Monika Kaźmierczak

City carillonist of Gdańsk

Monika Kaźmierczak is a city carillonist of Gdańsk (Poland). She is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk (Theory of Music, Church Music, Choir Conducting) and the Netherlands Carillon School in Amersfoort (studies with Arie Abbenes and Bernard Winsemius). During her studies, she received several scholarships, including the Mayor of Gdansk's scholarship for the best student in the department (2002) and the Huyghens scholarship from the Dutch government (2003/2004) to study with Arie Abbenes and Bernard Winsemius. In 2007, thanks to a cultural scholarship from the City of Gdańsk, she took masterclasses from Geert D'hollander in Belgium. She teaches carillon and other subjects at the Music Academy in Gdansk. Monika is a laureate of several international carillon competitions and a finalist of the 2008 Queen Fabiola competition. As a performer, she is internationally in demand, playing concerts across Lithuania, the Netherlands, Belgium, USA, France, Denmark and Ireland. She collaborates on creative projects such as performing solo recitals for the acclaimed early music festival Actus Humanus in Gdańsk, premiering and recording pieces by leading Polish composers for Polish Music Editions, and performing regularly with tower trumpeters and top Gdańsk jazz players.
Monika is the founder and director of ongoing musical initiatives such as the Gdańsk Carillon Festival. Since 2012, Monika has held a doctor of arts degree, specialising in carillon playing. She also conducted the Gdansk Burgers' Choir (Chór Mieszczan Gdańskich) for 11 years and was a president of the Polish Carillon Society. In 2021, Monika was awarded the highest cultural prize in her city: Splendor Gedanensis and received the bronze medal for merit to culture – Gloria Artis. In 2022 her solo album, Contemporary Carillon, released by Polish Music Editions (Anaklasis series), was nominated for the most prestigious musical award in Poland – the Fryderyk Award.