Justyna Maj
Piano

Polish-Canadian pianist Justyna Maj is an experienced piano teacher and for over a decade has led a successful piano class in Poland, Germany, Canada and at the British Columbia Conservatory of Music. Many of her students have been awarded prizes at Festivals, have scored highest honors at National Examinations and have continued to make music their careers. Her enthusiastic and artistic approaches to her teaching methods have been positively met by her pupils and colleagues. Having had a very international education herself and countless pportunities to study and observe teaching methods by world renowned professors around the world, enable her to pass her knowledge on to the next generation and bring the best and the most unique qualities in her students. Her attention to detail, beautiful artistry, technique methods and yet a sense of play during lessons, have resulted in fast improvements in her pupils’ skills and their way of playing.

Ms.Maj was a 1st Prize winner in the International Chopin Competition in Gottingen, Germany and 2nd Prize winner in the 1999 Canadian Chopin Competition. She was chosen to perform in the 1998 National (Canadian) Debut Young Concert Artist Series, placed 2nd in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Competition and was the top Prize-winner in the Pacific Piano
Competition and Kay Meek Concerto Competition. In October 2000, she participated in the 14th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition held in Warsaw; in 2004 she was the Semi-Finalist at the Third China International Piano Competition in Beijing and in 2005 she was a prize-winner at the Emmanuel Durlet International Piano Competition in Antwerpen, Belgium. Ms.Maj has performed solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece, China, USA and in her native Poland. Since 2006, she is part of the Trio Grand Air with violinist Dimiter Tchernookov and cellist Guillaume Grossbard. She has performed for the prestigious series Jeunesses Musicales du Canada and since 2004 holds a position of a collaborating pianist for string instruments at Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy. As a result of these honours, Ms. Maj has been recorded and heard on CBC Radio, German National (Hesischer Rundfunk) and Polish National Radios.

In addition, Ms. Maj has been guest artist with the Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Vancouver Academy Symphony Orchestra, performing in the prestigious Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. In the 2004 Season, she has performed with the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Academy String Orchestra. Ms.Maj has also participated in Holland Music Sessions (the Netherlands), JISA Music Festival in Victoria (Canada), the Calgary Music Bridge (Canada), Casalmaggiore International Festival (Italy) and various Polish Music Festivals thus had a great opportunity to study with many exceptional teachers (Lee Kum-Sing, John O’Connor, Jon Kimura Parker, Evgeny Indij, G.Guangren, Alexij Orlovetsky).

Born in 1979 in Poland, she commenced her studies at the age of eight with Maryla Doroba and Prof. Wlodzimierz Obidowicz at the State Music School of 1st and 2nd Degree in Wroclaw, Poland. Since arriving in Canada in 1993, she was studying with Prof. Lee Kum-Sing at the Vancouver Academy of Music, which resulted in receiving Bachelor of Music Degree and Artist Diploma. From 2004 to 2006, Ms.Maj has completed her Master of Music Degree (KA) on DAAD scholarship at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Stuttgart, Germany in the class of Prof. Andrzej Ratusinski and has studied chamber music in the class of Prof. Florian Wieck.