Karol Kowalik - Cello Teacher
Born into a musical family, Karol began learning the Cello at the age of eight to complete the family string quartet. On scholarship, Karol graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Performance under the tutelage of prominent Cellist, Professor Uzi Wiesel.
As a solo cellist, Karol has been awarded numerous prizes and awards including First Place in the Australian Youth Classical Music Competition, and Third Prize in the Gisborne International Music Competition in New Zealand. He also performed the Schumann Cello Concerto as a finalist in the “Great Romantics” Competition held in the Melbourne Recital Centre. He has received scholarships to attend some of the most prestigious music festivals and summer schools in the world, such as the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, The Meadowmount School of Music in New York, The Radolfzell Sommerakadamie in Germany, and The Banff Arts Centre in Canada.
Karol has just returned from the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA where he held a tertiary teaching appointment coaching Cello and Chamber Music. During the two year residency, he was also mentored extensively by the world renowned Takács String Quartet, as part of a Professional Certificate in Quartet Performance.
Karol is a passionate chamber musician. As a founding member of the Orava String Quartet, he has toured internationally and performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues. Orava has performed in the United States, Canada, China, Philippines, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. The quartet regularly performs at festivals including the Musica Viva Festival, The Sydney Vivid Festival, Bellingen, Crossroads, and The Chinese Gardens Music Festival. He has also performed for Queen Sofia of Spain and Pope Benedict XVI. In 2010, the Orava Quartet completed a highly successful tour of Asia for Musica Viva with world-renowned didgeridoo performer and composer William Barton. Orava has held residencies at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada, and the Bundanon Artist in Residence Complex, and has studied with members of the Emerson, St Lawrence, Schoenberg, Jerusalem, Australian, Brentano, Julliard, and Goldner String Quartets. They have also been featured on 2MBS FMs Rising Stars On-Air program, and the Musica Viva Rising Stars Series. Orava recently won the Musica Viva Australia Tony Berg Award for the most outstanding Australian ensemble, as well as the Peter Druce Audience Prize at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, Australia.
The Orava String Quartet is currently based in Brisbane and is Quartet in Residence with the Camerata of St John’s Chamber Orchestra.