Academy PRO Stage

Academy PRO Stage — a space dedicated to young professionals fascinated by contemporary music.

We present a meeting with the participants of the 3rd edition of the Academy PRO program.

The Academy PRO Hashtag Ensemble is a year-long mentoring program aimed at students and graduates of music academies who wish to deepen their interests in contemporary music and develop their own artistic identity. Participants selected through a competition take part in an intensive series of workshops and masterclasses led by Hashtag Ensemble musicians and invited guests. The concert program consists of pieces chosen by the participants themselves — the result of their individual explorations and collaborations developed during the collective artistic work within the Academy.

Specifically for the Academy PRO participants, the following have dedicated their pieces:

• Olga Pasek
• Jan Błażejczak
• Patrycja Kołodziejska

Program:

• Jan Błażejczak — green, I want you green *
• Olga Pasek — time dilation loops *
• Patrycja Kołodziejska — the house has been a burial site *
• Aleksandra Kaca — fjarlægur for violin and viola
• Paweł Janas — Hypnosis for accordion

Performers:

• Stefania Grabiec — violin
• Dorota Malmor — viola
• Antoni Majewski — cello
• Adrianna Szymczyk — clarinet
• Tomasz Piasecki — accordion
• Nadia Mikołajczyk — percussion
• Karol Knapiński — conductor
• Michał Adamin — trumpet *

Production:

• program concept and text: Aleksandra Demowska-Madejska
• production: Aleksandra Demowska-Madejska
• visual identity: Aleksandra Ołdak
• sound engineering: Kosma Standera

The Hashtag Lab Contemporary Music Space is co-financed by the Capital City of Warsaw. The media patrons of the Hashtag Lab Contemporary Music Space are POLMIC.PL, Gazeta Wyborcza and Program Two of Polish Radio. Media patronage for Academy PRO: Meakultura Foundation.

About the performers:

Dorota Malmor — violist, graduate of master’s studies at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in the class of dr hab. Elżbieta Mrożek-Loska. She is searching for her place in the musical space, a lover of new techniques and historical performance practice; she enjoys chamber music. Privately a book addict and a fan of raspberry tea.

Antoni Majewski — cellist, focuses on the act of performance as a direct, experimental dialogue with the audience. He studied at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden and at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He is currently a doctoral student at the Academy of Arts in Szczecin; a laureate of competitions and scholarship holder, he has performed in numerous galleries, music centers and festivals. He also works as a creator and curator.

Adrianna Szymczyk — clarinetist, born in Łódź; a master’s student at the Academy of Music in Łódź. A prizewinner of national and international competitions, she has trained in masterclasses and performed with orchestras and in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy and China.

Tomasz Piasecki — accordionist, engaged in contemporary music performance; he explores sonic and physical worlds, co-creator of projects that go beyond traditional art frameworks. In his free time he sails.

Karol Knapiński — conductor and pianist from Wrocław, he also studied Polish philology. He has collaborated with the Estonian and Georgian music scenes and performed with leading choirs in Poland. He is interested in new music and co-creates the vocal ensemble pół.chór.

Michał Adamin — trumpet player, associated with the Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus; he studied in Katowice, Barcelona and Warsaw. In the 2025/2026 season he is an auditor of the Academy PRO Hashtag Ensemble.

About the pieces:

Jan Błażejczak — green, I want you green: the piece is based on the premise that timbre is the overriding principle organizing the musical course, and form results from its transformations over time. The material is shaped through instrument preparations and live sound processing; electronics subtly model the timbre, and microphones capture articulatory nuances.

Olga Pasek — time dilation loops: the ensemble includes clarinet, accordion, violin, viola, cello and percussion, enriched with tape in a quadraphonic system and live electronics. The composition is inspired by the phenomenon of time dilation; musically it relies on manipulating tempo and rhythm, creating flowing structures and blurring pulse through extreme stretching and narrowing of short melodic motifs.

Patrycja Kołodziejska — the house has been a burial site: the piece is based on an abstract narrative and the deconstruction of classical forms, referring to the liminal experience — a state of transition and deformation of perception. The composition refers to the aesthetics of glitch, ambient and drone, uses means reminiscent of dust or powder, building static, contemplative perceptual states with subtle transformations.

About the composers:

Jan Błażejczak — a second-year master’s student in composition at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music; his work has been presented in Poland and abroad, and he has collaborated with ensembles such as JACK Quartet, Airis Quartet and Kwartludium.

Olga Pasek — composer and performer, she completed composition studies at the Academy of Music in Łódź and at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw; she composes film, theatre music and installations, has participated in numerous workshops and festivals; she is interested in improvised electronic music and no-feedback mixer playing.