Born in 1983 in Krakow, Poland Alicja Smietana performs works from Bach to Contemporary music with - what was described by San Francisco music critics as - “Extraordinary brilliance and sensibility…”

Winner of numerous competitions and awards (including most recent First Prize at the Israeli International Competition, Brahms Society Award and support from sir Georg Solti Foundation) Alicja studied at the Krakow Academy of Music with Mieczyslaw Szlezer and later on moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with David Takeno and Ofer Falk.

In October 2009 she joined Young Soloists at the Kronberg Academy where she studied with Christian Tetzlaff.

Gaining respect of many world-famous musicians Alicja has performed as a soloist and chamber musician together with Nigel Kennedy, Gidon Kremer, Ivan Monighetti, Yuri Bashmet, Martha Argerich, Boris Pergamenshikov, Gordan Nikolitch, Simon Rattle and others all around the world.

As a soloist she’s been also performing together with many world-renowned orchestras and ensembles and she’s made her debut in London performing a Mozart concerto under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Attending many international masterclasses such as Bachakademie, Sommerakademie Prag-Vien-Budapest, Association of Baltic Academies of Music Masterclass and Kronberg Academy Violin Masterclasses Alicja’s been privileged to be taught and get artistic guidance from many wonderful musicians including Hagai Shaham, Ana Chumachenco, Pavel Vernikov, Dorothy DeLay, Tabea Zimermann, Michael Frischenshlager, Erich Gruenberg, Zvi Zeitlin and Itzhak Perlman.

Alicja’s also been a guest at many prestigious festivals playing as a soloist and chamber musician in such festivals as Verbier, Buxton, Henley, Les Musiques and Schleswig-Holstein among others and appeared as a soloist in some of the most renowned halls including in Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Hall, Staadtcasino Basel, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Bridgewater Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Berlin Philharmonic as well as Opera House in Hanoi and Hoi-Chi-Mingh.

Since 2003 she joined on number of occasions Kremerata Baltica - an internationally renowned group led by Gidon Kremer.

In 2010 she’s been asked by Nigel Kennedy to become a co-artistic director of his new Orchestra of Life with which she has also performed in the most renowned halls including Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Palais des Congres and the Royal Festival Hall.

Alicja plays a magnificent Camillus Camilli violin dated for 1740 and a Jean Persoit bow thanks to Mr Nigel Brown and the Stradivari Trust.

I know Alicja for a number of years, She’s a devoted musician and has brilliant skills as an instrumentalist. I wish her to find all support she needs in her path of music-making

[Gidon Kremer]

Alicja is an extremely talented violinist with a singular commitment to fulfill her natural abilities. While working with her I found not only a brilliant musician, but a colleague interested primarily in the greater good of music

[Nigel Kennedy]