Jakub Polaczyk

Runner Up in the 2024 John Eaton Memorial Competition

JAKUB POLACZYK is a Polish-born, New York-based composer and pianist. His international recognition includes being a double Silver Medal winner of the Global Music Awards (2023), Winner of the 2020 American Prize in Composition (chamber professional category), and Iron Instant Composer Award in Cleveland (2013). He graduated from Jagiellonian University, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow and Carnegie Mellon University and as a Socrates-Erasmus exchange program he studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Since 2015 he has been teaching at the New York Conservatory of Music. He was the vice president of NYDAI and director of the International Chopin and Friends Festival in NYC (2020-2023) and was directing the International Composition Competition "New Vision" in New York City (2018-2023). Since 2021 Jakub has been hosting his own program called "Coffees after Bach" at the Polish Radio WRKL: AM910, NYC/AM1030, Chicago.

As a composer and orchestrator associated with the International Music Organization of New York and the Polish Theater Institute in the USA, he additionally served as a Music Director of the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Newark, NJ (2019-2023). He lectured at: Carnegie Mellon University (2013, 2018), Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow (2014), Sichuan Conservatory of Music (2015), Kosciuszko Foundation in NY (2018), Escola De Música de Brasilia(2019), Wheaton College in Chicago (2020) Iowa Community College in Des Moines (2020), Gonzaga University (2021), University of Nevada Las Vegas (2022) University of Washington in Seattle (2023), University of Kentucky in Lexington(2024) and University of Louisville (2024).

As a composer, he participated in many courses, conferences, and festivals in USA, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia such as ISCM, Warsaw Autumn, June in Buffalo, Bach Oregon Composer Symposium, SoundSCAPE, Annual Festival of Contemporary Music in San Francisco, Ostrava Music Days, NYCEMF, Janacek Festival in Czech Republic, Tre Colori in Budapest, Yuri Bashment's Festival in Russia, Druskomanija in Lithuania, Cracow International Composers Festival, Ball State New Music Festival, KLK in Ukraine, SPCCF in Brazil, DICMF in South Korea, ICCM in Spain, OUA Electroacoustic Music Festival in Japan, Atemporanea in Argentina. His works have been performed internationally at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln and Kaufmann Centers in New York City, Recital Hall West in Sydney, and Vietnam Grand Concert Hall and were performed by the Brazil National Orchestra, Bulgarian National Orchestra in Sofia, Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra, Blue Waters Orchestra in Cleveland, Carnegie Mellon Orchestra, Penderecki Music Academy of Krakow Orchestra, Lexington Chamber Orchestra, Janacek Orchestra, Orion Orchestra, Lviv KLK String Orchestra, Promeria Orchestra, and Ensembles: Mise-En Ensemble, S.E.M ensemble, Pudget Tacoma Wind Ensemble, Four Corners, Avanti, NED, Cracow Duo, Polanski Duo, Litvos Trio, Slee Sinfonietta, Carnegie Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Dedalus Ensemble, NeoQuartet, Cracow Golden Woodwind Quintet, Daegu Contemporary Ensemble, Ostrava Soloists, Moscow Virtuoso Soloists, Goodmori Ensemble, Gentile Trio, Blow Up Percussion, Argus Quartet, Palisades Virtuosi, Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble.

As a pianist, he has collaborated with Christine Walevska, Pei-Wen, Nadia Rodriguez, Kofi Hayford, Shu-Wei Tseng, Justyna Giermola, Beata Halska, Roberto Vasquez, Marta Płomińska, Sylwia Olszyńska, Ivan Ivanov, Wioletta Strączek, Piotr Lato, Wojtek Komsta, Anna Wilk, Agnieszka Świgut, Renata Guzik, Margot Zarzycki, Dominika Zamara, Svetla Kalcheva, and many others singers, instrumentalists and ballet companies in NYC metropolitan area and National Opera of Krakow. He achieved scholarships from the Composers' Guild of New Jersey (2022), ASCAP Plus Award (2020-2023), Carnegie Mellon Foundation (2011-2013), Sapere Auso (2007, 2009), Minister of Culture of Poland "Young Poland" (2013) and Mayor of Cracow (2010). In 2019, in Poland, he was ranked fourth and was nominated for the Danuta Szaflarska Prize in Arts: Global-Local-Great Annual Ranking, and in 2024 was placed 3rd and became a recipient of the Cultural Passport in Nowy Sącz. His music is published by Donemus, PWM, Babel Scores, and Arcomics and has been released by Ablaze Records and Albany Records. Documentary Movie "Conversations with Jakub Polaczyk" directed by Dennis Woytek won bronze at the 44th Telly Awards in NYC (2023). He was awarded the Bronze Medal "Gloria Artis" by the Minister of Culture of Poland in October 2023. In 2024, in the place of his childhood, he was awarded the honorable decoration of the city of Stary Sącz.