Merta Bartłomiej
Born in 1990 in the Podbeskidzie region of Poland. He began playing percussion instruments at the Karol Szymanowski 1st degree State Music School in Oświęcim in the class of M. Sporysz, and continued his education at the Karol Szymanowski 2nd degree State Music School in Katowice, in the class of K. Jaguszewski. While still a pupil there he won a distinction at the 3rd Open Vibraphone Competition in Opole (2005), 4th Prize at the 2nd Jonas Tolocki International Competition for Young Percussionists in Ukmerge, Lithuania (2007), and took part in performances of works by beginner composers at the National Composers’ Competition in Opole (2009). As a graduate of the Music School in Katowice he played with the Symphony Orchestra of the Silesian Philharmonic. During his graduate studies in the class of K. Jaguszewski at the Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice, he won the 3rd Prize at the Etude Competition in 2010, and a year later the 1st Prize in the same competition, organised by the Faculty of Wind Instruments and Percussion of that Academy. As a student he took part in inter-academy collaborative projects which included the academies of Katowice, Warsaw, Poznań and Cracow. While still a student he also had the opportunity of playing in a concert with Mark Ford and Marta Klimasara. Currently he works with orchestras such as the New Music Orchestra, AUKSO Chamber Orchestra of Tychy, the Silesian Opera, the Gorzów Philharmonic and the Camerata Silesia ensemble.
