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composer; b. 27th April 1980 in Kraków. She studied composition with Marek Stachowski and music theory with Krzysztof Szwajger at the Academy of Music in Kraków, which she graduated from in 2006. In 2003-2004 she studied composition with Clarence Barlow at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in the Netherlands as part of the Socrates Erasmus scholarship programme. She also briefly studied philosophy and applied psychology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In 2007-2009 she studied classical composition with Peter-Jan Wagemans, Klaas de Vries, and electro-acoustic composition with René Uijlenhoet at the CODARTS Rotterdam Conservatory. In 2015 she completed Postgraduate Studies in Music Composition at the University of Birmingham in the UK, where she studied with Scott Wilson.

She has participated in numerous composition courses and workshops, including The Next Generation workshop during the Donaueschinger Musik Tage (2007), 11 premières workshop with the Nieuw Ensemble in Amsterdam (2007-2008), Watch that sound workshop for music and film makers during the Rotterdam Film Festival (2008-2009), 8x7 workshop with the Asko Schoenberg Ensemble in Amsterdam (2008-2009), the Four Quadrants workshop with Dylan Newcomb for composers and choreographers in Rotterdam (2008).

She was a scholarship holder of the City of Kraków, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as well as the Nederlandse Fonds voor Podiumkunsten. Her works New Angels and Cold Countries Lullabies were created as part of the "Composing Commissions" programme implemented by the Institute of Music and Dance.

She has collaborated with such ensembles and soloists as Donnermachine Ensemble, Nordlys Ensemble, Rotterdam Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble, Quartet New Generation, Asko Schoenberg Ensemble, Ensemble Nostri Temporis, Orchestra Temporanea, Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik, Modern dance group Hoplaaa, Grażyna Skalniak, Maja Mirocha, Henri Bok, Congratulation To The Ants chamber choir, 2 & 1/2 Women ensemble, Royal Laboratory of Early Music Festival Orchestra, Codarts Instrumental Ensemble, Capella Angellica, and Birmingham Electroacoustic Sound Theater (BEAST).

Kataryna Szwed’s works stream out of continuous rapture over the world. Her works are composed of blurry sound patches full of bright, glassy tones. Her narratives are focused and leisurely, and their dynamic scale ranges from the vicinity of audibility threshold through the rarely transgressed mezzoforte. Szwed’s highly sensual compositions are poetic, full of noble lyricism, and deeply permeated by a sense of contemplation. 

update: 2020 (ac)

Composer's website: https://katarzynaszwed.wordpress.com/ 

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