Pianists
Competition accompanists
Each of our pianists is an experienced chamber musician and tutor capable of bringing out the full richness and emotion of every piece.
Alicja Tarczykowska-Podobieńska
Robert Marat
Aleksander Teliga
Radosław Zaworski
Nataliia Gaponenko
Aleksander Teliga
Meet our pianists
Alicja Tarczykowska-Podobieńska Ph.D.
Pianist, chamber musician, opera coach.
She graduated with honors from the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, where she studied piano under Wiesława Ronowska (2006). She later honed her skills under Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, completing a postgraduate course in Instrumental Studies at the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music (2008). She also completed the Postgraduate Song Studies course at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw (2012) and participated in the Young Talents Training Programme – Opera Academy at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw (2015-2019).
Since 2006, she has worked as a pianist and tutor at the Faculty of Vocal Music and Drama and the Faculty of Instrumental Music at the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music, where she is currently an assistant professor. From 2011 to 2021, she was a lecturer at the Vocal and Acting Department / Institute of Vocal Studies at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. She collaborates with singers in concerts, recordings, competitions, and masterclasses.
Her achievements include serving as an official competition pianist at the 9th, 10th and 11th International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competitions in Warsaw (2016, 2019) and the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd Bogdan Paprocki Competitions for Young Polish Singers at Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz (2019, 2021, 2023). She has received special recognition at the Imrich Godin International Vocal Competition Iuventus Canti in Vrable, Slovakia (2014, 2019), as well as at national competitions in Mława (2015, 2021), Drezdenko (2018), Bydgoszcz (Ignacy J. Paderewski Vocal Competition, 2018), Busko-Zdrój (Krystyna Jamroz National Vocal Competition, 2019), and Bydgoszcz (Bogdan Paprocki National Vocal Competition, 2019).
In recognition of her contributions to Polish culture, she was awarded the honorary Medal of Merit (2017). She holds a doctoral degree in musical arts, conferred by the Senate of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań (2020).
Photo Karpati&Zarewicz
Robert Marat Prof.Tit.
Pianist, chamber pianist and vocal coach.
Since October 2017, Professor Robert Marat has been teaching a piano class at the Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland. Previously, he worked for 29 years at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. In 2012 he was awarded the title of Professor of Musical Arts (ProfTit). He headed the piano class at the Department of Instrumental and Pedagogical Studies of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (2002-2007).
Between 1997 and 2009 he collaborated with the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria.
He gives numerous courses, consultations, lectures and sits on the Jury of competitions. He is a laureate of many piano and chamber music competitions (including the Karol Szymanowski Competition in Lodz, Poland in 1987). He is active as a solo pianist and chamber musician. He also performs as a soloist with symphony orchestras.
Over the years he has worked with many outstanding singers. He has made many recordings for Polish Radio and Television and on CD. For the Selene label he recorded, for the first time in the history of phonography, works by Raul Koczalski and Aleksander Michałowski, which appeared in the series ‘Great Polish Chopin Tradition’.
His artistic work is inspired by his close contact with nature; he is an active mountaineer and sailor.
Aleksander Teliga
Pianist, répétiteur, vocal coach. A graduate of the Chopin University of Music, Department of Instrumental and Pedagogical, Music Education and Vocal Studies Branch in Białystok and University of Silesia in Katowice. He has been a participant of the Opera Academy Young Talents Development Programme at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, training under Eytan Pessen. He has honed his skills for working with singers during masterclasses taught by such authorities as Helmut Deutsch, Hedwig Fassbender, Izabela Kłosińska, Mariusz Kwiecień, Thomas Lausmann, Sergei Leiferkus, Anna Marchwińska, René Massis, Lech Napierała, Olga Pasichnyk, Matthias Rexroth, Tobias Truniger and Neil Shicoff. He has collaborated with such maestros as Bassem Akiki, Benjamin Bayl, Łukasz Borowicz, Jose Maria Florencio, Patrick Fournillier, Friedrich Haider, Michał Klauza, Lothar Koenigs, Tadeusz Kozłowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Yaroslav Shemet. He has played in concerts at venues including Oper Frankfurt, Opera de Marseille, Teatro Ghione in Rome, the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, the Warsaw Chamber Opera, Polish Radio’s Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio. As a competition pianist he accompanied singers including Concorso Lirico Internazionale Ottavio Ziino in Rome (2022), 10th, 11th International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition at Polish National Opera in Warsaw (2019, 2022), 5 th Intenational Adam Didur Opera Singers Competition at Silesian Opera in Bytom (2024), 19th, 20th, 21st Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition in Nowy Sącz (2021, 2023, 2025) and 2nd, 3rd Bogdan Paprocki Competitions for Young Singers at Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz (2021, 2023). He has reveived award for outstanding pianist at Bogdan Paprocki Competition in 2021 and Ada Sari Competition in 2025. As a pianist/répétiteur he has worked with the Silesian Opera in Bytom, the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk, the Teatr Wielki in Poznań and the Warsaw Chamber Opera. He has been affiliated with the Teatr Wielki – Opera Narodowa in Warsaw since the 2021/22 season.
