BIOGRAPHIES

Maciej Frąckiewicz, Accordionist One of the finest accordionists in the world Maciej Frąckiewicz, enjoys an international career. He is the winner of the 20th Arrasate Hiria International Accordion Competition in Spain (2012), one of the most prestigious accordion competitions in the world. In 2013 he received the Polityka magazine’s Passport award for 'very mature and diverse interpretations of contemporary music and other music genres. For courage, daring and consistency. For enriching the musical repertoire. For his concert creations and stimulating our imagination, as well as his persuasive strength.'

Maciej Frąckiewicz graduated with distinction Master Degree from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He also studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold (Germany) and at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona), participated in masterclasses given in Ottweiler, Salzburg and Vienna. Important part of his career is cooperation with such composers as Krzysztof Penderecki, Zygmunt Krauze, Paweł Szymański, Dariusz Przybylski, Wojciech Blecharz, Jagoda Szmytka and Piotr Tabakiernik. He has premiered over 70 pieces, majority of which were dedicated to him.

In 2012 he was laureate of a DAAD award for the best foreign student at HFM Detmold. He received a number of scholarships, including the Minister of Culture’s prestigious Young Poland scholarship for his CD recording of Polish contemporary music. His debut solo CD released in 2014 (DUX) was nominated to the Fryderyk Award presented by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry in the category Best Solo Recital.

In June 2012 he was the first solo accordionist in history to perform with the Polish National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared at festivals in Poland and abroad – in Europe, Asia and the USA. He has been invited as a jury member in Accordion Competition in Castelfidardo (Italy), in Lisbon (Portugal) as well as in Harbin (China).

Maciej Frąckiewicz plays on a Pigini Nova, an instrument considered one of the best accordions in the world.

David Baik, Violinist - Featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30", South Korean-born violinist David Baik is noted for his powerful yet sincere sound. Baik is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Peter-Mendell Award from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation, Grand Prize at the 2021 NAC Bursary Competition, consecutive First Prizes at the 2016 and 2017 Canadian Music Competition, Sturdevant Prize, Gerhard Kander Graduating Award, and the Gabriella Dory Prize. In 2021, he received the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. Recently, Baik was named a winner of the 2023 Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank competition.

Baik recently obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto where he studied with Jonathan Crow. He participated in lessons and masterclasses with many internationally renowned musicians, including James Ehnes, Midori Goto, Mathieu Herzog, Ani Kavafian, Paul Kantor, Martin Beaver, Alexander Kerr, and Kathleen Winkler, as well as the New Orford String Quartet, Dover Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Quatuor Diotima, St. Lawrence String Quartet, and the Alban Berg Quartet. Currently based in Montréal, Baik is a fellowship recipient at the Schulich School of Music, working with Andrew Wan.

An active soloist, Baik’s recent highlights include recitals presented by the DOMS concert series and the Isabel Bader Centre, a guest soloist with the Durham Chamber Orchestra, as well as a performance at the National Commemorative Ceremony in honour of Queen Elizabeth II as an invited solo artist. He has also performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the North York Orchestra and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra.

As an avid chamber musician, his notable collaborations include performances with Camden Shaw, Charles Richard Hamelin, Jennifer Koh, Andrew Wan, Desmond Hoebig, Jonathan Crow, and Philip Chiu. In 2023, his string quartet participated in the McGill International String Quartet Academy (MISQA) and recently, was awarded the Grand Prize of the McGill Chamber Music Competition. He has also served as the concertmaster of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra.

Baik has made appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, Orford Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music, Domaine Forget Music Festival, and recently, he was an emerging artist fellow at the Toronto Summer Music festival.

David Baik performs on the 1871 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume violin,on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Sinfonia Toronto now in its 26th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released four CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.

Maestro Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d’Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Arpeggione Kammerorchester, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic.

Sinfonia Toronto respectfully acknowledges that we work in the Treaty Lands 

and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the traditional territory 

of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples