2006 Awardee: Barbara Misiewicz
I would like to express my strong appreciation … Not only will the award make me challenge myself to work towards a great progress in cello playing but also let me focus concentration on my studies.
Biography
Barbara Misiewicz was born and brought up in Elblag, Poland. She came to this country in order to pursue her studies in cello at the RSAMD, Glasgow.
When she was seven, Barbara began studying cello with Russian cellist Oleg Studnicki at Poland’s national music school. From the start she impressed as a young musician of enormous talent and potential. As she was growing up, she competed successfully in many national and international competitions, including the Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer International Competition in Dresden.
Barbara, aged 20, has already impressed her Scottish teachers with her innate musicality, beautiful tone and rare gift to communicate with her audience. She recently performed solo at the opening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and at the Mozart Festival in Schwetzingen, Germany. In December 2006 she joined the Scottish Ensemble winter tour of Scotland. In January 2007 Barbara played with the Scottish Opera orchestra for performances of Ravel and Puccini operas.
How the Award Helped
Shortly after she arrived in Glasgow, a family tragedy threatened to cut short her studies and possibly deprive us of an exceptionally talented musician. The Dewar Arts Award is helping to support Barbara while she finishes her music degree.
Since the Award
As an undergraduate, Barbara won the Iain D Watt Award and the Dunbar Gerber Competition at the RSAMD and the John McInulty Prize for Orchestral String Playing. In 2009 she won the Craxton Memorial Prize as well as an award from the Elblag Cultural Society.
Barbara graduated with a degree in music in 2009 and is now carving out a career for herself as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. She writes that “coming from Poland, I heard so much about great British orchestras and their ways of working: playing with a blended sound and being incredibly fast at reading music. It is fantastic to experience it from within a British orchestra itself.” Barbara has been invited to the final round of 2010 auditions for the European Union Youth Orchestra.
I would like to express my strong appreciation … Not only will the award make me challenge myself to work towards a great progress in cello playing but also let me focus concentration on my studies.