photo Karpati&Zarewicz
Radosław Zaworski
Pianist, lecturer at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, and vocal coach at Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz. Graduate of the Young Talent Education Program – Opera Academy, run by the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw, where he honed his skills under the guidance of Eytan Pessen.
He studied at his alma mater in the class of Prof. Ewa Pobłocka and Dr. Bartłomiej Wezner.
He developed his skills in working with singers during numerous masterclasses in Poland and abroad, conducted by such teachers as Helmut Deutsch, Matthias Rexroth, Hedwig Fassbender, Izabela Kłosińska, Thomas Lausmann, René Massis, Tomasz Konieczny, Lech Napierała, Olga Pasichnyk, Ewa Wolak, Magdalena Idzik, Marek Rzepka, Brenda Hurley, and Wiesław Bednarek.
As a pianist, he accompanied singers during prestigious vocal competitions, including the Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition in Warsaw, the Ada Sari International Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sącz, the Bogdan Paprocki Vocal Competition in Bydgoszcz, the Jan, Edward, and Józefina Reszko Vocal Competition in Częstochowa, and the Krystyna Jamroz Competition in Kielce. He has also participated in piano workshops led by outstanding teachers such as Jerzy Godziszewski, Mikhail Voskresensky, and Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń.
As a chamber musician, he has performed at Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio, Grand Theatre – National Opera, and Szczecin Philharmonic, among others. He collaborated as a coach on the production of the opera Mignon at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
He has won awards for outstanding pianists at the Bogdan Paprocki Vocal Competition in Bydgoszcz, the Ada Sari International Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sącz, and the Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition in Warsaw.
He is associated with Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, where he performs as a chamber musician and orchestra pianist.
Photo: Simona Skrebutėnaitė
Nataliia Gaponenko
A graduate of the Pyotr Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kyiv (class of Professor Natalia Gridnevoi).
She began her professional career as an accompanist at the university’s opera studio and in classes led by distinguished Ukrainian professors: Maria Stefiuk, Ivan Ponomarenko, and Valery Bujmistr.
Since September 2018, she has been associated with the Warsaw Chamber Opera, where she serves as a repetiteur for solo singers. She performs with the Collegium Varsoviense Musicae Antiquae Orchestra, performing celesta and piano parts in works such as The Magic Flute and Medium, as well as piano recitatives in works such as Cosi fan tutte, Idomeneo, Don Giovanni, and Il Giovedi Grasso. She also participates in the Opera’s concerts (Snack Opera, Cafe Mozart).
As a vocal coach and orchestra pianist, she worked at the Wrocław Opera from 2015 to 2018, and since 2018 has collaborated with the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk.
He participates in numerous opera productions, collaborating with conductors such as Michał Klauza, José Maria Florêncio, Przemysław Fiugajski, Paweł Przytocki, Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski, Matteo Pagliari, Stefan Plewniak, Marcin Sompliński, Piotr Borkowski and Piotr Sułkowski.
He participates in numerous vocal workshops, including the Young Singers Project in Salzburg (2010), the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (2012-2013), and the 42nd Winter Vocal Course in Duszniki-Zdrój (2025).
He also collaborates with the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw (student projects under the direction of Michał Znaniecki), the Dramatic Theatre of the Capital City of Warsaw (Man of La Mancha), and the Studio Theatre in Warsaw (Mahagonny. Ein Songspiel / Afterparty).
He accompanies singers at numerous international competitions in Poland and abroad (including the 4th International Adam Didur Opera Singers’ Competition at the Silesian Opera in Bytom, the Belvedere Singing Competition, and the Neue Stimmen).
At the Academy of Music in Warsaw, he also collaborates with the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw (student projects directed by Michał Znaniecki). At the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, she teaches phonetics courses with performance practice for students of the vocal and acting department.
She accompanies master classes led by, among others, Professor Bogdan Makal, Professor Kałudi Kałudow, and Professor Marek Rzepka.
fot. M. Chrastek