August 20 Online Virtual Concert
Krzysztof Michalski
Krzysztof Michalski was born in 2003 in Tarnobrzeg, Southern Poland. There he began his musical education which later took place in Państwowa Szkoła Muzyczna II st. Im Władysława Żeleńskiego in Cracow. At the age of 10 he started working under artistic care of an outstanding cello teacher, maestro Henryk Zarzycki, who gave him a scholarship at the EAFIT University in Medellin, Colombia where he studied during the vacation of 2015 and 2016, and was also the first teacher of the internationally known cellist Santiago Canon Valencia. Now, Krzysztof is a senior at the international Musica Mundi School In Waterloo, Belgium, studying with Aleksandr Khramouchin, Vladimir Perlin and Jerome Pernoo.
In the last 3 years he won several international and national competitions in Europe and the USA of which the most important one was the 1st prize at the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players in Washington D.C., USA, 2018. He performed as a soloist with symphony and chamber orchestras in Poland, Germany and Colombia, among others with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, the Orchestra of the Technical University in Dresden, the Tolima Department Symphony Orchestra in Ibague (Colombia), with the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Cracow and more. In his artistic output he also has several recitals in Europe, Asia, North and South America, of which the majority were in Poland, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia, Israel, the USA and Colombia. In the years 2015-2017 he was the cello leader and the concertmaster of the Lusławicka Orkiestra Talentów based in the European Center of Music of Krzysztof Penderecki and since then he is being frequently invited to perform there for different occasions.
Four times (2017-2020) he participated in the Morningside Music Bridge program organized by the Calgary Philharmonic (Boston, MA, USA and Warsaw, Poland). He plays on two contemporary copies of M. Gofriller cellos made by Wojciech Topa and Jan Pawlikowski. Krzysztof is fluent in Polish, English, Spanish and apart from also learning French his biggest passions are travels, cats and swimming.
Catherine Sun
Born in 2004, Catherine Sun started her music journey at the age of 4 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Over the years, she has had numerous successes. From her local festival, she has acquired multiple wins and scholarships. She has also been nominated to go to provincials and has also won numerous scholarships. Over the span of these two recent years, she was able to win 1st and 2nd, with a 96 and 95 respectively in the Canadian Music Competition. She has also placed first provincially throughout the last few years, earning scholarships and plaques from her provincial festival in Alberta. She is currently studying under Professor Krzysztof Jablonski at his home studio. Over the years, she has been taught in private lessons or masterclasses by numerous pedagogues, including but not limited to Sasha Starcevich, Stewart Goodyear, Corey Hamm, Jerome Lowenthal, Ian Parker, and Kathy Dornian. Most of these opportunities were brought to her when she was a member of Mount Royal University’s Academy and Advanced Performance Program. Through this program, she also gained valuable skills in chamber music and has performed at senior homes to accompany the elderly. During this past summer, Catherine participated in the 5th Canadian Chopin Competition in Toronto, Ontario. In the Junior Category, she placed fifth overall. She received her ARCT in Piano Performance in 2017 from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Sh is currently in Grade 11. She receives her education at Webber Academy, and has been there since Grade 5. Other than piano, she enjoys challenging herself in math and chemistry. She also participates in her school band, playing the bassoon.