Aleksandra Hurkała
Born in Szczawnica, Poland, pianist Aleksandra Hurkała began her musical education at the age of seven. She graduated from the Music Secondary School in Kraków under the guidance of Marzena Stępniewska and went on to earn her degree from the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, where she studied piano with Professor Jarosław Drzewiecki.
Throughout her formative years, Hurkała refined her artistry in master classes across Poland and abroad, working with distinguished pedagogues including Kevin Kenner, Wojciech Świtała, Viera Nosina, Aleksander Zvirblyte, Andrzej Jasiński, and Monika Sikorska-Wojtacha.
A laureate of numerous national and international piano competitions, she has received distinctions such as the 2nd Prize at the International Piano Competition in Druskininkai, Lithuania (2012), 1st Prize at the International Master for Music Teachers in Warsaw (2014), 2nd Prize at the International Piano Competition in Copenhagen (2014), and the “Individual Music Forum” Award at the 8th International Piano Forum in Sanok (2013). She was also honored as a laureate of the Polish Art Festival “Orzeł 2016” in the music category and received a special prize from the Mayor of Szczawnica in recognition of her outstanding artistic achievements (2014).
Hurkała’s concert appearances have taken her across Poland and abroad. She has performed at prestigious venues such as the Chopin Museum in Warsaw as part of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute’s Young Talents series (2016) and inaugurated the Chopin Music Spot at Warsaw Chopin Airport with a recital dedicated to Chopin’s works. In 2017, she appeared in the Concerts under the Stars series at the Copernicus Science Center Planetarium, and in Lviv, she gave the Ukrainian premiere of Witold Lutosławski’s Sonata Op. 1. Her performances have also included Franciszek Lessel’s “The Great Sonata” Op. 8, presented in Warsaw in its first modern Polish performance (2014), and a recital during Piotr Machalica’s poetry evening at the Fryderyk Chopin European Artistic Centre in Sanniki (2017).
She has collaborated with the Quartet of the Lviv Music Academy, performing J. S. Bach’s concertos both in Poland and internationally, and has appeared at Teatr Wielki in Warsaw during the Great Gala of Polish Business (2016).
In addition to her performance career, Aleksandra Hurkała is a devoted pedagogue with many years of teaching experience. Her students have earned prizes at numerous music competitions, a reflection of her dedication to nurturing the next generation of pianists. With great enthusiasm, she shares her passion for music with students of all ages, continuing to inspire through both her artistry and mentorship.