Maria Shetty – viola

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Maria Shetty graduated with honors from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow under the guidance of Prof. Janusz Pisarski and. She pursued postgraduate studies at the University für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Prof. Wolfgang Klos and asst. Ulrich Schönauer. Additionally, she honed her skills at the esteemed European Chamber Music Academy and participated in masterclasses led by notable musicians and ensembles, including H. Beyerle, J. Meissl, A. Kouyoumdjian, Apollon Musagete Quartet, and Tokyo String Quartet. In 2015, Maria earned her Doctor of Arts title, focusing on her doctoral dissertation about Paul Hindemith’s compositions for the viola. Since 2016, she has been associated with the Krzysztof Penderecki Music Academy in Krakow, where she initially gained experience as an assistant to Professor Janusz Pisarski. Since 2021, as a habilitated doctor, she has been conducting her viola class in the Department of Violin and Viola at her alma mater. In 2025, she was awarded the title of professor of art.

From 2011 to 2025 she was a violist at the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice with whom she performed in Poland and around the world and made numerous CD, radio and television recordings. Maria has achieved recognition in national and international competitions, securing awards like the Second Prize and Special Prize for Interpretation of Shostakovich’s Music at the International Chamber Music Competition in Plovdiv (2015) and the Second Prize and Special Prize Baerenreiter Urtext Preis at the Charles Hennen Concours in Holland (2011).

Maria has received scholarships from programs like “Young Poland,” the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Republic of Poland, Scientific Scholarship of the City of Krakow, the European Chamber Music Academy, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. As a chamber musician, she regularly performs in various formations and participates in NOSPR Chamber Series. She has performed at such festivals as Festival Pablo Casals in Prades, Mozartiade in Augsburg, Kalkalpen Festival in Grossraming, Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Imago Dei Festival in Austria, Internationales Musikfest Goslar-Harz, Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles – California.

Co-founding the Messages Quartet in 2014, specializing in Polish chamber music, Maria contributed to the debut album released by DUX recording company, featuring string quartets by Szymon Laks. The quartet’s second album, “Messages,” with compositions by A. Panufnik, S. Moniuszko, and K. Penderecki, gained acclaim. Another recording, “Bacewicz/Tansman – Piano Quintets,” by the Messages Quartet, nominated for the Fryderyk award and was honoured with the Musical Eagle in 2022 for the best chamber ensemble. Messages Quartet was further distinguished with a nomination for the Coryphaeus of Polish Music award in the “Personality of the Year” category in 2023. Maria has also collaborated on the album “Karolina Stalmachowska and Friends – Jean Francaix – Musique pour Plaisir.” In 2023, an album presenting Polish clarinet quintets was released, featuring the collaboration between the Messages Quartet and Piotr Lato. The following year, 2024, the DUX record label released the solo album “HINDEMITH.” In addition to the solo sonata, Maria recorded two piano sonatas with Monika Wilińska-Tarcholik. This album received phenomenal reviews in the esteemed foreign press. Maria also recorded for such publishing houses as Acte Prealable and Chopin University Press.

Maria actively engages in teaching and has conducted music courses in Poland and abroad, including Brazil and Austria. Annually, she is invited to lead the viola class at the Małopolska Academy of Talents and the Międzynarodowy Kurs Interpretacji Muzycznej w Nowym Sączu.