florentyna Kupka, was a piano tutor; and her brother, Zygmunt, was a clarinetist with the Great Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio and the Silesian Opera in Bytom. In the first half of the 1940s, she studied harp performance at the Silesian Regional School of Music (Höhere Landesmusikschule) in Katowice, which replaced the Silesian Conservatory of Music. From 1954 to 1955, she continued her studies at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice.

In 1947, she began working as principal harpist and soloist with the Polish Radio Grand Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, directed by Grzegorz Fietelberg, a position she held continuously until 1981.

She has made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including: Frank Martin's Little Symphony Concertante for harp, harpsichord, piano, and two string orchestras under the direction of Pierre Colombo, chamber works in a duet with flautist Eryk Bronkowski, double bassist Gerard Przybyła, and violinist Zygmunt Lasoń, and as a musician with the Little Entertainment Orchestra of the Silesian Section of Polish Radio under the direction of Jerzy Harald.

The family instrumental tradition is continued by the daughter of her nephew Tomasz Kupka, pianist and composer of the historical acid-jazz band Lean Back— Elżbieta (Kupka) Korelus, graduated from the Academy of Music in Katowice (harp class of Prof. Helga Storck), lecturer at the Alma Mater, and harpist with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio in Katowice.

In recognition of her artistic activity, Helena Kostorz was awarded the Voivode's Medal, the Silver Cross of Merit and the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

update: 2026 (Wiktoria Antonczyk)